Georgia Magazine - December 2023 - 18

to give them more time and privacy.
Public volunteers will place wreaths on all
remaining headstones starting on Saturday
morning at 9 a.m., before our ceremony. "
The volunteers place a wreath at each
headstone, pause and read the name of the
veteran aloud.
" We believe in a saying at Wreaths
Across America, " Caron says. " A person dies
twice: one time when they take their last
breath and again the last time their name
Above: Marcie Jones addresses
volunteers at historic Oak
Grove Cemetery in Brunswick.
Upper right: More than 5,000
veterans are interred at Georgia
Veterans Memorial Cemetery in
Milledgeville. Right: A Boy Scout
places a wreath at Pleasant Hill
Cemetery in Atlanta.
For five years, Calhoun-based Mohawk Industries has
partnered with WAA to deliver wreaths to cemeteries in the
South using trucks that usually transport flooring. Last year,
three Mohawk driver teams picked up boxes of wreaths and
dropped them off in Tennessee and Texas in specially designed
trailers that honored the military. This year, the company will
add another stop in its delivery routes for WAA: Arlington
National Cemetery.
" We are truly humbled to be a part of this effort and to play
a small role in honoring the brave men and women laid to rest
in these places, including now in Arlington, where the WAA
story first began, " says Micah Riggle, senior director of human
resources for Mohawk's supply chain division. " It's a profound
reminder of the value of freedom and the impact of community. "
SAYING THEIR NAMES
On National Wreaths Across America Day (held on
Saturday, Dec. 16, this year) millions of volunteers and
supporters gather to " remember the fallen, honor those who
serve and teach our children the value of freedom " at more
than 4,000 participating locations.
At last year's event, Georgia National Cemetery in Canton
welcomed more than 2,000 family members, volunteers and
supporters to honor the fallen. Cars lined the road around
the cemetery grounds in the early morning hours. Volunteers
removed the wreaths from boxes and carefully staged them on
the ground.
" We allow family members to go first, " says Russ
Seltenright, WAA chairman for Georgia National Cemetery.
" Some want to place the wreaths themselves, and we give them
that opportunity to have some private time at the graves of their
loved ones. This year, the wreaths will be delivered on
Thursday at 3:30 p.m. [the first volunteer opportunity], and
we'll host family members on Friday from 3:30 p.m. to sunset
18 Georgia Magazine December 2023
is ever spoken. That's why our volunteers say the name of each
veteran-to ensure that person and his or her memory will live
on forever. "
The wreaths remain in the cemeteries until January, when
more volunteers are deployed to remove them.
HOW IT ALL BEGAN
The WAA tradition of honoring veterans in December with
wreaths started with Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester
Wreath Co. in Harrington, Maine. As a young boy, Worcester
had visited Arlington National Cemetery and learned about the
service and sacrifice of our nation's veterans.
In 1992, when his company found itself with a surplus of
fresh evergreen wreaths, Worcester made arrangements for
the extras to be placed at the headstones in an older section of
Arlington. For more than a decade, Worcester quietly donated
wreaths to the Virginia cemetery.
Then in 2005, a photo of Arlington adorned with snow
and wreaths went viral, and people nationwide wanted to do
something similar at cemeteries in their own hometowns. The
Worcester family stepped forward once again and began
organizing efforts throughout the country.
The Worcesters formed Wreaths Across America in 2007
to facilitate and lead a unified, nationwide effort of honoring
veterans with wreaths and ceremonies. In 2008, they shipped
100,000 wreaths. This year, WAA anticipates that nearly 3 million
wreaths will be shipped and placed at veterans' graves.
" When people hear about what we are doing or see it with
their own eyes, they want to get involved and help, " Caron says.
" It's a way to say 'thank you' to those who stepped up to serve. "
Amber Lanier Nagle is an Adairsville-based freelance writer.
Learn more
Wreaths Across America, P.O. Box 249, Columbia Falls, ME
04623; wreathsacrossamerica.org
Visit the website to get involved, find a participating
cemetery near you and/or make a donation. A $17 sponsorship
helps place an evergreen wreath on the headstone of a veteran
on Dec. 16 as part of National Wreaths Across America Day.
The deadline to donate for this year's wreaths is Dec. 1,
but donations after that date go toward next year's wreaths.
From Dec. 16 to Jan. 13, Wreaths Across America will match
donations, doubling their impact, according to Russ Seltenright,
coordinator of Wreaths Across America events at Georgia
National Cemetery in Canton.
SOUTHEASTERNPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
(TROUP NIGHTINGALE)
SUSAN KREUER
WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA
http://www.SOUTHEASTERNPHOTOGRAPHY.COM http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org
Georgia Magazine - December 2023

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