HARRINGTON – The state commander of Maine’s Veterans of Foreign Wars posts has begun a petition drive aimed at recognizing Morrill Worcester of Columbia Falls.

“The nation should know about this man,” Thomas Lussier said this weekend.

Worcester, through his company, Worcester Wreaths, has been placing Maine evergreen wreaths on 5,000 headstones at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., since 1991.

“He’s done this for 15 years and never did he seek recognition,” Lussier said.

This year, however, an e-mail sent around the world brought him new attention.

Instead of wrapping himself in the spotlight, Worcester pointed it toward America’s veterans.

“The more attention it gets, the more attention the veterans get,” he said.

Worcester’s story is well-known throughout Maine, but many who revere Arlington don’t know the tale behind the wreaths that appear every December.

The e-mail showed a photograph of the white headstones, blanketed in snow, with a green wreath with a red bow resting on each one. It also included a poem honoring America’s veterans.

Worcester’s story began when, at 14, he won a trip to the nation’s capital as a newspaper carrier for the Bangor Daily News. One of the many places he visited on the trip to Washington was Arlington.

The scene of all those white headstones was overwhelming for the Maine teenager – and one he never forgot. “It stuck with me for all those years since,” he said. “I never forgot it.”

And as his Worcester Wreath Co. began thriving, from 500 wreaths in 1971 to 500,000 this year, Worcester’s attention returned to that cemetery.

He began his trek with just a few family members and a truckload of wreaths. Each year he has returned to the cemetery, placing 5,000 wreaths on a different section of Arlington each December.

This year, Worcester began the Wreaths Across America project, which veterans organizations such as the VFW and American Legion quickly adopted, with participants placing wreaths at veterans cemeteries simultaneously on Dec. 14.

Lussier was one who participated.

“We too often wait until someone who has made a difference is gone before we honor and pay tribute to them,” he said. “Our desire is to award Morrill Worcester the honor he deserves for the meaningful and long-lasting contributions he has given to our country and citizens.

“I’ve gone up to Harrington for the last three to four years,” he said. “I’ve helped assemble, pack and load the wreaths.”

This year, Lussier joined dozens of veterans – a number that swelled to hundreds – as the truck carrying the wreaths traveled down U.S. Route 1 from Maine to Rhode Island and on to Washington.

Lussier hopes to obtain 10,000 signatures by March and have U.S. Sen. Susan Collins present the petition to honor Worcester with the Presidential Citizens Medal. The medal is the nation’s second-highest award to a U.S. citizen and was established in 1969.

The petition can be accessed at www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/424826701.

Lussier said all who want to see Worcester honored should add their signature to the petition and forward the Web site address to everyone they know.

“We have already gotten 2,000 signatures in just two weeks,” Lussier said. “I can’t think of a better action than Worcester’s to be honored.”