BY DONNA SWICEGOOD

To honor, remember and teach.

That was part of the reason a couple dozen people gathered at Oakwood Cemetery on Saturday to pay tribute to some of the veterans buried there and to hopefully begin a tradition in Statesville.

They met to pay tribute to local veterans as part of Wreaths Across America.

Kenny Wallace, a local veteran and pastor, said this wreath-laying was the first of its kind in Statesville, but he hopes it will become an annual event.

This wreath-laying is part of a nationwide program that began when Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, decided to take surplus wreaths from the holiday season and place them on the graves of those buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

From that simple gesture, Wreaths Across America was born, and for more than a decade, communities across the country have been holding ceremonies on the second Saturday in December.

This year, Wallace said, is the first year Statesville was the site of a Wreaths Across America ceremony.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time,” Wallace said.

For many years, Wallace has taken part in WAA ceremonies in other areas around Statesville.

Recently, he said, he decided this year as good as any time to hold the inaugural wreath-laying here. He said he talked with Bill Brater Nicholson of Funeral Home, and Nicholson signed on as the sponsor.

He also met with Statesville Recreation and Parks Director Richard Griggs to obtain permission to lay the wreaths at Oakwood and Belmont cemeteries.

Wallace said this first event was hastily-arranged but not one conducted without reverence and dedication.

He said the wreath-laying is aimed at remembering those who served, honoring the fallen, and teaching the next generation about the value of freedom.

The Iredell County Veterans Burial Detail provided a 21-gun salute and members of the Fort Dobbs DAR helped place the wreaths on the graves. Others joined in to place the wreaths. The ceremony also included laying of wreaths at the veterans’ monument in honor of each branch of service and those missing in action.

Wallace instructed those placing the wreaths to read the veteran’s name and branch of service as they placed the wreath.

Like Wallace, Deborah Haithcox, treasurer of the DAR chapter, said she hopes this is the starting point for an annual tradition in Statesville.

She said wreaths for next year’s ceremony can be purchased at any time. The wreaths are $17 each or a special of three for $30 is also offered through the DAR. Anyone wanting to purchase a wreath or take advantage of special can contact Haithcox at debhaithcox@bellsouth.net.

Wallace said he is planning to form a committee to work on making the second wreath-laying bigger and enable it to include all of the more than 2,500 graves of veterans buried at Oakwood and more than 600 at Belmont.

Regardless of the impromptu nature of Saturday’s ceremony. Wallace said, laying the wreaths on those graves is an honor – one every veteran deserves. “We want to make it bigger and better next year,” he said. 

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