On December 17th people across the country gathered at cemeteries to lay wreaths for our fallen servicemen and women. We had the honor of participating at Arlington National Cemetery.
Unfortunately we had a spell of bad weather during the night and morning before, so the opening ceremony was cancelled. It was really an incredible thing to take part of. They estimated 44,000 people made it despite the weather to lay 245,000 wreaths. They bring in semi-trucks full of wreaths which are stopped throughout the Cemetery. Volunteers go up to the trucks and get as many as they can carry and start laying them out. The Cemetery opens two additional entrances to help with foot traffic, so you can enter through the main entrance, close to the Pentagon or close to the Iwa Jima Memorial. We parked at the Pentagon Row shopping center and walked the 0.5 mile to the Pentagon entrance.
We were there about 45 minutes and were only able to lay two arms full of wreaths. It was a wonderful event to volunteer at and I think this would be something that we would look for no matter where we lived as events are Nationwide.
Wandering Through Washington 