The Gung Ho #909 Detachment of the Pike County Marine Corps League at a Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
MATAMORAS/GOSHEN—What began as a good use for a surplus of wreaths at Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine is now a tradition that spans states and continents. In 1992, owner Morrill Worcester donated excess wreaths to decorate graves at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to honor the men and women who served their country. After a photo of the garlanded graves went viral online, more and more people joined in, eventually covering all the graves in Arlington and expanding into a non-profit called Wreaths Across America. In 2014, the organization laid 700,000 memorial wreaths at 1,000 locations in the United States and beyond. The wreath-laying is usually held on the second or third Saturday in December, and on Dec. 12, simultaneous ceremonies were held in Matamoras and Goshen. Another one is scheduled in front of the Orange County Court House in Goshen on Dec. 19 at 10:00 a.m.
The Gung Ho #909 Detachment of the Pike County Marine Corps League at a Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A veterans supporter at the Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
The sign for Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Larry with the Gung Ho #909 Detachment of the Pike County Marine Corps League at a Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
The Gung Ho #909 Detachment of the Pike County Marine Corps League at a Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A Vietnam veteran takes a moment of silence after laying a wreath during a Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Matamoras Mayor Janet Clark laying a wreath during a Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
People laying wreaths during a Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A marker for the Spanish-American War in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A child plays by a World War II monument in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A veteran looks for the brick donated by his VFW post 8612 in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A brick donated by Mountain Laural VFW 8612 next to a WWII memorial in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A veteran salutes during a Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
The Gung Ho #909 Detachment of the Pike County Marine Corps League at a Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A line of flags and wreaths behind the Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
Bob Meyer, a Vietnam veteran at the Wreaths Across America ceremony in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A Silver Rose memorial in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A Vietnam War memorial in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A World War II memorial in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
A World War a II memorial in Veterans Memorial Park in Matamoras on Dec. 13, 2015. (Holly Kellum/Epoch Times)
