Wreaths Across America Volunteers Pay Tribute to Veterans Interred in Alabama’s Cemeteries
By Amber Lanier Nagle
Last year, on a cool December morning in Auburn, a young Cub Scout in a blue uniform stood near a granite headstone, clutching a fresh evergreen wreath in both hands. He placed the wreath and bow on the slab, studied the letters carved into the stone, then sounded out the name the way Commander Damon Wallace had taught him.
“Thank you for your service,” he whispered before saluting.
He was one of 12 Cub Scouts from Pack 29 — boys and girls, kindergartners through fifth graders — who joined forces with Wallace and members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5404 in Auburn’s Town Creek Cemetery to place dozens of wreaths on the graves of veterans. Some of the youth may have been too young to fully grasp the concepts of sacrifice, service and freedom, but every one of them left understanding this: Courageous veterans were buried at the cemetery, and those veterans deserved to be acknowledged and remembered.
“The kids are already asking if we will participate again this year,” says Naomi Gehling, a scout mother who works as a committee chair and helps with communications for Cub Scout Pack 29. “And I say, ‘absolutely.’ It was a great way for us to teach our young people about sacrifice and service, and the scouts enjoyed working together with others. It was a very unifying experience for all of us.”
The efforts at Town Creek Cemetery were part of a nationwide day sponsored by Wreaths Across America (WAA), a nonprofit organization best known for remembering fallen veterans in December by placing wreaths at thousands of participating locations across the country and beyond. This year, WAA will place around 3.2 million wreaths at over 6,000 participating locations across the country, and more than 90 of those locations are in Alabama.
Coordination and logistics
“Our mission is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve, and teach the next generation the value of freedom,” explains Amber Caron, communications director for WAA. “And we do this with thousands of volunteers. Our volunteers are truly the beating heart of the program.”
She says National Wreaths Across America Day events are led by local volunteer coordinators.
“These coordinators organize volunteers for the day and work with city and county governments, authorities and media to plan and publicize their local events,” Caron says. “The coordinators and their teams work throughout the year to raise funds to pay for wreaths needed for the participating cemeteries in their communities.”
Coordinators and their teams encourage people, organizations and businesses to sponsor wreaths through the WAA website (wreathsacrossamerica.org). A $17 donation covers the cost of a single wreath, and donors can earmark their money for specific cemeteries.
The wreaths are hand-crafted of all-American balsam and hand-tied with a red velvet bow in Columbia Falls, Maine. These evergreen arrangements are then transported to participating cemeteries in every U.S. state via an “Honor Fleet.”
“The trucking industry has been tremendously generous, donating the use of their trucks, their people, their diesel and their time to Wreaths Across America,” adds Caron. “They get the wreaths to the sites.”
This year, more than 725 loads of veterans’ wreaths will leave Maine, and many of those wreaths will come to Alabama’s participating cemeteries, including Brookside Memorial Gardens in Millbrook (about 500 wreaths), Pineview Memory Gardens in Valley Grande (865 wreaths), Sunset Memorial Gardens in Midland City (600 wreaths), Chestnut Grove Cemetery in Decatur (25 wreaths), Highland Cemetery in Piedmont (500 wreaths) and Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo (12,500 wreaths).
Saying their names in Montevallo
This year, National Wreaths Across America Day will be held on Saturday, Dec. 19. Last year’s event at Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo drew over 2,500 family members, volunteers and supporters to their grounds to honor the fallen.
“It’s a true team effort,” says Eldon Woodie, WAA chairman for Alabama National Cemetery and chair of the Support Committee for Alabama National Cemetery. “So many help — the Support Committee for Alabama National Cemetery, the Blue Star Salute Foundation, the American Legion posts, the Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, Civil Air Patrol cadets, military service organizations, retiree groups, companies, charitable groups and so many others.”
Before the wreaths are placed, there is a short ceremony with musicians, singers, a fly-by, a speaker or two and the placing of ceremonial wreaths for each branch of service.
“And then we play ‘Taps,’” he says. “Family members go first. Some want to place the wreaths themselves, and we give them the opportunity to have some private time at the graves of their loved ones. After that, hundreds of volunteers make their way into the cemetery.”
One by one, the volunteers place wreaths at the headstones, pause, and read the veteran’s name aloud. Caron explains this graveside ritual.
“We feel that a person dies twice — one time when they take their last breath, and again the last time their name is ever spoken,” she says. “That’s why our volunteers say the name of each veteran — to ensure that person and his or her memory will live on forever.”
“I can tell you this: The day brings a lot of comfort to the families of the deceased veterans,” Woodie says. “And these volunteer activities — these acts of remembrance — have become a tradition for so many individuals and families who want to do something meaningful in the month of December.”
The wreaths remain in the cemeteries until January, when more volunteers are deployed to remove and retire them.
How it all began
The tradition traces back three decades, starting with Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine. As a young boy, Worcester had visited Arlington National Cemetery and learned about the service and sacrifice of our nation’s veterans. In 1992, when his company found itself with a surplus of fresh evergreen wreaths in its inventory, Worcester arranged for the extras to be placed at the headstones in an older section of Arlington. For over a decade, Worcester quietly donated wreaths to the Virginia cemetery.
Then in 2005, a photo of Arlington adorned with snow and wreaths went viral, and people all across the U.S. wanted to do something similar at cemeteries in their own hometowns. The Worcester family stepped forward once again and began organizing efforts throughout the country. They formed Wreaths Across America in 2007 to facilitate and lead a unified, nationwide effort of honoring veterans with wreaths and ceremonies. In 2008, they shipped 100,000 wreaths. This year, WAA anticipates about 3.2 million veterans’ wreaths will be shipped and placed.
“When people hear about what we are doing or see it with their own eyes, they want to get involved and help,” says Caron. “It’s a way to say, ‘thank you,’ to those who stepped up to serve. It’s a way to give back.”
National Wreaths Across America Day
Saturday, December 19, 2026 is National Wreaths Across America Day, a non-political nationwide effort to pay tribute to veterans, as thousands of volunteers place wreaths on markers in cemeteries in the U.S. and abroad. The theme this year is: Remember Me. #RememberHonorTeach
Wreaths Across America
wreathsacrossamerica.org
P.O. Box 249
Columbia Falls, ME 04623
Visit the website to get involved, find a local participating cemetery near you and/or make a donation.
