Nov 13, 2015 2 min read

Leaders from three Carmichaels organizations are hoping the national Wreaths Across America program next month will prompt more young people to participate in similar memorial events.

“We are seeing less and less participation at memorial events, especially for our veterans and soldiers,” American Legion Commander William Ross said. “The younger people are not involved in ceremonies like this, so we are just trying to keep the memories of these men going.”

For the last five years, members of the Carmichaels community gathered to remember and honor stories behind the stones at Laurel Point Cemetery by placing wreaths on the graves of veterans.

This year is no different.

Through the Wreaths Across America campaign, the Women’s Civic Club, American Legion Post 400 and Carmichaels Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3491 get the community to sponsor wreaths to place on the 320 veterans’ gravestones in the cemetery.

“It’s a respectful way of remembering that these names were somebody, somebody with a family who someone cared about,” Women’s Civic Club President Andrea Semenoff said. “They have a story and we shouldn’t forget them.”

The last two years, the group was able to raise enough money to sponsor a wreath for every stone in the cemetery, Semenoff said.

The national Wreaths Across America campaign places wreaths on veterans’ graves in more than 900 locations across the country and overseas.

The wreaths will be placed on headstones all over the world Dec. 12. Carmichaels will hold the Laurel Point Cemetery at noon, and anyone is invited to come and help place wreaths on the graves, while also spending some time reflecting on the names on the stones.

Carmichaels VFW Commander Skip Black said they hope to show younger generations the importance of honoring the people whose names are on the headstones.

“Anyone from the community is welcome to come out and join us,” Black said. “We hope that someone does this for us down the line.”