Organizer Philip Merry said the nonprofit group Christmas Honors started in 2009 when he went to the cemetery to pay respects to his wife’s grandfather. He said the view reminded him of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
When Merry looked up photos of the site at Christmas, he saw all the graves decorated through Wreaths Across America at Arlington, compared to thousands of graves at Fort Smith that weren’t decorated.
The cemetery agreed Merry could put up wreaths for the 12,000 veterans buried there at the time, and the Walmart Supercenter on Zero Street sold Merry supplies at $4 per wreath, and 95 cents per big, red bow.
“To this day, that’s all they charge,” Merry said. “We have now grown to 16,500 wreaths this year, and I am proud to say that we have been able to get approval from the Washington, D.C., Veterans Administration and the National Cemetery Association to where we will be putting up white Christmas lights at the Fort Smith National Cemetery at the various administration and service pavilion buildings, and then the solid, stone wall around its perimeter.”
Roughly 800 volunteers plan to gather at the Fort Smith Convention Center on Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. to fluff up the wreaths and put new bows on them.
The wreaths will then be placed along the perimeter of the cemetery, where on Saturday between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m., families can place the wreaths on the graves of their loved ones. A public ceremony will take place after that, with attendees being asked to lay wreaths on all the remaining headstones.
“The purpose of it is to pay remembrance, respect and tribute to the veterans who are buried at Fort Smith National, and to thank the families who shared them,” he said. “We’ve learned all too well that when somebody goes to war, they’ve got a wife and kids back home, so we pay tribute to both.”
Merry said one wreath should be placed per headstone unless both spouses are veterans, and should lean against the headstone at roughly a 60-degree angle. He said the process typically takes minutes to complete, and that volunteer teams called Wreath Patrol tour the cemetery each morning to fix any wreaths that have fallen.
Christmas Honors will also continue the read and ring tribute that started last year, where two person teams, made up largely of Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops, read the names of each veteran buried in the cemetery, and then ring a bell.
Merry said for the Civil War veterans buried there, volunteers call out “unknown soldier” 2,000 times.
“It’s just something we feel we need to do,” Merry said.
Merry explained Christmas Honors is separate from Wreaths Across America at Arlington. He said Wreaths Across America uses live greenery that is replaced each year, whereas Christmas Honors’ wreaths can last for roughly five years, only needing new bows due to water damage.
Merry said the nonprofit group is typically in need of volunteers to help collect the wreaths and dry them before they’re stored until next year.
Cleanup will be at the cemetery and the Fort Smith Convention Center on Jan. 5 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Merry said Christmas Honors believes there’s no way to adequately thank veterans for all they’ve done, but they can help ensure they’re never forgotten.
He said Walmart has helped by giving discounted wreaths for similar programs across Arkansas and Oklahoma.
“Any town that wants help to do this, we will help them,” he said.
Store manager Kelly Clark said Walmart sells roughly 14,000 discounted wreaths for veteran recognitions each year, which amounts to nearly 182,000 since the program started.
“It’s probably one of the coolest things you’ll ever see,” Clark said. “I think there’s nobody that gives any more than a veteran. It just humbles me to do something in a small, minute way to give back. Anything we do pales in comparison to the sacrifices that they made. We just do it to honor them.”
Links to donate or volunteer for Christmas Honors can be found through the organization’s website at www.ChristmasHonors.org .
Monica Brich may be reached by email at [email protected] .