GREENSBORO, N.C. — Remember. Honor. Teach.
Those three words are the mantra behind Wreaths Across America, a national effort to lay wreaths on veterans' graves every Christmas. Obviously, COVID-19 is altering the way these ceremonies can happen this year, but not even a pandemic can pause patriotism.
This year, statewide COVID restrictions forced the cancelation of the annual public ceremony in Greensboro, but the Greensboro chapter fundraised, anyway. Then, Friday, Dec. 18, a small group of Caldwell Academy eighth-graders privately laid the wreaths on 1,100 Triad veterans' graves at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
"That commitment to honor and remember...and help them understand. It's hard to understand, because a sacrifice like that is really hard to understand," said Wreaths Across Greensboro co-founder Mike Lapeirre.
Lapeirre and his friend, U.S. Marine veteran Wade Harvey, founded the Greensboro chapter in 2013 after discussing the impact of the national event at Arlington. They wanted their children, especially, to learn about the heroes who protect our freedom at all costs. For seven years since, they've invited the community (usually 300 to 400 people) to the wreath-laying ceremony at Forest Lawn.
"We complain about things, we worry about things in our society...but there are people out there who take bullets for us," Lapeirre emphasized.
Sponsoring a wreath costs $15, and for $34.50 there is an option called a Patriot Pair, by which a donor can sponsor a wreath and get a wreath delivered to his or her home.
