Locals honor fallen veterans with holiday wreaths

A cold, gray morning cast a somber mood on Mountain View Cemetery on Saturday. Still, there was a moment of truly generous spirit as well. For the first time, Wreaths Across America raised enough money to place a memorial wreath on the grave of every veteran in Mountain View Cemetery.

On December 19, nearly 200 people gathered at Mountain View Cemetery to honor veterans as part of the Wreaths Across America. 

The ceremony, held before the statue of the Unknown Soldier at the center of the cemetery, was brief out of concern for the cold and limits on gathering times. The Color Guard and Pledge of Allegiance were led by Longmont’s Boy Scout Troop 64 and Girl Scout Troop 74447. 

Delaney Druckman speaks to the crowd at the base of the Unknown Soldier statue. (photo by Matt Maenpaa). By Matt Maenpaa

Chaplain Ron Wunsch led the volunteers in a prayer for the fallen veterans. Delaney Dreckman, the location coordinator for Wreaths Across America, spoke to the crowd in a brief speech. In addition to thanking the sponsors, donors and volunteers, Dreckman spoke of the importance of remembrance. 

She recalled a quote about how a person has three deaths, “once when the body ceases to function, again when the body is lowered in the grave, and then when your name is spoken for the last time.”

The ceremony concluded with Mike Pierce playing ‘Taps’ on bugle.

Observers and volunteers gather around to honor veterans at Mountain View Cemetery. . By Matt Maenpaa

Members of the Combat Veterans Association, Veterans of Foreign Wars and current service members were in attendance. One of the larger sponsorship groups was a collaboration between Republican Women from Longmont and Boulder County. Aside from sponsoring a significant number of wreaths, the group provided hot chocolate and donuts for all in attendance.

Jane Meagher, president of the Boulder Republican Women, said they wanted to focus their collective efforts on one place. “It really came together with about 20 people from the three local Republican Women’s groups.”

Meagher said they hadn’t been a military family until their son enlisted. “We started to really consider the sacrifices our soldiers make, even if they don’t see it themselves,” she said. “I think it’s so important to place these wreaths, to say their names aloud and truly honor the sacrifices.”

According to the Wreaths Across America website, the Mountain View location raised enough funds to sponsor more than 16,000 wreaths. After the tough year, Dreckman felt it was something of a holiday miracle. “For some families, this is the only Christmas tradition they get to have this year. It means a lot to see the generosity.”

The next event for Wreaths Across America will be the wreath cleanup in late January. 

The fundraising for this year went above and beyond expectations. Dreckman said that they already had more than 100 wreaths for the 2021 ceremony. “We plan on growing in 2021, with more fundraisers throughout the year and a bigger ceremony in 2021.”