Fort Richardson National Cemetery honors the fallen in national Wreaths Across America event

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Volunteers across the country gathered Dec. 14 to lay wreaths on the graves of those who served.

The annual Wreaths Across America Day was celebrated by military members in Alaska and the volunteers who joined them at the Fort Richardson National Cemetery on JBER Saturday.

After remarks and color presentation, six wreaths were placed by active-duty members and family members of fallen servicemembers, otherwise known as Gold Star Survivors. The six wreaths placed honored each branch of military service.

Terry Michalski, one of the location coordinators and Coast Guard Veteran himself, said placing wreaths around the holidays prevents the fallen from being forgotten.

After seven years of volunteering for the event, Michalski believes this year was one of the best.

“I have to admit, I started to tear up when -and I knew I was going to – when we had the two Gold Star children. And that’s tough,” Michalski said after the ceremony, where two separate children who lost a family member who served presented wreaths to recognize the fallen.

“As far as ceremony goes, my favorite so far,” he said. “To have the kids there and I think there were a lot of eyes that weren’t very dry when that happened.”

Snow fell as the crowd dispersed to lay the wreaths on graves. “Whatever warm holiday tradition they might have celebrated, and you might celebrate, share that with them,” Col. Lisa Mabbutt encouraged volunteers to symbolically share their holiday joy with the fallen they recognized.

According to the Wreaths Across America website there were 4,151 wreaths donated by sponsors, covering more than half of the 7,000 graves at Fort Richardson Cemetery.

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