Wreath cleanup takes place at North Dakota Veterans Cemetery

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Members of the Civil Air Patrol and the community came together on Saturday at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Mandan to clear the wreaths that had been placed before Christmas on Veteran’s graves.

Kevin Iverson, Coordinator for Wreaths Across America says the cleanup was supposed to take place earlier in January, however with the extreme cold temperatures they had to keep pushing it back until conditions improved. He says this isn’t the first time they have had to postpone a cleanup and they will usually do an assessment of what the temperature and wind chill will be prior. Iverson says what really makes this special is all the volunteers that come out to help not only during the wreath placing but also the cleanup.

“It really reflects what is the value of our freedom. These people, every single headstone here represents an individual that contributed something. Some gave their lives for our freedoms today, others contributed just a little bit. Everybody gave something, and it is represented out here. 8,400 headstones indicates a lot of sacrifice,” said Iverson

Iverson says the cleanup typically takes one hour with the volunteers that come out to help. He says they are already looking ahead to next year’s wreath-laying ceremony which will take place on Dec. 14.

For more information on Wreaths Across America, click here.

Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.