MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Mountain State veterans are paying tribute today to those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our country this holiday season.
Veterans from across North Central West Virginia are joining veterans from across the country as part of the 4th Annual National Wreaths Across America Day where they are laying handmade wreaths onto the gravesites of fallen American soldiers at national military cemeteries across the United States.
Air Force veteran and Valley Healthcare System Veteran Partnership Coordinator Terry Vance is working today at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton along with representatives from the Wounded Warrior Project. A ceremony was to begin at noon.
“Here at the National Cemetery in Grafton, we’ve got our local Earl Anderson Marine Corps League Detachment 342 that’s going to be providing the colors, and they’re also going to be doing a 21-gun salute,” said Vance. “They’re going to start that at 12 o’clock at the top of the hill.”
According to Vance, volunteers that are participating in the National Wreaths Across America Day will lay just over 6,000 wreaths for soldiers that were killed in combat at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton on Saturday. Along with the holiday decoration, a similar amount of brand-new United States flags will be left at the grave markers, which will be done with the assistance of volunteers with the Wounded Warrior Project. This will also be separate from ceremonies that will take place around the Morgantown area on Saturday.
“You take the wreath, you lay it at the bottom of the marker where you leaned it up against the gravestone, and you say that soldier’s name that’s on that tombstone to honor that they will never be forgotten,” said Vance.
Vance also noted that the National Wreaths Across America Day is one of several commemorations that take place at the West Virginia National Cemetery in Grafton with the help of the Wounded Warrior Project. Separate ceremonies will also take place at cemeteries in Morgantown, where soldiers from across nearly a half dozen American wars are interred after being killed in combat. The ceremonies will take place on Saturday so all fallen soldiers can be recognized during the holiday season.
“They put the flags out during Memorial Day, but this is what I would say is something truly special,” said Vance on WAJR’s Talk of the Town. “The Wounded Warrior Project will also be participating, they’ll be doing something here in Morgantown, they’re going to be doing that at the Oak Grove Cemetery and the Lawn Wood Cemetery here in Morgantown.”
For Morgantown area veterans and representatives with the Wounded Warrior Project, this is one of several commemorative efforts that are taken to memorialize fallen soldiers throughout the year. These are separate from ceremonies that are hosted during Memorial Day and Veterans Day, where 21-gun salutes are conducted by veterans from across the Mountain State. With over 6,000 wreaths expected to be laid by gravestones on Saturday, Vance encourages Morgantown area residents to participate.
“Bring your kids and let them get involved in this, and when you see all those white tombstones that are in there at the National Cemetery, it is truly breathtaking,” said Vance.