Texanthropy Spotlight: Wreaths Across America
Wreaths Across America originated in 1992 with one man’s generous effort to remember veterans at Arlington National Cemetery. In order to expand to other locations, a non-profit organization was founded in 2007 to honor fallen heroes across the nation, work with local veterans and civic organizations, and teach younger generations about the value of their freedoms secured by the sacrifices of the United States Armed Forces. Each year on Wreaths Across America Day, coordinated wreath-laying ceremonies are held at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as over 1,200 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea, and abroad.
Last year, Greg and I joined many of our fellow Texans at the Texas State Cemetery - and 800,000 across to country - to participate in Wreaths Across America Day. Greg delivered remarks at the ceremony in Austin, and following the program, we laid wreaths at the graves of three Medal of Honor recipients buried in the Texas State Cemetery – Brigadier General Robert Galer, Sergeant Jason Logan and Second Lieutenant George O'Brien. And volunteers placed wreaths on every single one of the almost 3,000 graves there.
We were honored to participate, and I loved Greg's message to those gathered with us for the ceremony:
“We’re called on today and every day to remember our fallen heroes. We must remember their names, we must remember their lives and we must remember their sacrifice, because we are each entrusted with their legacy of faith in this great nation. May we always remember our troops in harm’s way still today, and may we never forget the price they pay so that we can be free.”
This year’s Wreaths Across America Day is Saturday, December 16th. There will be hundreds of ceremonies where hundreds of thousands of volunteers will be laying millions of wreaths on the graves of American soldiers. There are many ways you can participate – you can sponsor wreaths, volunteer to help set up or recycle wreaths, participate in Wreaths Across America’s volunteer trucking service, or participate in a ceremony on Wreaths Across America Day, just to name a few. If you feel called to participate in this year’s Wreaths Across America Day, visit http://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/ to learn about the many ways you can help.
While we can never say thank you enough, participating in Wreaths Across America Day is just one way that we as Americans can come together to honor the lives of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.