Saturday, December 17 the Yountville Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with Wreaths Across America, hosted a wreath-laying ceremony at the Yountville Veterans Home Cemetery. Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, Wreaths Across America’s mission to Remember, Honor and Teach is carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 3,400 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad. Wreaths Across America started as a simple gesture of thanks that has grown into a national movement of dedicated volunteers and communities coming together to not only remember the nation’s fallen and honor their service, but to teach the next generation about the sacrifices made for us to live freely.
The ceremony, which began with The Presentation of Colours was lead by Mayor Marjorie Mohler. It included a ceremonial laying of wreaths, laid by U.S. Army: Mike Babber, U.S. Marine Corps: Mike Bundy, U.S. Merchant Marines: Ruffin Appersen, U.S. Navy : CJ Bertagna, U.S. Air Force : Katie Aeffer, U.S. Coast Guard: Clark Brandt, Vietnam War: Margaret Beaubien, Regent, Vineyard Trails Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. Lisa Peake, Administrator of the Veterans Home Yountville, thanked the crowd of over 200 volunteers and spoke about the experiences of the residents over the past 2 years and the history of the cemetery. The ceremony ended with an emotional rendition of Taps, play by CJ Bertagna.
The incredible crowd of volunteers then laid nearly 800 wreaths in honor of our veterans. It was a beautiful day and we want to send out a very heartfelt thank you to everyone who donated, volunteered and participated in this event.
Our goal for next year is to continue to increase the number of wreaths donated, in hopes of laying a wreath on each of the 6,000 graves and markers in the Yountville Veterans Home Cemetery. Help Us Kick Off 2023 Donations during a matching donation campaign!
Starting on National Wreaths Across America Day, Saturday, December 17, 2022 and running through Friday, January 13, 2023 – all wreaths donated through the Yountville Veterans Home Page will be matched by Wreaths Across America Headquarters for placement next December! DONATE NOW!
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