Wreaths Across America Honors Veterans Buried at Arlington National Cemetery (photos)
By • December 20, 2021 0 2354
Thousands gathered at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., in seasonably mild weather on Saturday, Dec. 18, to participate in Wreaths Across America by laying holiday wreaths over each of the more than 257,000 gravesites of military servicemen and women interred there. Sixty-five semi-trucks drove along the East Coast for several days to deliver the wreaths.
The program, now in its 30th year, was started in 1992 by Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, with a donation of 5,000 surplus wreaths. Over the years the annual effort of honor, respect and memory has grown into an enormous national effort.
Wreaths Across America helps family members and volunteers lay wreaths at the gravestones of those who have served our country — not only at Arlington National Cemetery, but at some 2,800 locations across the U.S. on “National Wreaths Across America Day,” a day designated as such by Congress.
A convoy of trucks with volunteers, including veterans and Gold Star families had earlier escorted the wreaths from Columbia Falls, Maine to the cemetery. The parade, with law enforcement vehicles escorting the trucks, had visited schools, monuments, veterans’ homes and communities along its route.
Volunteers were asked to say every service member’s name aloud when placing each of the balsam fir wreaths.
View a slideshow of Jeff Malet’s photos from the 2021 edition of Wreaths Across America at Arlington National Cemetery by clicking on the photo icons below.
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, is the founder of Wreaths Across America (photo by Jeff Malet).
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- Carol Panasci and Robert Oldham of High Transit (Lancaster Pa.) delivered 4,050 wreaths from Maine. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Fifth year volunteer Jill Orlowski from Buffalo NY teaches 8th grade English. Each box contains 9 wreaths. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Jill Orlowski from Buffalo NY and her team distribute over 4000 wreaths off the truck in one hour. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Driver Robert Oldham and Carol Panasci of High Transit (Lancaster Pa.) (far left) with the teachers from Cheektowaga Middle School in upstate New York who volunteer every year to help unload trucks. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Before and After (photos by Jeff Malet)
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- Eva, age 10 from Fort Valley Va. lays a wreath. Volunteers were asked to say every service member’s name out loud when placing each of the balsam fir wreaths. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Garla, age 5 from Alexandria Va. lays a wreath for Capt. Standish Weston, who was the first graduated of the United States Military Academy to go to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar in 1925. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Owen, age 5 from Fairfield Conn. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- General Colin Powell gravesite.
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- Ret. Army Lt. Col. Tim Fields from Leesburg Va. with his children and grandchildren. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Navy Lt. Cmdr. Jason Henderson and wife Lt. Cmdr. Ashley Henderson with daughter Clarabel lay a wreath for their friend Kara Hultgreen, the first woman to fly the Navy’s F-14 in a combat squadron and the first female fighter pilot to die in the line of duty. Photo by Jeff Malet.
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- Three generations of the Baylor Tucking (Indiana) family which has been participating in WWA for 20 years. Cari Baylor, driver Enuardo Andrde, Beth Baylor and Ella Shelton. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arielle from Arlington Va. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Driver Steve Talbot of EPES Transit (Greensboro N.C.) delivered 4015 wreaths. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- U.S. Army Rangers who volunteer to help distribute the wreaths. (photo by Jeff Malet).
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Virginia governor elect Glenn Youngkin and wife Suzanne visit Wreaths Across America at Arlington National Cemetery. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Virginia governor elect Glenn Youngkin poses with the Louisa County 4-H Extension. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Emmalin, age 8, Her dad is stationed at Ft. Belvoir. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Brian Ray Hoke died in 2016 after a firefight with Islamic State militants near Jalalabad in Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Vietnam USMC veteran Daniel Storch from St. Augustine Fla. came up just for this occasion. His dad and brother were both war veterans. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Volunteers were asked not to place wreaths at the foot of graves of Jewish servicemembers out of respect for their religious traditions. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Remembering the Fallen (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Lilly Kroptavich, age 9. from Burke Va. Her dad is a Lt. Colonel in the Army Reserves. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- The Maine State Police. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Army Colonel Charles Wagenblast Family from Burke Va. (photo by Jeff Malet).
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Ellison Washburn, age 11, from Vienna Va. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Diver Rob Jenson, a 7 year Army veteran, from Fremont Contract Carriers from Fremont Neb. The company runs 4 such partiotic trailors in its fleet. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Between 1937 and 1949, Joe Louis was boxing’s “Heavyweight Champion of the World.” He reached the rank of sergeant, and in 1945 received the Legion of Merit for his contributions to troop morale. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- The McClellan Gate is a memorial to Major General George B. McClellan located inside Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- The McClellan Gate is a memorial to Major General George B. McClellan located inside Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- Stuart A. Roosa was the command module pilot for Apollo 14 (January 31 to February 9, 1971), the third lunar landing mission., (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- British Field Marshal Sir John Dill (1881-1944) is the highest-ranking foreign military officer buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- President John F. Kennedy Gravesite (photo by Jeff Malet)
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- We don’t know them all, but we owe them all. Arlington National Cemetery (photo by Jeff Malet)
