Volunteers honor veterans with wreaths

The graves of approximately 625 veterans were decorated by family members and other volunteers at the Albany Cemetery last Saturday, during the annual Wreaths Across America Day program.

More than 50 volunteers and several family members of veterans fanned out across the cemetery to place fresh green wreaths with red bows on the graves of all identified veterans.

“I thought it all went well, and the weather was perfect,” said sponsor Melinda Musselman. “It is amazing that during that one-hour period across our country, the graves of over three million veterans were being honored.”

This was the fifth year the program was sponsored locally by Henry and Melinda Musselman, who cover the expense of ordering the wreaths.

Diana Nail and Ann Law Harwood served as co-organizers of the project this year, or as “boots on the ground” as referred to by Musselman.

“Diana and Ann did a tremendous job of getting things prepared and organizing the volunteers,” Musselman said. “They took over the role that Saundra and Jim Nobles did for the first four years, and everything went off without a hitch.”

Saundra Nobles has still been researching the graves of veterans and developed the map of veterans’ graves at the cemetery so volunteers can find the locations of the graves.

“We had community interest this year with many of the same volunteers returning this year, along with several new volunteers,” Harwood said. “Seeing the volunteer base grow will help guarantee the future of the program.”

She reported that several families of veterans were present to personally place wreaths on the graves of loved ones who were veterans.

The wreaths will remain in place for two to three more weeks. 

“We have volunteers lined up to collect them after the holidays,” Musselman said. “We will just watch the weather and try to miss anything really cold or wet.”

A group of Navy veterans visiting shipmate Matt Birkla, formed one the groups assigned a section of the cemetery. The group meets for the annual Army/Navy game each year, which happened to fall on Wreaths Across America Day this year.

Harwood reported that a total of 27 groups of two or more volunteers helped lay the wreaths this year.

A brief program was held at the cemetery pavilion with local Vietnam veteran Johnnie Hudman speaking. Jess Phillips led the prayer, and Dan Key played Taps.

Musselman thanked everyone who had a part in the project.