Honor deceased veterans at two ceremonies on ‘National Wreaths Across America Day’

In this 2016 file photo members of the Patriot Guard Riders stand a flag line while cadets from the St. George Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol carry Christmas wreaths during a "Wreaths Across America" ceremony at Tonaquint Cemetery, St. George, Utah, Dec. 17, 2016 | Photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The St. George Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol and the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution, Color Country Chapter have worked hard to ensure veterans from St George are not forgotten this holiday season.

Emma Connor, age 2, carries a Christmas wreath to place on the grave of a veteran at Tonaquint Cemetery, St. George, Utah, Dec. 17, 2016 | Photo by Hollie Reina, St. George News

Saturday is “National Wreaths Across America Day,” and a remembrance ceremony will be held at the Tonaquint Cemetery to ensure the 700 individuals buried in the cemetery who served to protect the freedoms of our country are not – and never will be – forgotten. The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at the Tonaquint Cemetery, 1777 S. Dixie Dr, St George.

Wreaths will also be placed on the graves of the Native-American veterans buried at the Shivwits Band of Paiutes Cemetery off old Highway 91 in a ceremony at 1 p.m.

The community is invited to remember veterans by helping place the wreaths at either or both ceremonies.

“We are not here to decorate graves. We’re here to remember not their deaths, but their lives,” said Karen Worcester, executive director of Wreaths Across America.

Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies each December at Arlington, as well as over 1,500 veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.

About the Civil Air Patrol

Civil Air Patrol, the longtime all-volunteer U.S. Air Force auxiliary, is the newest member of the Air Force’s Total Force. In this role, the Civil Air Patrol operates a fleet of 560 aircraft, performs about 90 percent of continental U.S. inland search and rescue missions as tasked by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center and is credited by the center with saving an average of 80 lives annually.

The Civil Air Patrol’s 56,000 members also perform homeland security, disaster relief and drug interdiction missions at the request of federal, state and local agencies. They also play a leading role in aerospace/STEM education, and its members serve as mentors to 24,000 young people participating in the organization’s cadet programs.

To learn more about the Civil Air Patrol go to their website and follow the St George Composite Squadron on Facebook

Event details

  • What: National Wreaths Across America Day.
  • When: Saturday, Dec. 16, 10 a.m. at Tonaquint Cemetery and 1 p.m. at Shivwits Band of Paiutes Cemetery.
  • Where: Tonaquint Cemetery, 1777 S. Dixie Drive St. George. | Shivwits Band of Paiutes Cemetery, off Old Highway 91.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

 

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