The national non-profit organization Wreaths Across America and the Bellefontaine chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution announce that Bellefontaine City Cemetery will serve as an official location for the program for the first time this year, with a ceremony slated for noon Saturday, Dec. 19, at the cemetery.
The event coincides with ceremonies taking place throughout the country.
Wreaths Across America was founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery initiated by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.
The commemoration started as “a simple gesture of thanks that has grown into a national movement of dedicated volunteers and communities coming together to not only remember the nation’s fallen and honor their service, but to teach the next generation about the sacrifices made for us to live freely,” officials related.
This year, there will be more than 2,100 participating locations placing wreaths for National Wreaths Across America Day on Dec. 19, with more than two million volunteers coming together.
The plan for the Bellefontaine City Cemetery is to host a ceremony-only event in 2020. However, during the upcoming year, organizers hope to raise enough funds to place approximately 800 veterans’ wreaths on the headstones of all the local heroes laid to rest there.
“We are forever grateful for the thousands of supporters who dedicate their time and effort to fulfilling our mission on a local level,” said Karen Worcester, Wreaths Across America executive director.
“These individuals and their communities know the value of remembering the fallen, honoring those who currently serve and teaching the next generation about the sacrifices made for our freedom every day, and without their continued support, Wreaths Across America would not exist.”
Those interested in volunteering for Wreaths Across America, or sponsoring a wreath for Bellefontaine City Cemetery, are invited to visit https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/pages/159263 to learn more.