Veterans Remembered With Wreath Ceremony

The Oskaloosa Honor Guard placed wreaths at the War Memorial on Saturday as part of the Wreaths Across America program to honor and remember veterans.

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The moment is designed to remember, honor, and teach, as over 1200 locations across the United States and beyond placed wreaths to remember the sacrifices of those in our armed forces.

Marla Van Dee is with the Daughters of the American Revolution and worked with the American Legion and VFW of Oskaloosa to hold the wreath ceremony at Forest Cemetery on Saturday.

The Honor Guard gathered at the War Memorial and at precisely 11:00 am, the ceremony began. Those other 1200 locations also began at the same time, no matter where they were.

The wreath laying ceremony started at Arlington National Cemetery in 1992 when a wreath company had extra left over.

In 1995, a photo of the graves adorned with the wreaths with red bows and covered in snow made its way across the internet and prompted the formation of Wreaths Across America.

The tradition continues to grow today from that single location at Arlington National Cemetery.

“It’s to honor our veterans at this time of the year, which we tend to forget,” said Van Dee.

Van Dee said that Daughters of the American Revolution volunteered to be the liaison with the project and this area.

Daughters of the American Revolution have just over 30 members. Each member can trace their ancestry to a family member who fought for or provided support to the troops in the American Revolution.

Honor Guard member Fred Bridges said, “A person dies twice: once when they take their final breath, and later, the last time their name is spoken.”

The wreaths were placed by the honor guard at the memorial, and a 21 gun salute was given.