WASHINGTON -- Unfazed by the quarrels on Capitol Hill, a nonpartisan army descended Saturday morning on Arlington National Cemetery to tend to the graves of American heroes.
Despite the federal government shutdown, the burial grounds opened as scheduled at 8 a.m., allowing 10,200 volunteers to enter.
With the temperatures hovering around the freezing mark, they fanned out across the 624-acre graveyard, collecting the holiday wreaths that dotted the hallowed grounds.
They had gathered nearly a quarter-million of the evergreen tributes by 10 a.m.
Pamela Buckingham of Ashdown showed up early, getting in line with friends shortly after sunrise.
Once inside the cemetery, she got right to work, collecting as many wreaths as she could carry.
The first came from the tomb of Gerald Waltman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and a Silver Star recipient who died in 2006 at age 61.
The second had honored Robert Shirley Hawkins, a Marine Corps master sergeant who lost his life on Sept. 9, 1955, five days after his 32nd birthday.
The third had decorated the grave of "MARY E, AUG 3, 1870-SEP 16, 1955, WIFE OF SGT JR HARRIS."
Despite lying on the ground for five weeks, the balsam fir arrangements had hardly faded, Buckingham noted.
"They still smell good and they're still pretty green," she said shortly before delivering an armful to the nearest disposal site.
The ornaments originated in Maine and were donated by Wreaths Across America, a nonprofit group that decorates the cemetery each year.
Last year, the organization sent wreaths to 1,400 sites where American servicemen are buried, including veterans cemeteries in Little Rock, North Little Rock, Fort Smith, Fayetteville and Birdeye.
Wal-Mart, J.B. Hunt and Tyson helped deliver them.
Overall, more than 1.5 million wreaths were donated.
While the wreath-laying ceremonies all occur on the same day, the wreath-retrieval activities vary.
Little Rock's were gathered on Jan. 13; Fayetteville, like Arlington, collected its wreaths on Saturday.
Jeff Season, the volunteer coordinator in Little Rock, said 300-400 people showed up, rounding up 10,000 wreaths in about two hours.
Many of the workers came from Little Rock Air Force Base.
"It was freezing but sunny," Season said. "It went very smooth."
Hundreds of workers also turned out in Fayetteville, according to volunteer coordinator David Myers.
They carted away 7,400 wreaths in less than 2½ hours, he said.
"It doesn't really take that long. ... It goes relatively quickly," he said.
With Wal-Mart, Tyson and J.B. Hunt employees eager to pitch in, "We don't really have a problem with getting people to show up," he added.
The crowds are bigger in December; an estimated 5,000 people showed up for the Fayetteville wreath-laying; 600 or so turned out in Little Rock.
At Arlington, 80,000 volunteers showed up last month.
Buckingham said she would've enjoyed joining the December throngs, but welcomed the opportunity to help with the January effort.
"I am military so it's kind of a touching thing to do," she said. "There's been a lot of deaths in order for us to have the freedom that we have."
While Buckingham scooped up the wreaths with her bare hands, others used more elaborate methods.
Some were strung on broom handles; others employed rakes, hoes or pieces of rope.
"You can put a lot more wreaths on a stick like this than you can carry with two hands," Harry Phillips of Sterling, Va., said. "It helps with efficiency."
Volunteers appeared unfazed by the federal government shutdown.
Robert Kelleman of Arlington, Va., said it would take more than a congressional standoff to derail the cemetery work.
"The show must go on. The wreaths need to be picked up," he said. "That's a little disappointing that [the politicians] can't work things out but I'm confident they'll get something straightened out in the near future.
Hours earlier, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders had referred to Democrats as "obstructionist losers."
But there wasn't any trash-talking along Eisenhower Avenue as Buckingham wandered by.
At Arlington, signs demand "Silence and Respect" from cemetery visitors. Visitors typically comply with the command.
Phillips said the wreath-gathering was an opportunity for Republicans and Democrats to "work together; accomplish something important."
Once the task had been completed, some of the volunteers journeyed to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, arriving just in time to witness the changing of the guard.
Or a wreath-laying ceremony.
A spokesman for Arlington National Cemetery said the burial grounds won't be affected by the budget impasse.
"We will continue to operate on a normal schedule," she said, adding, "Our visitors should not be impacted."
Thirty veterans, on average, are buried at Arlington every day.
The services are typically scheduled months in advance; flights are booked, arrangements made.
Turning these families away isn't an option.
"Obviously we have a very important mission and our mission won't change," the spokesman added.
Metro on 01/21/2018