CENTER TWP — Officials at VA Butler Healthcare will plant the first seed of a nationwide memorial program at the Abie Abraham VA Health Care Center next week, at a ceremony outside the facility’s main entrance.

The dedication ceremony for the Blue Star Memorial Program will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The event will include a brief history of the program, a military tribute, patriotic music, a color guard and a playing of “Taps.”

The program, which began in 1944 with the New Jersey Council of Garden Clubs, acts as a living memorial to veterans of World War II. The club planted thousands of dogwood trees to memorialize veterans — a practice which has expanded to include more than 3,000 Blue Star Memorial markers across the country, which memorialize all men and women who have served, are serving, or will serve in the armed services.

The program’s incarnation in Butler is co-sponsored by members of the Butler Garden Club and the Southern Butler County Garden Club.