My husband and I had been in Washington, DC in November of 2021. We always visit Arlington National Cemetery when in the area. We don’t have anyone in our families buried there, but we both have relatives who have served. It was during this visit that we saw some information about Wreaths Across America. They are an American nonprofit organization established in 2007 whose primary activity is distributing Veteran’s wreaths for placement on graves in military cemeteries. National Wreaths Across America Day has been designated as the second Saturday of December. As soon as we learned about it, we looked at each other, knowing without speaking we absolutely wanted to do it. Unable to participate that year because of a prior commitment, we immediately made plans to volunteer in 2022.
Our nation’s capital is three hours south of our home. Driving down on Friday, we rented a hotel close to the cemetery for two nights. Our room’s windows faced DC, at night Mister Rain said everything in the city was lit up except the dark area to the left where the brave are buried.
The alarm was set for 5 am Saturday, December 17, 2022, but we were both awake before then. We dressed in layers, as it was chilly, the promise of winter in the air. Once in our car and on our way, I was able to make out the brightly lit monuments in the not yet morning sky, I confirmed with my husband that the North Star was high above. Roadblocks were set up with increasing frequency as we neared the Pentagon, the deserted streets becoming busier in that direction. At the designated area outside the five-sided headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, we showed my handicap parking placard, granting us access to the closest parking lot to the cemetery’s entrance. Settled in the car park (as Siri would say), we had over an hour’s wait.
We were allowed into the cemetery at 8 am but were held near the welcome center. Strangers were speaking to each other, asking where each were from, had they done this before? I met a woman from Florida. Her father is buried at Arlington, she and her three grown daughters come every year. They drive up on Friday, marking his gravestone that same day so that no one else lays a wreath there on Saturday. Saturday, they take part in Wreaths Across America Day, on Sunday they return to say goodbye to him before they head home. She explained we would be given instructions once inside the cemetery, one being that when you place a wreath at a Veteran’s grave, you say their name. Otherwise, they die twice. First, when they die, the second time when they are forgotten. It was then that I knew this was going to be an experience of a lifetime.
At 8:30 am we were permitted into the grounds. Tractor trailers filled with a seemingly infinite number of boxes of wreaths were scattered throughout. We walked past several, finally stopping, where we got in line to each be given our first wreath. For the most part, it was hushed, appropriate for this sacred place, and yet there was an underlying buzz of something I do not quite know how to describe. “Festive” comes to mind but that is not correct. “Convivial?” No. I will settle for a respectful excitement and anticipation of what was about to take place. Slipping our arms through our wreath, we climbed the hill of one section of graves, finding two next to each other. My husband read the marker I stood facing, I placed my first wreath. I voiced the Veteran’s name, touched their stone, said a prayer and thanked them. It was quiet despite the many volunteers. You could hear Veterans’ names being remembered. Grown men carefully and lovingly adjusted the red bows on the wreaths. We moved to a different section, laying several more wreaths each. Although if you consider event sizing Wreaths Across America Day would be considered large-scale, there was an intimacy not normally found in a happening of this scope.
We headed up a path to go to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. My husband told me to stop on the walkway, then look on either side. Using binoculars, I was able to make out enormous sections of graves completely honored with wreaths already. It was truly one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Yes, there were many volunteers there, but based on the number of graves versus the amount of participants, it was evidence of what a group of people, strangers, can do together in a short amount of time. An hour had not yet passed.
It was an incredible day, beyond anything I could have imagined. It was a rare opportunity to honor Veterans in a very personal way. We returned the following year and will do so every Wreaths Across America Day that we are physically able to do so.
Please visit Wreaths Across America for more information on how you can join the mission. As you honor and remember those who have sacrificed, who gave their lives, yours will be changed forever.
Come back next Monday for Wreaths Across America – The Person.
#sisterrain #alittlesightalotofheart #legallyblindwriter #ushistory #arlingtonnationalcemetery #wreathsacrossamerica #wreathsacrossamericatheday
