In keeping with her Christmas tradition, Shirley Alley, owner of Unforgettable Creations honored a local veteran for the holiday season Wednesday afternoon. The little unassuming shop on the corner of Sutton Mill Road and GA 197 North is where the tradition began when she opened her shop in 2020.
Alley has celebrated the reason for the season by giving back to the community, more specifically to a local veteran each holiday season. She partnered up with then Grant-Reeves VFW Cornelia Post Commander Bill Miles to make the selection for the deserving veteran.
The veteran is presented with a wreath or a Christmas tree, decorated by Alley, of their choosing from her humble little shop. They receive a couple of prepared gift baskets of goodies and a poinsettia. The baskets are made in partnership with a couple of Alley’s “elves” that wish to not reveal their identities with it being so close to Christmas.
The veteran
This year’s honor was bestowed upon local Desert Storm Army veteran Jim Morgan. He is the Commander of the Cornelia American Legion Post as well as the Commander for the local Disabled American Veterans chapter. Morgan is active with the Grant-Reeves VFW Post in Cornelia as the Captain of the Grant-Reeves combined Honor Guard. The Honor Guard performs ceremonies and services for special events and holidays and funerals for area veterans.
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Morgan can be seen assisting veterans across Northeast Georgia from Clayton to Cumming. Whether it’s assisting a veteran at the Cumming Golden Corral on Veterans Day or helping a veteran fill out paperwork to receive VA benefits, Morgan is there. He is a veteran’s veteran.
In addition to the gift baskets and poinsettia, Morgan selected a small Christmas tree from Unforgettable Creations.
After receiving the gifts, a shy Morgan shared that he felt “truly humble and very grateful.”
Alley, the spunky young lady of nearly 80, was a bit more excited with how she felt about giving to a veteran each year. “I get so excited over something like this,” she said. “Ever since my father was a P.O.W., my hat goes off to every veteran.” She also shared her thoughts about a man in uniform. “I am telling you, you can take any man, put him in a uniform, no matter what he looks like, and God, he’s hot,” she said with a laugh.
Arlington
Alley’s wreath creations do not stop with local veterans. She has made wreaths for the VFW Post in Cornelia as well as for the gates at the VFW cemetery, according to Miles. One of her wreaths has made it all the way to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, DC. In 2022, Miles saw an opportunity to recognize her for her contributions to area veterans.
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He attended the National VFW Legislative Conference that is held in the nation’s capital each March. Miles recommended to the state’s VFW legislative delegation that they should place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After applying several months in advance, Miles received the approval from Arlington National Cemetery for the delegation to perform a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb with Alley’s wreath in hand.
Why she honors veterans
Why does Alley do this each year one may ask? She has a soft spot for veterans. Her father was a World War II veteran. During the war, her father was a tail and ball turret gunner for bombers flying bombing missions over Germany. She tells the story that her father’s plane was shot down over Berlin during the crew’s first day-time bombing mission.
Alley reminisces her father’s story that none of the crew had ever used a parachute until that day. Her father and crew survived the incident and were taken prisoner by the Germans in Berlin until the Russians liberated the POW camp at the end of the war.
