Staff Photo by Shane McMillan -- Army Col. Paul Christopher prepares to hang a wreath during a ceremony at the Chattanooga National Ceremony on Saturday. The ceremony followed the placement of over 1,000 wreaths on headstones in the cemetary by the Civil Air Patrol, Sons and Daughters of the Revolution, veteran's groups and citizens in memory of each branch of the military, as well as POW/MIA service members and the Merchant Marines.

The Chattanooga National Cemetery was one of over 350 locations in the United States on Saturday that participated in Wreaths Across America, an annual ceremony that honors U.S. veterans.

“The freedoms that we enjoy today have not come without a price,” said Capt. Ron Broach of the Civil Air Patrol, the leader of the ceremony. “Lying here before us and in cemeteries throughout this nation are men and women who gave their lives so that we can live in freedom and without fear.”

With the help of sponsors, volunteers placed 1,022 wreaths on gravestones in Chattanooga National Cemetery early Saturday morning.

“As we drove into the cemetery this morning and saw the dozens of people placing wreaths of honor on these men and women’s graves, I can’t tell you how personally moving it was for me,” said state Rep. Kevin Brooks, R-Tenn., and one of the event’s speakers. “It’s a scriptural mandate for us to give honor to whom honor is due, something that we should never forget.”

E-mail Laura Galbraith at lgalbraith@timesfreepress.com