COMMUNITY EVENTS
Wreaths across America is a way to honor soldiers across the United States by decorating their gravesites. The city of San Marcos and the Veteran Affairs Advisory Committee host the ceremony at the San Marcos City Cemetery, located at 1001 Old Ranch Rd 12, and they are looking for volunteers for this year’s wreath placing ceremony as well as the wreath retrieval that occurs later. The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Dec. 14, and the wreath retrieval, for later recycling, will occur on Jan. 11.
Lisa Morris, San Marcos recreation programs manager and Wreaths Across America location coordinator, said the ceremony occurs at over 4,000 locations, and it was started at Arlington Cemetery.
“There was a gentleman who had a tree farm, and they would make wreaths; they had a bunch of wreaths left over toward the end of the season, and he wanted to do something productive with them,” Morris said. “He requested permission to lay them at Arlington National Cemetery, and that’s where it was started. People liked it. It caught on, and it’s just grown throughout the United States and other countries where our U.S. veterans are laid to rest.”
But the reason behind the ceremony goes much deeper.
“The idea behind the Wreaths Across America is that when a veteran, or when someone, dies there’s two times [of significance]. It’s when they physically pass away, and the last time that their name is spoken,” Morris said. “In this sense, when we go out and lay that wreath, say that veteran’s name, [have] a moment of silence and then place the wreath, the symbolism is that that person isn’t being forgotten. They’re still here with us, and it’s a way that we can remember them and honor their service and to really teach our children about the sacrifices that were made by so many.”
Morris said the event has sponsorship groups such as the kissing tree veterans group, AMThe VETS and the VFW, and they do fundraising to support the Wreaths Across America event at our cemetery. This will be Morris’ fifth year involved in the ceremony.
“We request folks to consider sponsoring a wreath,” Morris said. “This is something that is all driven by individuals and businesses that sponsor wreaths. And if folks have an individual family member who’s a veteran and they are buried in our cemetery, they can sponsor a grave specific wreath to ensure that their veteran has a wreath. It’s a great program that’s very meaningful to the family members and to the veterans in our community. I see each year so many of them that are impacted just by the sheer act of honoring those who’ve passed and who’ve sacrificed.”
Morris said a local volunteer, Sharon Lawrence, has done a lot of research and has identified over 950 veterans located in the city cemetery. Participating in the ceremony or sponsoring a wreath is a great way to honor their stories.
Sign up at this link https://www.wreathsacrossamerica. org.
