Volunteers decorate veterans’ graves, honor service members
BUTLER TWP — Serving as gifts from a grateful nation, wreaths were placed on more than a thousand graves of military veterans in North Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, as a part of the National Wreaths Across America Day.
The cemetery was among 3,400 locations across the country where people gathered to honor fallen and living veterans, members of the United States military serving around the world and the tens of thousands of service members classified as prisoners of war or missing in action and to teach young people about the cost of freedom.
At North Cemetery, dozens of volunteers placed wreaths on the graves of 1,009 veterans following a military ceremony in which wreaths were dedicated to people who served and are serving in all branches of the military — Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines.
After the service, the volunteers dispersed throughout the cemetery carrying a wreath to each veteran’s grave, which were marked with flags. After placing a wreath, each volunteer read the name of the veteran from the gravestone and paused for a moment of silence.
Among the volunteers was Kathy Froiland of Butler and her 12-year-old grandson Tanner William. She said she volunteered in honor of her niece’s husband, who serves in the Air Force; her father Ron Liebler, who served in World War II, and her grandfather, who served in World War I.
Members of Butler High School’s Junior ROTC program volunteer every year.
“It helps support the veterans,” said Logan Carlson, a high school junior in the ROTC. “I’m planning to join the Army after I graduate, and it’s nice to honor the dead.”
Wreaths Across America is meant to remember the men and women who gave their lives in the fight for freedom, said Chris Marlar, a Boy Scout leader and Butler City’s emergency management coordinator, who spoke at the event.
The event is a united sign of gratitude for the sacrifices of service members and teaches youths about the value of freedom, he said.
“Freedom comes at a cost kids might have to pay in the future,” Marlar said.
Butler County Commissioner Leslie Osche said similar events took place at several other cemeteries in the county. She said she appreciates the involvement of youths and Scout members.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to honor veterans no matter where they’re buried,” Osche said.
The wreaths will be retired on Jan. 28.
The temperature was a few degrees below freezing, and light snow fell during the ceremony, but organizers said the weather was an improvement over last year, when a rainstorm occurred and the year before, when there were several inches of snow on the ground.
