JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. – Engraved with the names of fallen service members laid to rest in the hallowed grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, 42 ornaments on the Honor the Fallen Tribute Tree at Building 242 bear witness to the selflessness and courage of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to the nation.
“The Tribute Tree goes beyond being a mere display; it stands as a solemn reminder of the high cost of freedom and fosters a connection between the observer and the heroes who rest in eternal peace,” said Ashleigh Carlin, a Gold Star family member and military spouse.
Carlin, who is married to Army Sgt. 1st Class Trevor Carlin, a platoon sergeant for Battlehard Company, 1st Battalion, 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard), started the initiative with a single tree when the family was stationed at Fort Drum, New York, in 2020. Through three winters there, Ashleigh Carlin continued to build the tradition, with support from the garrison and outside organizations that hosted multiple trees, so more faces and names could be represented.
By winter 2022, ornaments on four trees across the post displayed the name of every single fallen Soldier from the 10th Mountain Division.
With the family stationed at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall since May 2023, Carlin said the holiday season continues to be a bittersweet dance. Her younger brother, Army Cpl. Michael Pursel, is buried at ANC. Pursel was killed in action in 2007 while serving in Iraq.
“The holidays bring a sense of profound loss by the absence of our Solider - and a deep significance for remembering and celebrating life's joy and cherished memories, reflecting on a greater-than-self mentality that encompasses service to others,” Carlin said.
On Memorial Day and Thanksgiving Day this year, Carlin said she and her family visited ANC before their family dinners and felt tremendous gratitude as they took it all in. As a name caught their eyes or they felt a pull, they stopped walking to acknowledge the service member’s sacrifice and took time to read their story.
These are the names carefully engraved on the ornaments on JBM-HH’s first Tribute Tree. Carlin bought the entire inventory of the special flag ornaments, she said, and plans to continue the mission in the years to come.
“The holiday season can be tough, because that’s when the families miss their service member the most, right, seeing that empty chair,” Carlin said.
Acknowledgement of the fallen during the holiday season assures Gold Star families they are not alone, she said, and gives them tangible proof that others are remembering their service member.
Bringing that to the forefront of the holiday season is what Carlin is aiming to do with the initiative, she said.
“The bigger that it gets and the more places that host a tree equals more people walking by and being able to have that moment with the Tribute Tree,” she said.
With the reason for their freedom right in front of them, those who witness the tree can shift into the holiday season with a spirit of gratitude, Carlin said.
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