As the last bugle note faded in the distance, the crowd stood silently to pay its respects to the fallen heroes being honored Saturday.
Chilly air whipped through Chattanooga National Cemetery as officers placed seven wreaths on memorials during the Wreaths Across America Ceremony. The event was conducted by the Tennessee Wing Civil Air Patrol to honor military veterans.
Wreaths also were placed on 1,440 graves in the cemetery.
"The ability to place probably the most-well-known symbol of the most-well-known holiday against nearly 1,500 headstones is an honor and privilege," said Col. Barry Melton, a Tennessee Wing Civil Air Patrol commander. "Each wreath represents the heartfelt expression of 'thank you' for your service."
Family members, service members and community leaders gathered during the 4th annual ceremony that took place at noon Saturday. The observance was held simultaneously at more than 400 locations across the nation.
"It's just great being here ... to be able to see the families of these people and know that you've done something to help them," said Capt. Ron Broach, a Tennessee Wing Civil Air Patrol group 2 commander who led the ceremony in Chattanooga.
The wreaths were donated by 20 local organizations, including several chapters of the Sons of the American Revolution and Daughters of the American Revolution and several local churches, Capt. Broach said.
Several of the local organizations that donated wreaths had members with ties to the military including Pam McConnell, the regent of the Nancy Ward Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She has one son serving in the Army and another in the Air Force.
"It's just wonderful to be able to pass this along to our children and grandchildren and teach them that these men and women have made sacrifices for us," Mrs. McConnell said.
More than 150 volunteers helped place the donated wreaths on the selected section of gravesites at 7 a.m. Saturday. The number of wreaths donated was just enough to cover the two sections selected, Cpt. Broach said.
Cherry Parker, the service for veterans chairwoman for the Nancy Ward Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, who has veterans in her family from World War I on, was out placing wreaths on the gravesites Saturday morning.
As each wreath was placed on a grave, all the service members saluted -- a sight that was "breathtaking," Ms. Parker said.
"It was very sacred," she said.
WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA
A nonprofit organization, Wreaths Across America was established in 2007 as an extension of the Arlington Wreath Project started in 1992 by Morrill Worcester. The ceremonies continue to grow each year, and in 2008 wreath-laying ceremonies were held in more than 300 locations in every state. The event is held annually on the second Saturday of December.
Source: WreathsAcrossAmerica.org
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Wreath layingStaff Photo by Allison Kwesell Stewart Wreyford with the Civil Air Patrol Air Force Auxiliary lays a wreath on a gravestone at the Chattanooga National Cemetery. Since 1992 volunteers have laid wreaths at veterans' graves in the weeks before Christmas.
Joy Lukachick covers crime in North Georgia for the Chattanooga Times Free Press. She started working at the paper in July 2009 as an intern. Raised near the Bayou, Joy’s hometown is along the outskirts of Baton Rouge, La. She has a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Louisiana State University. While at LSU, Joy was a staff writer for the Daily Reveille. When Joy isn't chasing down stories, she is a full-time supporter of ...
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