Members of the West Virginia Gold Star Mothers placed dog tags with the names of their children who died in the U.S. military on fences surrounding apple trees as Toyota West Virginia unveiled on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 in Buffalo, Putnam County, an apple orchard planted to honor post-9/11 service men and women. All 55 trees have a dog tag with the name of a fallen service member from every county in West Virginia.
Members of the West Virginia Gold Star Mothers placed dog tags with the names of their children who died in the U.S. military on fences surrounding apple trees as Toyota West Virginia unveiled on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 in Buffalo, Putnam County, an apple orchard planted to honor post-9/11 service men and women. All 55 trees have a dog tag with the name of a fallen service member from every county in West Virginia.
WADE SULLIVAN | HD Media
BUFFALO — Toyota West Virginia dedicated a 55-tree apple orchard in memory of post-9/11 service men and women at its plant near Buffalo on Tuesday.
“When they approached us with the opportunity to be able to bring an orchard to our park, and to honor those that have fallen serving our country, we were super excited to ... jump at the chance when they brought that to us,” said David Rosier, the president of Toyota West Virginia.
Norman Bailey, chief of staff at the West Virginia Department of Agriculture, has an idea why Gold Star Mothers chose apples.
“I wonder why the Gold Star Mothers selected apple trees,” Bailey said. “Some consider apples to be the perfect fruit. It provides nourishment. It has a seed within it to bring forth new life. It is sweet and comforting.”
According to Bailey, the Buffalo orchard is the 12th in the state, and more are planned.
As the trees grow, community members will be able to pick apples, and harvested apples will be donated to local schools and senior centers.
Rosier said the orchard isn't limited to Toyota.
“One of our goals is that this isn’t for Toyota. This is truly for the community,” he said. “We put it at this part of our property so the community could have free access to it.”
On the fencing around each tree in the orchard, attendees placed a dog tag with the name of a fallen service member from each of the 55 counties in West Virginia, and the Gold Star Mothers of West Virginia each placed a dog tag with the name of their children who died while in the armed services.
Rosier said that he hopes the orchard can be a place of healing for the families of fallen service members, and that if it is, it is an honor to provide that opportunity.
“There’s healing that needs to take place, and if we can provide just a little bit of that healing, we’re honored to be able to do that."
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