COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — Volunteers in Southern Colorado joined with thousands of communities across the country Saturday to honor fallen members of the military as part of Wreaths Across America Day. The national nonprofit group Wreaths Across America (WAA) was formed as a charity in 2007 and invites veterans, current service members, and their families to participate in a day recognizing the shared sacrifices of members of the military.
Volunteers placed holiday wreaths on the headstones of service members buried in Evergreen Cemetery, Pikes Peak National Cemetery, and Roselawn Ceremony in Southern Colorado.
Janice Miller was one of the volunteers who participated in the event at Pikes Peak National Cemetery. She said seeing all of the headstones demonstrates the tremendous sacrifice that members of our armed forces make.
"There's just so many people and this is just one cemetery," Miller said. "So, when you're privileged enough to be able to come and share in that, and we say the person's name and we thank them for their service as we place the wreath."
Nathan Roebuck volunteers with Trail Life USA and has participated in Wreaths Across America for the past four years. He and his family were part of the event at Evergreen Cemetery on Saturday.
"Because you get to learn about what the veterans did for you," he said when asked about why he participates.
Maryam Adams, who volunteers with American Heritage Girls, was participating in her third event at Evergreen. She and other members of American Heritage Girls worked to raise the money needed to purchase enough wreaths to decorate every headstone.
"The first year, I didn't really understand it that much. And this year was more of a fun time to try and reach the goal," Adams said.
Wreaths Across America supplies local organizers with a set of ceremonial wreaths each year that represent the various branches of the military. The group provided an eighth wreath this year to represent the United States Space Force.
