- Wreaths Across America is being celebrated on December 16 at noon at the Oak Grove and Lake View Cemeteries in Hillsdale.
- Dianne and Greg Paul brought Wreaths Across America to Hillsdale after moving here a few years ago.
- Thursday, wreaths were brought in by Meijer in preparation for the weekend's ceremony.
The people of Hillsdale are preparing to honor their veterans this weekend during Wreaths Across America. Dianne Paul, Hillsdale's Location Coordinator, brought an organization she had fallen in love with while living in Ohio, after finding a chapter did not exist in her new hometown. She reflected on how she found Wreaths Across America, "It was just something I heard on the radio and it just struck my heart. My father's a veteran in the U.S. Navy, and he was really into any volunteer-type work, so this just seemed (to be) something natural for me to do."
Both Dianne and her husband, Greg, are preparing for their second annual ceremony. Last year's brought in about 200 volunteers to lay wreaths. The Oak Grove and Lake View Cemeteries have over 1,000 veterans buried at each of their sites combined, dating back to the American Revolution.
Greg shared, "I'm an eleven-year Airforce veteran, so it mattered to me to do this, and it just keeps growing."
Army veteran and Meijer truck driver Donald Pratt drove the truck himself to deliver the wreaths. "Even though I don't know them personally, it's a brotherhood that we give respect to. If we didn't take care of our veterans, they would not take care of us, and I'm just happy to be a part of it," Pratt said.
This weekend's ceremony will include the civil air patrol, a 21-gun salute, and a personal touch... "What they do is, when you lay a wreath, you actually say the veteran's name," Dianne explained, "because they say nobody dies, really, until their name is never said again."
All involved are ensuring each veteran's legacy lives on, with each wreath laid. The ceremony will be held December 16 at noon at both the Oak Grove and Lake View Cemeteries in Hillsdale.
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