WJIL-WJVO facilitates local participation in national Wreaths Across America program
Photos and story by Julie Gerke
Jacksonville’s veterans were remembered Dec. 16 during a Wreaths Across America ceremony that brought about 350 wreaths to veterans’ gravesites at the city’s four cemeteries.
The local program, now in its third year, is sponsored by WJIL-WJVO radio stations and is part of a larger nationwide program.
Station owner/general manager Sarah Shellhamer said the annual effort brings together families, volunteers and members of service organizations. Wreaths are reserved in advance and delivered to each cemetery, where volunteers or family members place them at specified sites.
Waiting for the wreath delivery at Jacksonville’s historic East Cemetery, Ben Boehlke and son Chad, 17, took the opportunity to find the gravestone of boxing great Ken Norton and to share some of the cemetery’s history with other visitors. Father and son have laid the wreaths for several years, initially helping as part of a Boy Scout troop.
Earlier in the day, Williamson Airsman-Hires Funeral Home hosted a short service featuring an honor guard, rifle squad, music and inspirational words. “Our goal is to decorate each veteran’s grave,” Shellhamer said, noting the local program has expanded from 150 wreaths during the first year to 350 this year. “We do the best we can.”
“We appreciate the community support and appreciate the fact [donors] recognize veterans during the holiday season,” she said.
