Cedar City, Iron County Residents To Unite To Remember Veterans

Iron County residents will be able to honor deceased veterans this Saturday in the annual Wreaths Across America program. Ceremonies will be held at various locations around the county.

Cedar City Councilman Scott Phillips is heading the effort for Cedar City. He was on the radio with us this morning and said we need to honor our veterans from all the communities. “The thing to remember, too, is that veterans who fought these wars came from every community in this country. When you join the military or when you're drafted, you know, it doesn't discriminate if you're from Modena or Summit or Parowan or Cedar City,” Phillips said.

In participating in Saturday's Wreaths Across America activity, Phillips says we are accomplishing two items of major importance. “This is our way to honor them, remember them, and to teach the next generation about the sacrifices that they did make for us,” the councilman told us.

Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit organization that coordinates a nationwide effort to honor and remember the veterans of the United States by placing wreaths on their graves during the holiday season.

The initiative began in 1992 when Morrill Worcester, a wreath maker from Harrington, Maine, found himself with a surplus of wreaths near the end of the holiday season. Remembering a childhood trip to Arlington National Cemetery, Worcester decided to donate the excess wreaths to the cemetery to honor and remember the nation's fallen heroes. This small, heartfelt gesture grew into a national movement.

Ceremonies are scheduled to be held at the cemeteries in Paragonah, Summit, Enoch, Cedar City, and New Harmony. The ceremonies in Paragonah and New Harmony are scheduled for 10AM, the event in Enoch has a noon start time and the Cedar City ceremony will start at 2PM.

“This happens regardless of the weather,” Phillips said. “I'm hoping because of that (a good weather forecast), we'll get a great turnout.” Participants will be able to take a wreath to the grave site of a veteran and speak the name of the veteran out loud. You do not have to been a contributor to be able to place a wreath. In fact “we ask anyone who wishes to. We have hundreds and hundreds that either don't have family here any longer or not able to do it, so we ask volunteers to come out,” Scott said.

The Cedar City Cemetery has 1,258 veterans buried within. The program at the cemetery should last about 35 minutes and will include the “missing man” formation provided by SUU Aviation.

“Be patriotic that day,” Phillips concluded. “Just thank those and give, and honor, and remember. That's what they need to do.”

You can listen to our segment with Councilman Phillips from the Wired Wednesday show below