Wreaths Across America event will be Dec. 16 in Ocala

The 15th annual Marion County Wreaths Across America ceremony, part of a worldwide program on the same date to honor our country's military veterans, will be held at noon on Dec.16 at Highlands Memorial Park in Ocala.

The wreath laying program globally this year will involve an estimated 2 million volunteers at 4,000 locations.

Locally, perhaps 100 or more volunteers, including high school JROTC members, will lay wreaths on hundreds of veterans’ gravesites and say the veteran’s name.

Ethan Bowman, 17, a high school senior and member of the Forest High School Air Force JROTC, has previously participated in the ceremony.

“The ability to honor veterans that have sacrificed for the freedoms that I enjoy every day is one of the most important events of the year,” Ethan wrote in an email.

John Grimstead, a member of American Legion Post 284 Al Krietemeyer Memorial of Belleview, and a fellow post member and American Legion Rider motorcyclist, the late Eddie Jaworski, founded Marion County Wreaths Across America 15 years ago and about 300 wreaths were placed the first year.

Grimstead, a  U.S, Army veteran of the Vietnam War, said a person "dies twice:" first when they take their last breath, and second when their name is forgotten. He said reciting the veteran's name helps "keep their memory alive."

Grimstead hopes local Blue Star and Gold Star families, who have members serving in the military or have lost members who were serving, respectively, will attend the ceremony to be honored as well.

This year's base goal of donations to buy 1,850 wreaths to decorate veteran gravesites locally has been met and the cutoff to order wreaths for specific veteran gravesites was Nov. 30, Grimstead said in a phone interview.

Grimstead and his wife, Lori, also a member of the American Legion and AMVETS auxiliaries and a Navy mom, have been organizers since the start of the local program.

Sponsors this year include the Marion County Veterans Council AMVETS, the American Legion, American Legion Riders, Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and Ocklawaha River Valley Civic Club in Hog Valley, according to information from Suzanne McGuire, an organizer of the local Wreaths Across America ceremony and secretary of the MCVC.

Donations of $17 for each wreath are still being accepted for next year's program and wreaths can also be advance ordered for next year for placement by loved ones on specific gravesites.

Wreaths Across America dates back to 1992

The ceremony is meant to “remember the fallen, honor those who served (and) teach the next generation the value of freedom,” according to WreathsAcrossAmerica.org. It grew out of an effort in 1992 by Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Co. in Harrington, Maine.

An overage of wreaths was used by volunteers the initial year to decorate service members' gravesites in a section of Arlington National Cemetery that was seeing “fewer visitors,” according to the website.

The website states Worcester visited Arlington National Cemetery as a youth, and seeing the vast number of graves and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier left an "indelible impression" on him.

The website describes the original ceremony as a volunteer group including American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars members with the wreaths shipped by Blue Bird Ranch, Inc. trucking.

A special ceremony was held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The ceremony continued, and in 2005 photos of the wreaths on snow-covered graves at Arlington National Cemetery circulated on the internet, prompting similar wreath laying ceremonies at locations throughout the country, the website states.

By 2007 the Worcester family — Morrill, who is the founder, and his wife, Karen, executive director — established the non-profit Wreaths Across America and the next year, on Dec. 18, 2008, 60,000 volunteers placed 100,000 wreaths at 300 locations in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 overseas cemeteries.

Congress declared Dec. 18, 2008 “Wreaths Across America Day,” according to the website.

In 2022, 2.7 million sponsored wreaths were placed on veterans' gravesites, according to the website.

'It's a great opportunity to honor veterans'

Several members of the Forest High School Air Force JROTC were asked to express via email what placing the wreaths on veterans' gravesites in previous ceremonies has meant to them.

Harrison Doerfful, 17, 11th grade, wrote: "I appreciate that I can honor their legacy of bravery during this time of year when we as a society have so much to be thankful for.”

Shanan Buchanan, 17, 12th grade, wrote: "It's a great opportunity to honor veterans who have served our country for us to have freedom."

Olivia Carr, 18, 12th grade, stated: "I was very honored to put the wreaths down for the veterans. It made me feel like I was part of something much bigger than just high school."

Michael Clarke, 17, 12th grade, wrote: “I felt happy to recognize and honor people who, in my opinion, are often forgotten these days.“

George Clarke, Forest High School senior aerospace science teacher, JROTC leader and retired USAF major, stated in part in an email that the Wreaths Across America program “provides our students with an opportunity to honor veterans… and share a brief moment of connection with past generations.

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“(A )s a veteran, I find comfort in the observation that the young men and women of today are willing to take the time to salute, say a name, and lay a wreath at the graves of those who came before, ensuring that the sacrifices of past generations will not be forgotten, and that the future truly is in good hands,” he wrote in part.

Marion County Wreaths Across America

Noon on Dec. 16 at Highlands Memorial Park, 1515 NE Third St., Ocala. Call (352) 286-0021. Wreath sponsorships for next year are $17 each. To donate to the local program, visit wreathsacrossamerica.org and reference #FLHMPO14795.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Dec. 16 is date for this year's version of Wreaths Across America