How a 15-year-old pilot is making sure we don't forget about veterans

Ashley R. Williams, USA TODAY
·3 min read

Lyndsey Jacobsen, a World War II buff who can’t legally drive yet, has trained to fly single-engine planes at heights of 15,000 feet — all while working to honor thousands of late veterans who served the U.S.

The 15-year-old is behind the controls of an effort to honor veterans for National Wreaths Across America Day on Dec. 17. She's helping fundraise and coordinate a wreath-laying ceremony in Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon, California, where over 40,000 veterans are laid to rest.

“I always like giving back to my community, especially to the veterans, and I like that I can even give back to those who are no longer with us," she told USA TODAY.

The pilot-in-training started flying at age 12 and plans to earn her pilot's license when she's 17. She also wants to become the youngest female to fly solo around the world.

Lyndsey Jacobsen, 15, who comes from a family with an aviation background, says her younger brother got her into flying and her father was once a pilot.
Lyndsey Jacobsen, 15, who comes from a family with an aviation background, says her younger brother got her into flying and her father was once a pilot.

Lyndsey first began working with Wreaths Across America, the organization that honors veterans at more than 3,400 cemeteries each December, last year through her Civil Air Patrol squadron. For three months last year, the high school freshman called as many Sacramento-area businesses as she could to gather wreath donations.

She raised enough money for 120 wreaths, she told USA TODAY.

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This year, Lyndsey and her co-coordinator, Tuskegee Airmen Heritage Chapter vice president Nathaniel Roberts, have collected donations for 2,115 wreaths to lay Dec. 17.

"That's historically one of the higher numbers that the cemetery has ever had, and it's beyond my expectations,” said Roberts, the grandson of the first Tuskegee Airman, Col. George “Spanky” Roberts.

The co-coordinators met through the Tuskegee Airmen Heritage Chapter, where Lyndsey serves as youth legacy president.

Roberts works with youth like Lyndsey to continue the legacy of those who died during World War II, especially Black fighter pilots who have often been forgotten. Roberts recently bought one of her wreaths to lay at Sacramento Valley in honor of his late best friend, who is buried there.

Lyndsey Jacobsen, 15, says she was 12 when she began flying lessons. The teenager co-coordinated the 2022 Wreaths Across America Day wreath-laying ceremony for Sacramento Valley National Cemetery.
Lyndsey Jacobsen, 15, says she was 12 when she began flying lessons. The teenager co-coordinated the 2022 Wreaths Across America Day wreath-laying ceremony for Sacramento Valley National Cemetery.

"Bringing in new youth who can continue that legacy, honor that history and keep it in focus for other people is incredibly important," he said.

Though Lyndsey doesn’t have relatives buried at Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, she has been learning the backgrounds of some of the cemetery's veterans she's honoring.

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One veteran whom Lyndsey has looked up to is Brigadier Gen. Clarence “Bud” Anderson, one of the last living World War II veterans who is also a friend of her family.

Anderson, 100, fought as a Triple Ace fighter pilot. Lyndsey first met him at an airshow in 2019. She plans to apply for a flight scholarship named after Anderson when she turns 16, she shared.

"He definitely had a role in me flying," she said. "Almost every time I went to Auburn (Municipal Airport) for a lesson, we stopped by his house and he would (offer) pieces of advice and encouragement."

Lyndsey’s efforts to handle the “big responsibility” of coordinating a wreath ceremony for a national cemetery embodies the teaching mission of Wreaths Across America, said executive director Karen Worcester. The organization seeks to to remember and honor veterans while teaching younger generations the value of freedom.

“She's mentoring people her own age as she does this,” Worcester told USA TODAY. “When we see young people stepping up and taking on the challenge, we're extremely proud, and what she's learning now will help shape her future."

The Tuskegee Airmen Heritage Chapter is accepting wreaths and donations through its website at wreathsacrossamerica.org.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wreaths Across America Day: How a teen pilot is honoring veterans