Vietnam veteran Jerry Nielsen lost a cousin and nephew in the Iraq War and his father served in World War II.
For Nielsen, seeing hundreds of folks gathered at the Salt Lake City Cemetery on Saturday morning to lay wreaths on the graves of veterans as part of Wreaths Across America means the world.
"I just have to come out and honor veterans and people who didn't make it back," Nielsen said. "It's just good to see as many people come out who really didn't serve. They're honoring the people (who did serve)."
Each December, Wreaths Across America holds ceremonies to remember, honor and teach citizens about the sacrifices veterans made for the country by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as more than 3,700 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad.
This year marked the fourth year that the Salt Lake City Cemetery — the largest municipal cemetery in the country at 122 acres — has participated in Wreaths Across America.
Robin Gochnour, location coordinator for the Salt Lake City Cemetery for Wreaths Across America, said the event has grown yearly since she started volunteering to coordinate the annual wreath laying.
“This year, we will be covering 2,500 (graves),” Gochnour said. “Our goal is to expand every year into more and more sections because there are literally thousands of veterans buried in this cemetery.”
Though she didn’t grow up in a military family, Gochnour is well acquainted with them now, as she has a son and son-in-law serving in the military.
She believes that the sacrifices of military members — along with the sacrifices of their families — should be valued and remembered by the larger community.
“It’s really important for us to have kids come because we need them to learn what the values of freedom are and how we, as a country, have been able to keep all those freedoms by people who are willing to stand up and fight for what we need and to protect those around the world who are unable to do that themselves,” Gochnour said.
After a ceremony that included the presentation of colors, the National Anthem, eight ceremonial wreaths being laid to represent each branch of the armed forces and a performance of "Taps," the attendees spread throughout the cemetery and quickly began laying wreaths at headstones.
"Today, we show a united front in gratitude and respect across the United States of America as we remember the fallen, honor those who serve and their families and teach the next generation the value of freedom," Gochnour said. "We are so grateful to the good people of this wonderful community for participating in our mission to remember, honor and teach."
Anyone interested in getting involved can find more information about doing so by going to the Wreaths Across America website, with Gochnour adding that she'd love to see even more participants next year.
