Wreaths Across America Honors Veterans Buried at Arlington National Cemetery (photos)


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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