Honoring The Fallen
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For the past four years, each December my father and I have donated our time to honor our fallen veterans at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery by laying wreaths on each grave. Each year, thousands of volunteers come out for Wreath Across America to do the same at our many national cemeteries and other locations across the United States of America. It is a special time for me because I have a big heart for our military men and women who serve and who have served our great nation. Maybe it is because I never took my opportunity to serve in this way, but I love to thank those who have bravely helped preserve my freedom.
Wreath Across America does something unique each year. Simply laying one of the 41,000 plus wreaths at each of the graves at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery is not enough. The organizers ask all volunteers to take one wreath at a time, respectfully walk to each grave, sweep away any debris, kneel down to lay the wreath, and then speak aloud the name of each person, so they are never forgotten. They say you die two deaths. Once when you breathe your last breath, and the second when your name is spoken for the last time. This is our way of honoring those who have fallen, and it touches my heart each year to speak those names aloud and honor them in this way.
If Wreaths Across America and honoring our fallen heroes is something you may be interested in, please check out their website and join me in 2020. This is a very humbling experience for young and old.
Fox 43 covered the ceremony in this video:
