Honor a vet with a wreath this season
Donations sought to aid Antelope Valley effort
Since Veterans Day just passed and Thanksgiving is upon us, it’s a good time to think of honoring veterans with the annual Wreaths Across America program.
For decades, this national nonprofit organization has provided fresh holiday wreaths of evergreens to place on the graves of veterans in their local cemeteries.
Donations are sought to support the Antelope Valley efforts at Lancaster, Palmdale Pioneer and Mojave cemeteries. Wreaths will be placed, Dec. 17, on graves at those locations.
Wreaths are $15 each. Donors who wish to provide wreaths may fill out a form online at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org and search under locations to find a specific cemetery.
Organizers hope to raise enough funds for 510 sponsored wreaths on veterans’ graves at the Mojave Cemetery, which has been participating in the program for eight years.
The Lancaster Cemetery, the final resting place of more than 1,050 veterans, has participated in the nationwide program since 2009, when it involved about 15 people placing wreaths. It has since grown to include about 100 people
who lay the wreaths annually, including service groups and youth organizations such as Boy Scouts, Young Marines and others.
This year’s event begins at 9 a.m., on Dec. 17, at Lancaster Cemetery, 111 East Lancaster Blvd. Following the ceremony, participants will lay the fresh balsam wreaths on veterans’ graves.
The Wreaths Across America project began in the 1990s when Worcester Wreath Co. in Maine began placing wreaths on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery during the holidays. As word spread, residents of other communities across the United States wanted to honor veterans buried in their cemeteries.
The organization’s mission is to “Remember, Honor, Teach” which it carries out through the wreath-laying ceremonies nationwide.