Emotions deep at gravesite wreath-layings
Volunteers honor vets, families in annual initiative
Six-year-old Cruz Lizarraga and his sister Isla, 8, ran from headstone to headstone at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday morning, reading the names of the soldiers, their family members and the wars and years in which they served.
Their father, Cory Lizarraga, walking closely behind, watched as the children laid a wreath at each stone, the red bow at the top nestled under the etched names. Each time, Lizarraga reminded the children of one thing: “Say their names. Don’t forget to say their names.”
The Bristol, Va., family stood in line at Arlington in 30degree temperatures with about 200 others as early as 7 a.m. Saturday for the annual Wreaths Across America event, part of a national holiday wreathlaying ceremony at more than 1,600 military cemeteries across the United States and in 26 countries.
Large delivery trucks full of donated wreaths were stationed throughout the cemetery as volunteers walked up and were each handed one to two wreaths. The instructions were simple. Find a headstone and place the wreath at each one with the red ribbon at the top. Then, read the name etched on the headstone out loud as a way of honoring and remembering the service and sacrifice of the military person and their family.
More than 2.7 million wreaths have been donated worldwide for the occasion, said Karen Worcester, the executive director and co-founder of Wreaths Across America. Worcester and her husband, Morrill, started placing wreaths on the graves of deceased military men and women in 1992 in their home state of Maine. By 2005, the tradition had grown nationally and by 2007, the organization became incorporated as a nonprofit.
“This is a way of saying thank you. Thank you for your sacrifice. Thank you for your dedication,” Worcester said. “But it’s also a way of remembrance. That’s why we encourage everyone to say the names out loud. Some people buried here may not have any family members alive to remember them. Saying their names is a way to keep their memory alive.”
Worcester said before the pandemic, at least 2,000 to 3,000 people would be waiting in line to get in each year. That number dropped dramatically into the hundreds in the past two years. But within an hour or two of the cemetery opening Saturday, thousands began
It’s a time to reflect on family and the sacrifices that not just the soldiers make, but their families. We all wanted to be here together. To honor everyone here, together. As a family.”
— Army Major Jerry
Champion
to pour in.
Within an hour, the smell of fresh pine wafted through the cemetery. Volunteers laid wreaths and spoke names of military men and women who served in World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War and others wars and conflicts, as well as their immediate family members.
Indeed, it was the names of children — sons and daughters of military men and women, some newborn, even some too young to be named — whose presence surprised the Lizarraga family.
“I don’t think we expected to see infants, and children’s names,” said Lizarraga, 42, as his wife, Rebecca, rushed off to get more wreaths for their children. “We only expected
to see names of adults. Seeing the names of children, infants, was difficult.”
Susan Oliver of Union, Maine, was still wiping away tears after laying a wreath. Minutes earlier she saw the headstone of her grandfather, Otis Oliver, for the first time. She was a middle-schooler when he died in 1980 and had been unable to attend his service.
“This is simply beautiful. I’m still misty-eyed,” Oliver, 59 said. “I knew he was buried here. But finally seeing it in person. Whew. That was something.”
Wreaths Across America had a few ground rules in place, to keep decorum. Members of the media were not to speak to anyone at a headstone, only on the walking paths, in order to not disrespect anyone’s moment at a grave.
None of the Christmas wreaths were to be placed
on any headstones with a Star of David, out of respect for those of the Jewish faith. Another group of volunteers will pick up the withered wreaths in January and dispose of them by burning.
Jan Pedone of Huntington, Md., brought her friend, Diane Paul, who was visiting from Alpharetta, Ga. “This was just a small, little gesture that we could do to show our gratitude for the sacrifices that these people made,” Pedone, 69, said.
For those men and women who are active military, the wreath tributes with their family proved to be an even more special moment. Jerry Champion, who is an Army major, came to the cemetery with his wife, Alyssa, and their 4-yearold daughter Charlotte and 5-month-old son Luke.
“It’s a time to reflect on family and the sacrifices
that not just the soldiers make, but their families. We all wanted to be here together. To honor everyone here, together. As a family,” Champion said.
Jeremiah “Miah” Magallonmata, of Fort Lee, Va., had one big frustration. The 10-year-old kept running out of wreaths and had to ask his father, Leonides Magallonmata, an Army drill sergeant, to return to the truck to get more.
“He’s out here with everyone, honoring these men and women and seeing for himself the sacrifice they made for our country,” Magallonmata said.
For Jeremiah, the challenge was trying to pronounce some of the names he saw on the headstones.
“I want to see them all if I can,” Jeremiah said eagerly. His father, standing nearby, looked across the 639-acre cemetery of more than 400,000 graves, and just smiled.