Volunteers place thousands of wreaths by grave stones at Wilmington National Cemetery

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Saturday marked the 14th annual Wreaths Across America Day.

Over 2,000 National cemeteries across the country commemorated the occasion, including the one right here in Wilmington.

The event was open to anyone who pre-registered to lay a wreath, with thousands being placed by grave stones.

The wreaths are usually laid at the same time. But the pandemic changed things this year, with five groups placing wreaths around the cemetery at different times.

Despite the challenges, organizers John Hacker and Bob Penwell say they were happy to help.

“We do this to honor our fallen veterans,” Hacker said. “I think with the wreaths, you feel good about the Christmas season. You’re giving back.”

“We were able to get around 3,500 wreaths,” Penwell added. “That’s the good news. The bad news is there’s about 5,223 gravesites here. So there’s some that will not be done.”

Although the group wasn’t able to place a wreath on every grave stone this year, they hope to have enough to do so in 2021.