531 fresh wreaths placed on graves in local cemetery

By Sandy Morris

Veterans buried in the Albany Cemetery were honored during a wreath-laying ceremony held last Saturday morning, with a large group of volunteers and family members on hand to help place a total of 531 wreaths.

The event was held in conjunction with the National Wreaths Across America Day, in which similar services are coordinated across the United States, at sea, and abroad, to coincide with the main observance at Arlington National Cemetery. 

A brief ceremony was held at the local pavilion before hundreds of wreaths were placed on graves throughout all parts of the cemetery. 

The recognition is intended to honor veterans from the Revolutionary War to present day conflicts and was coordinated locally by Henry and Melinda Musselman, along with a lot of hard work locating and documenting of veterans graves by Saundra Nobles. 

Veteran Jeff Phillips spoke at the ceremony and recalled his memories of spending a cold Christmas on a mountain in Korea. 

A total of 491 veterans were originally identified in the Albany Cemetery, but all 513 of the available wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves. 

Melinda Musselman, said she could not have been more pleased with the ceremony and the turnout from the community. 

“We had beautiful weather and had people from the community, family members, and Cub Scouts placing wreaths on the graves,” Musselman said.

She added that she and other participants learned some things about Albany. 

“This also was a learning experience for us because none of us really knew what we would find,” said Musselman. “We actually discovered there are two Civil War veterans buried in the Albany Cemetery.”

The local cemetery was not established until about 20 years after the Civil War, but those two soldiers both lived well into the 20th century, the oldest dying  in 1941 at the age of 99.

Musselman could not praise Nobles enough for all of her hard work. 

“Saundra did a phenomenal job for this community,” Musselman stated. “She is a real jewel, and we could not have completed this project without her help and hard work.” 

Musselman said she plans to continue the memorial next year and now knows what to expect.

“There were so many little things we didn’t know about, just like the wreath delivery,” said Mussleman. “We were given a general time that the wreaths would arrive, but we weren’t sure what to expect when they showed up with 513 wreaths packed in crates.”

Musselman and Nobles will continue to work to update the lists of veterans over the next year and encourage local citizens to contact them to verify their loved ones are on the list.

Nobles can be reached at 325-280-7725.