SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Members of Team Seymour along with Wayne County dignitaries and local community members, gathered for the 5th annual Wayne County Wreaths Across America ceremony Dec. 16, 2017, in Wayne County, North Carolina. Over 30 members of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, volunteered at this year’s event to hand out and lay wreaths on the graves of fallen service members.
Wreaths across America began in 1992 when the Worchester family donated their surplus of wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery.
This year’s Wayne County Wreaths Across America ceremony raised funds for more than 800 wreaths to be laid on the graves of fallen service members at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in Princeton, North Carolina and at the Eastern Carolina State Veterans Cemetery in Goldsboro, North Carolina.
“This year across the nation and overseas, Wreaths Across America has placed 1.5 million wreaths,” said Tawnya Tucker, Wreaths Across America event coordinator for Wayne County. “I believe that it is our duty to make sure that they are never forgotten, that is why my family and I do this.”
Col. Brian Armstrong, 4th Fighter Wing vice commander, spoke during the Evergreen Memorial Cemetery wreath-laying ceremony.
“The relationship that Seymour Johnson Air Force Base has with its neighbors is honestly second to none, it is a shining example of the profoundly special bond we have with those we serve and this bond comes with a promise that our sacrifices will never be forgotten,” proclaimed Armstrong. “This event is proof of that promise and I’m proud to be a part of it.”
Next year’s Wreaths Across America is scheduled for Dec. 15, 2018.