The Missouri Veterans Home-St. James is hosting its annual Wreaths Across America Day celebration on Dec. 13 at 11 a.m.

“They do a Wreaths Across America ceremony for the small cemetery they have on-site,” Missouri Veterans Commission Public Relations Director, Aimee Packard, explains. 

The free event will consist of a ceremony honoring those that have served, followed by a wreath-laying ceremony. The ceremony will honor fallen heroes with a remembrance wreath placed on their graves, having each and every veteran’s name said aloud.

The Missouri Veterans Commission has partnered with Wreaths Across America since 2009. In previous years ceremonies, there have been scenes of speeches given by former veterans and a trumpet player that honors the veterans with a patriotic tune. 

Wreaths Across America is a national nonprofit that was created in 2006, and the group has ceremonies in all 50 states at over 5,200 locations. The wreath-laying tradition began in 1992 with a 5,000 wreath donation to Arlington National Cemetery by Morrill Worcester, owner of the Worcester Wreath Company. After photos would repeatedly go viral of the annual tradition, the nonprofit was created to expand Worcester’s message of honoring veterans to more communities. The group’s stated mission is to remember those who have sacrificed their lives to serve our country, honor those people, and teach others how to honor veterans. 

“It is a national organization that does the fundraising for the wreaths, and then they use the local coordinator to actually transport and lay the wreaths. Then, there is a short ceremony at eleven as well,” said St. James Veterans Home Volunteer Service Coordinator Pamela Williams. 

The ceremony will also take place at the other Missouri Veterans Home locations: Bloomfield, Ft. Leonard Wood, Higginsville, Jacksonville and Springfield.