INDIANAPOLIS — Volunteers will place holiday wreaths at thousands of gravesites in cemeteries across the country on Saturday, Dec. 17. Crown Hill will be one of more than 3,000 cemeteries participating in this annual event.
It is a free event and open to everyone.
Volunteers may place a wreath at the base of a headstone or columbarium niche in order to honor that veteran's legacy and to remember their sacrifice.
If you want to volunteer locally or sponsor a wreath for an American hero, you need to pre-register. You can help lay wreaths at as many graves as possible by clicking the red "Sponsor" button. Or, if you would like to volunteer to participate in the wreath-laying ceremony, which starts at 11 a.m., just click the "Volunteer" button next to the cemetery name. You can click the "Invite" button to invite your friends and family to join you.
Wreaths Across America started two decades ago at Arlington National Cemetery and has since spread to cemeteries across the country.
For the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, a caravan carrying thousands of wreaths is making its way from Maine to Arlington down the East Coast, stopping at schools, memorials and other locations to spread the yearlong mission to remember the fallen, to honor those who serve and their families, and to teach our next generation the value of freedom.
More than 5,000 veterans are buried at Crown Hill in Indianapolis and another 14,000 in nearby Marion and New Albany national cemeteries, which are also honoring their service on Saturday.