Crowley Delivers Wreaths to St. Croix as Community Honors Veterans at Kingshill Cemetery

The St. Croix community gathered Saturday morning at Kingshill Cemetery to honor fallen veterans during the annual Wreaths Across America Ceremony.

Attendees included representatives from Crowley, the Virgin Islands Police Department, the National Guard, Central High School’s JROTC program, and other dignitaries. Following the ceremony, wreaths were respectfully placed on the graves of fallen service members.

This year, Crowley played a critical role in ensuring the ceremony could take place in the U.S. Virgin Islands. For the first time, the company provided both ocean and land transportation to deliver wreaths from Maine to cemeteries on St. Thomas and St. Croix. The expanded logistical support helped ensure that wreaths arrived on time and in proper condition for National Wreaths Across America Day.

Crowley is a national sponsor and logistics partner of Wreaths Across America and does not organize or operate the ceremonies themselves. Instead, the company provides essential transportation and supply-chain services, filling logistical gaps so wreaths can reach veteran cemeteries across the country. Since beginning the partnership in 2019, Crowley has steadily expanded its support based on identified transportation needs.

In 2025, Crowley delivered more than 20,000 wreaths nationwide to 17 cemeteries in Florida, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than 200 Crowley employees and family members volunteered their time at wreath-laying ceremonies across multiple locations. This marks the company’s seventh year supporting Wreaths Across America and its second year participating in the U.S. Virgin Islands, following its first involvement on St. Thomas.

“This year, we provided both volunteer and logistical support, including transporting wreaths from Maine to the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said Tim Quirk, Crowley’s director of Caribbean Services. “Through the Crowley Cares Foundation, we support community involvement, and our partnership with Wreaths Across America has grown since we first connected with the organization in Puerto Rico.”

Quirk noted that the holiday season is an especially meaningful time to pause and reflect. “We are always looking to be responsible members of the business community and the communities where we live and work,” he said. “It is an honor to take a moment during this busy time to remember our service members who are no longer here and those who won’t be with their families during the holidays.”

Local officials and military leaders expressed appreciation for the support that made the event possible. St. Croix District Police Chief Uston Cornelius said it was “an honor to join with the National Guard as they honor our fallen soldiers and officers who have served their community.”

One of the organizers of the event, Major Akeem Inniss of the Virgin Islands National Guard, emphasized that while the ceremony may appear small, it is part of a much greater national effort. “This is actually something big across America,” Inniss said, noting that wreath-laying ceremonies often require extensive coordination, including police escorts and simultaneous observances nationwide. “You may see a single site, but it’s part of something much larger.”

Inniss also explained why Kingshill Cemetery remains the central location for the annual ceremony on St. Croix. “Kingshill Cemetery is the only national cemetery on St. Croix,” he said. “This is the only place where we can clearly identify and honor our veterans in one section.” He added that families with loved ones buried elsewhere can still participate. “If a veteran is buried in another cemetery, we can always provide a wreath for them.”

As the ceremony concluded, Inniss reaffirmed the mission behind the observance. “Our mission is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve, and teach the next generation the value of freedom,” he said. “Freedom is not free.”