National Wreaths Across America Day set for Dec. 12
National Wreaths Across America Day set for Dec. 12
Over 40,000 volunteers will lay fresh evergreen remembrance wreaths on 230,000 headstones in all 82 sections at Arlington National Cemetery Dec. 12 during National Wreaths Across America Day. Wreaths Across America’s mission — Remember, Honor, Teach — has expanded to more than 1,000 cemeteries across the nation that will also place wreaths on veterans’ graves to emulate the Arlington program. Over 80 volunteer trucking companies and drivers help deliver the wreaths.
“We want people to see the tradition as a living memorial to veterans and their families. At many homes, there is an empty seat for one who is serving, or one who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country,” the organization’s website states. “There is no better time to express our appreciation, than during the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. We believe that the sacrifices they made are more than worth the effort.”
The mission to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and their families, and teach our children the value of freedom has been the focus of the national nonprofit since Morrill Worcester, a self-proclaimed “wreath maker from Maine” began donating and delivering wreaths personally to Arlington in 1992. The program has grown exponentially and in 2014, over 725,000 wreaths were placed at 1,015 locations nationally, including special memorials at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Bunker Hill in Boston and Charleston Naval Shipyard in South Carolina; and a wreath for every victim of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, the Pentagon and Shanksville, PA.
For more information, go to www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
