500 wreaths to be placed
By Sandy Morris
Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, wreath-laying ceremonies are coordinated across the United States, at sea and abroad, to coincide with the main ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, and arrangements have been made for a local ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 19 at 11:00 a.m.
The brief ceremony will be held at the pavilion at the Albany Cemetery before the wreaths are placed on the graves.
This ceremony is to honor veterans from the Revolutionary War to present day conflicts and has been coordinated locally by Henry and Melinda Musselman, along with Saundra Nobles.
A total of 491 veterans have been identified in the Albany Cemetery and 500 wreaths have been donated to lay at each veteran’s grave.
Melinda Musselman, who spearheaded the event, said she and her husband felt this was an important event to bring to Albany.
“We wanted to make sure we honored all of our local veterans who served our country,” said Musselman.
Nobles was responsible for a majority of the leg-work when it came to locating the names of the veterans.
“Sam Burge and I walked the cemetery, and I visited the memorial on the square and used the “Find a Grave” website in order to locate all of the veterans buried in the Albany cemetery,” said Nobles.
Nobles mapped out the cemetery in 18 different sections and asked for volunteers to help place the wreaths.
“I’ve had a great response for volunteers from other veterans, the Boy Scouts, the ag department at the high school, and local citizens,” stated Nobles.
Musselman is not only excited about the response from the community, but is quick to emphasize that the local ceremony will take place at the same time as the ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery.
“How wonderful is it that we will be paying respect to our local veterans at the same time veterans buried in Arlington National Cemetery are being honored?” stated Musselman.
Anyone who would like to be involved or to personally place a wreath on the grave of a family member or friend can contact Nobles at 325-280-7725 to make arrangements for placement.
