David Rolley places a wreath at the grave site of a U.S. veteran on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, as part of the Wreaths Across America event held at North Cemetery. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

BUTLER TWP — Serving as gifts from a grateful nation, wreaths were placed on more than a thousand graves of military veterans in North Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022, as a part of the National Wreaths Across America Day.

The cemetery was among 3,400 locations across the country where people gathered to honor fallen and living veterans, members of the United States military serving around the world and the tens of thousands of service members classified as prisoners of war or missing in action and to teach young people about the cost of freedom.

At North Cemetery, dozens of volunteers placed wreaths on the graves of 1,009 veterans following a military ceremony in which wreaths were dedicated to people who served and are serving in all branches of the military — Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and Merchant Marines.

After the service, the volunteers dispersed throughout the cemetery carrying a wreath to each veteran’s grave, which were marked with flags. After placing a wreath, each volunteer read the name of the veteran from the gravestone and paused for a moment of silence.

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