Volunteers craft holiday wreaths for fallen soldiers
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Bright red bows and thousands of wreaths brightened up the First United Methodist Church in Killeen on Saturday morning.
Around 150 volunteers helped prepare more than 2,400 wreaths just in time for the holidays. Instead of adorning doors, the wreaths will decorate the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen.
Jean Shine is the President of Friends of the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery. She says the holidays are a perfect time to remember fallen service members.
"This day is honoring those who have served our country, to give us a free country to live in," she said.
Volunteers are needed to help retrieve the holiday wreaths on Jan. 2 at 2 p.m. at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery.
The
Wreaths for Vets program started five years ago shortly after the cemetery opened. Shine got the idea for the project when she noticed the cemetery looked unusually bare during the holidays.
"I looked out onto the cemetery and we had hundreds of grave sites in our first year out there with no wreaths," she said.
Shine drove all the way to Austin 10 days before Christmas to gather 400 wreaths for each grave site. She says the project has grown every season since.
This year, Wreaths Across America donated six ceremonial wreaths to the cemetery to represent each branch of the military.
Carol Morgan helped out Wreaths for Vets for the first time Saturday. She says the project has special meaning for her.
"My father was a veteran of three wars,” Morgan said. "World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam, and he is there, so I did it for him," she said.
Volunteer Jose Lerena is a 12-year veteran of the Army himself. He said he was touched that so many people in the community came out to participate in the project.
"Our cemetery represents generations of veterans who have made this a free country for all of us," he said.
The wreaths will be placed around the cemetery during a ceremony on Nov. 27.
According to Shine, the group's efforts are made possible through donations and volunteer work. She hopes the program will only continue to expand with every new holiday season.
Around 800 graves are expected to be added to the cemetery every year.