Monitor Photo/Denise York
Matt Smith (center) teaches daughters Delta (left) and Georgia a lifelong lesson as he shows them how to place the wreaths to honor and remember local veterans.

Monitor Photo/Denise York
Wreaths representing each branch of service are displayed before being placed on stands at the Wreaths Across America event at Eubanks Memorial Cemetery Dec.17. In all, 194 similar wreaths were placed on graves of veterans in that cemetery as well as over 420 in nearby Oaklawn Cemetery.

Monitor Photo/ Denise York
Local veteran John Farmer gives a final salute as he places a wreath on the grave of a former student of his, Robert E. Lewis, Jr.

Monitor Photo/Denise York
Doug Compton plays  “Taps” on a bugle and “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes as part of the ceremony honoring local veterans Dec. 17. 

MABANK–Saturday, Dec. 17 marked the fourth year the City of Mabank and the Sarah Maples Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) teamed up to make sure local veterans are remembered during this holiday season by participation in Wreaths Across America (WAA).
Wreaths Across America is a non-profit organization formed in 2007 as an extension of The Arlington Wreath Project. Its mission is to “Remember our fallen Veterans, Honor those who serve and Teach our children the value of freedom.
Each year participation has grown with wreaths being laid in 3,649 locations in the U.S. this year and in 26 locations abroad. This is the second year wreaths have been laid in Oaklawn Cemetery, along with the original Mabank location, Eubanks Memorial Cemetery, Cedar Creek Lake. This year, 194 wreaths were placed in Eubanks Memorial Cemetery and over 420 were placed in Oaklawn Cemetery to honor those who served our country and fought for our precious freedom.
Susan Martz-Cothran quoted former President Ronald Reagan in her remarks, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on to them to do the same or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children’s children what it was once like in the United States where men were free.”
Members of the community, families of veterans, city officials, boy scouts, students and others gathered on a chilly December day to fulfill a promise to never forget the brave men and women who served and sacrificed to maintain our freedoms. Wreaths were placed on each marker, the veteran’s name read aloud and a thank you was stated. It’s a small thing, a symbolic act that speaks of a grateful nation who remember and honor those who secured and continue to secure our way of life in “the land of the free and the home of the brave.”