GREENSBORO, N.C. — Remember, honor and teach -- it is the profound mantra of Wreaths Across America, an effort to show respect in remembering heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice.
Every year, volunteers lay wreaths on thousands of veteran graves at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. More than a decade ago, two Greensboro friends heard about the mission and felt inspired.
"We knew about the program that happened every year in Arlington and thought about taking our collective six kids on a road trip, and then thought the better of it in December. So, we said, 'Let's just do a program here, and low and behold, 11 years later...'" reflected Wreaths Across Greensboro co-founder Mike Lapeirre.
He and friend Wade Harvey, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, established the local chapter. It puts on annual events, rain or shine, at Forest Lawn Cemetery, where more than 1,100 Triad veterans are buried.
This year, the organization is fundraising $20,000 to put wreaths on all of their graves, hoping to show support to the loved ones they left behind.
"When you stand there and watch a man who's in his 50s or 60s with tears in his eyes talking about his dead son, that's why we do it. I don't know who we touch and who we don't, but it takes only one to feel like OK, it mattered," Lapeirre said.
The community is invited to the 11th-annual Wreaths Across Greensboro:
- Saturday, Dec. 16
- 11 a.m.
- Forest Lawn Cemetery
- Parking and shuttles at Spencer Love Tennis Center
- Sponsor a wreath here