Holiday tree dedicated to Wisconsin troops trimmed at governor's mansion

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Linda Hughes held a small, delicate ornament of an angel as her eyes searched the 10-foot spruce for a spot.

There were more than 100 angel ornaments to hang on the Christmas tree in the reception hall of the governor’s mansion when the tree dedicated to Wisconsin troops was trimmed Wednesday afternoon.

Affixed to each handmade decoration is a tiny piece of paper with a name. Among them is Joshua Scott’s.

Linda Hughes, the aunt of Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Scott, hangs an angel ornament on a Christmas tree dedicated to troops at the governor's mansion Wednesday afternoon. Scott, of Sun Prairie, was 28 when he was killed in Iraq in 2005 after his helicopter was attacked and crashed.

Hughes has volunteered to help decorate Christmas trees at the governor’s mansion since 2005. That’s the year then-Gov. Jim Doyle attended her nephew’s funeral and asked if she would like to participate in trimming a tree honoring Wisconsin troops.

Hughes misses her nephew, particularly during the holidays. Scott, of Sun Prairie, was 28 when the helicopter he was piloting was attacked and crashed in Iraq in 2005.

“When Josh was little he loved to play with helicopters. He went into the Army and he became a pilot,” said Hughes, of Randolph.

Wisconsin Air National Guard Airman 1st Class Alina Wedekind (left), who is assigned to the 115th Fighter Wing, and Army Sgt. Bridget Vian, a flute player in the Wisconsin National Guard's 132nd Band, hang ornaments Wednesday at the governor's mansion in Madison. Each year one of the Christmas trees at the mansion is dedicated to troops with ornaments sent from families of fallen troops and troops serving overseas.

“When he was killed, at first I thought — oh no, did we contribute to his death by letting him play with helicopters? But then I thought, wherever God wants your life to end, it happens. He died doing what he loved.”

When the war in Iraq began in 2003, Doyle and his wife, Jessica, began dedicating one of the half-dozen or so holiday trees at the governor’s mansion to Wisconsin military members. Gov. Scott Walker and his wife, Tonette, have continued the tradition each year with family members sending ornaments for their loved one.

The Wisconsin National Guard collects the ornaments in late October and early November for the “Tribute to Our Troops” tree, which was among the evergreens decorated Wednesday.

This year more than 450 ornaments were sent, said Wisconsin Air National Guard Master Sgt. Deb Severson, who coordinates the program.

Linda Hughes, the aunt of a soldier killed in Iraq in 2005, hangs an angel ornament in honor of Kirk Straseskie, the first Wisconsin service member killed in Iraq, on a Christmas tree dedicated to troops at the governors mansion on Wednesday.

“I’ve done it for eight years and every year it’s a wonderful experience,” Severson said. “It kind of gives you goose bumps because you know every ornament represents someone who is serving or has passed in service of our country.”

Each year ornaments for the Wisconsinites killed in Iraq and Afghanistan are organized around a theme; this year it’s angels. In past years it has been teddy bears and butterflies.

“The theme combined with memories, thoughts, love and honor in each one makes sure they’re all recognized. That’s our goal,” Severson said.

Hughes comes up with the theme each year and sketches out a design. She also writes the names of Wisconsin KIAs on pieces of paper to attach to each ornament “like a dog tag,” she said.

Gold Star families are invited for a private reception at the mansion with the governor and his family each Christmas. When the mansion’s front door is opened, it’s the first tree that can be seen in a place of honor in the reception hall, which is open to the public during several days in December.

On Wednesday, volunteers, including Wisconsin National Guard members, breathed in the fragrant odor of freshly cut evergreens and listened to holiday carols as they pulled brightly colored ornaments from bags and boxes. On the floor were tangles of Christmas lights, evergreen boughs decorated with red bows and ladders.

Airman 1st Class Alina Wedekind, who works in maintenance for the 115th Fighter Wing in Madison, was volunteering for the first time to trim the tree for Wisconsin troops. She was born in the Ukraine and joined the Wisconsin Air National Guard two years ago.

“Each of them represents the fallen,” Wedekind said as she looked at the angel ornaments. “It means a lot. I’m very proud to be part of the United States Air Force.”

If you go

The Tribute to Our Troops tree can be seen at the governor's mansion, 99 Cambridge Road, Madison, during public tours in December. The mansion will be open for tours on Dec. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dec. 6 and 7 from noon to 2 p.m., Dec. 9 from 10 a.m. to noon, and Dec. 13 and 14 from noon to 2 p.m.