More than 200 people came out to the Mississippi Veterans Cemetery to participate in the annual Wreath Laying ceremony Saturday. The event, which was open to everyone, drew people from throughout Newton County who wanted to pay their respects to fallen veterans.
“I cannot believe the turnout today,” said Cemetery Director Henry Gruno. “There’s just so many people here.”
Gruno previously said the participation during the fundraising for the wreaths had also been “phenomenal,” with several community and civic groups helping raise funds to purchase the wreaths through Wreaths Across America, a national organization that aims to put a wreath on the grave of every veteran for Christmas.
“The community has really wrapped their arms around us,” he said.
Saturday’s event drew people from Union, Newton and Decatur as well as Boy Scout troops, Patriot Guard Riders, American Legion and of course, the families of those interned at the cemetery. All who came participated in a short ceremony prior to placing wreaths.
Sherry Harrison, chamber director for Union Chamber of Commerce, said Saturday was her first time participating in the Wreath Laying event.
“I came down on a Sunday after they had done it last year,” she said. “It was so beautiful.”
This year, Harrison said, she brought a group of young people from her church to give them an opportunity to give back to the community and teach them about the veterans cemetery.
For Margaret Mayze, a member of Woodmen of the World, an investment club in Newton which helped raise funds for the wreaths, Saturday was also a first-time experience. Mayze said she, too, was surprised by the number of people who attended, but it was a pleasant surprise.
Together, people from all walks of life joined to adorn almost 850 graves with a holiday wreath, a gesture of thanks for service in defense of their freedoms.
Thank you for coming out to honor our fallen heroes and the sacrifices made by their families,” said Brigadier General Stanley Budraitis, who served as the guest keynote speaker for Saturday’s event. “America is the land of the free because it is the home of the brave.”
Budraitis said he was honored to be the keynote speaker for a Wreaths Across America event because it is an organization that both honors veterans and works to educate the public about those who sacrificed to earn freedom for others. As long as people remember the brave men and women who serve, America will remain the land of the free, he said.
