Annually, in December, ceremonies take place across the country to “remember, honor and teach” including the event at Arlington National Cemetery as well as at more than 1,600 additional locations across the country.
From the Revolutionary War to present day conflicts, veterans are devoted sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers. They come from all backgrounds in life to place those lives on the line for our freedoms. There are millions of individual stories to tell, according to the mission statement of the group.
The ceremony includes the placement of a holiday wreath on the graves of all veterans as a tribute to their service to their country.
The tribute began in Bangor, Maine in 1991 when Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company, found himself with a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. Remembering a boyhood trip he won to Washington, D.C.
Other businesses joined the effort and volunteers from the American Legion and VFW posts began to decorate each wreath with traditional red, hand-tied bows. Ceremonies grew to include a special wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The tribute went on quietly for years until 2005 when a photo of the snow-covered wreaths circulated on the internet bringing national attention. Thousands of requests poured in from across the country for similar remembrances at national, state and local cemeteries.
Wreaths Across America continued to grow each year until it has now become a national event. Now, Wreaths Across America is a non-profit 501-(c
The public is invited to the Dec. 14
