Volunteers needed Dec. 19 to help with wreath tradition at veteran cemetery

CAMPBELL — Thanks to the generosity of the past and present citizens of Campbell and surrounding areas, every veteran at Woodlawn Cemetery will be honored with a balsam fir wreath on National Wreaths Across America Day.

The ceremony, which will be held simultaneously across the country at more than 2,500 participating locations, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 19, at the Landess Addition of Woodlawn Cemetery.

Everyone is invited to attend, according to a press release from organizers. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, masks will be required and social distancing will be practiced. There will be no seating provided at the event.

After the short ceremony, where ceremonial wreaths will be presented in honor of veterans of the Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Merchant Marines and POW/MIAs, attendees will be encouraged to assist in the laying of the wreaths on the headstones of the 414 veterans buried at Woodlawn Cemetery and Landess Addition.

The Chalk Bluff Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution raised funds to sponsor the wreaths, one for each veteran buried at Woodlawn Cemetery.

“Every donation and wreath sponsorship is a meaningful gift from a grateful American who knows what it means to serve and sacrifice for the freedoms we all enjoy,” said Karen Worcester, executive director of Wreaths Across America. “We are so grateful to the community of Campbell, Missouri, for participating in our mission to Remember, Honor and Teach.”

National Wreaths Across America Day is a free, non-political event, open to all people.

Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.

For additional information about the ceremony, contact Mary Lou Hill at 573-429-3169 or Linda Thompson at 870-598-0083.