Photos by Fort Hunter Liggett
CONTRIBUTED ARTICLE
KING CITY — Last Saturday the VFW Post 6747 Auxiliary hosted King City’s second annual Wreaths Across America, a national event with the goal to remember the fallen veterans, honor those who serve and teach children the value of freedom.
Fort Hunter Liggett Commander, Col. Kerry E. Norman, was the keynote speaker, and the Garrison Chaplain, Col. Greg J. Long, provided the invocation. King City Mayor Mike LeBarre and Auxiliary President Sandy Lockwood also spoke at the Dec. 16 event. Participants and Boy Scout Troop 101 laid wreaths at veterans’ gravestones at the end of the ceremony.
Col. Norman urged participants to not dwell on the chaos in the world but instead to focus on those that selflessly serve the community and the country and represent the American values.
“Let us focus on the veterans — for their devotion, patriotism, selfless service and sacrifice on behalf of us all. It is their loyalty to our country, and their great courage, that have made us what we are today — and what we’ve been for more than two centuries: the land of the free and the home of the brave … a beacon of hope in an increasingly complex world,” Col. Norman said.
In her closing remarks, she said, “I am proud to be an American soldier and I am honored to be amongst my fellow Americans.”
According to Auxiliary member and master of ceremonies, Kathy Merritt, Wreaths Across America started in 1992 as a simple gesture of gratitude by one man, Morrill Worcester, a wreath maker from Maine.
More than 1,300 participating locations and nearly one million dedicated volunteers now participate to remember the fallen veterans, honor those who serve and educate the next generation on the value of freedom.
For more information on the program, go to www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.
