The Veterans Memorial Wreath Foundation invites the public to be part of a special event honoring veterans on Saturday, Dec. 18. VMWF will hold a military ceremony and wreath-placing event at 9 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park at Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery, 11220 Aurora Ave N in Seattle. The event is free, and will include a small, informal reception immediately following.

This year, approximately 2,000 wreaths will be placed at Washelli. VMWF President and Founder Lorraine Zimmerman hopes that in the near future, each of the 5,000 veteran headstones at Washelli will have a wreath.

“Due to the ongoing pandemic, we could not have a public event in Seattle in 2020,” said Zimmerman. “This year’s event will be even more special as we are finally able to gather and remember our military heroes together.”

The wreath-laying is part of the Wreaths Across America program, which places 1.7 million wreaths annually on veteran headstones at more than 2,500 locations in the U.S. and its territories. More than 1 million volunteers nationwide participate in wreath events. Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to  make a proclamation honoring wreath day.

The event includes a color guard presenting the colors, an invocation and a ceremonial wreath dedication where a person representing each branch of the military in dress uniform adorns a wreath that represents their branch of the military. The ceremony concludes with a bugler playing “Taps” and a 21-gun salute.

Following the ceremony, the public is welcomed to help distribute wreaths on veterans headstones. Those placing the wreaths are encouraged to state the name of the person on whose headstone the wreath is lain to help keep their memory alive.

In addition to individual contributions, this year’s wreaths funded through the Veterans Memorial Wreath Foundation were sponsored by Network for Good, The National Society Sons of the American Revolution, VFW Post #8870 in Edmonds and the Edmonds Daybreakers Foundation.

The cost of each wreath is only $15 each, with a portion going to VMWF’s Scholarship Foundation for military dependents. Donations can be made online at www.vmwf.org/give or by mailing a check made out to VWMF to PO Box 1611, Marysville, WA 98270.