The Apopka community, including veterans and their families, honored military members with the laying of wreaths on the gravesites of fallen heroes at the annual national Wreaths Across America Day.
The ceremony took place on Saturday, December 19, at Edgewood-Greenwood Cemetery in Apopka.
“The freedoms we enjoy today have not come without a price,” Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson said in his speech at the ceremony. “Lying here before us in this cemetery and across the nation are the men and women who gave their lives so we can live in freedom and without fear. We can worship as we see fit. We can raise our children to believe as we do. We can travel from one end of this great nation to the other and not have to ask permission to go. We are free to vote for whomever we feel should be in government office with no explanation needed. We have the right to succeed, and we have the right to fail, in whatever endeavor we wish to pursue.”
A veteran displayed a remembrance wreath for each of the military branches: Army, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, and Air Force. Two other wreaths were also exhibited, one for Merchant Marines and the other for prisoners of war and those missing in action.
Veteran Jason Fletcher led the crowd in prayer.
“During this time, Lord, we remember that there are only two defining forces that have ever offered to die for us,” Fletcher said. “The first is Jesus Christ, and second is the American soldier. One died for our soul, and the other died for our freedom.”
The Apopka Elks Club and Northwest Orange Republican Women, Federated donated money to purchase more than 300 remembrance wreaths for veterans’ graves, Nelson said.
According to a news release from Wreaths Across America, 1.7 million veterans’ wreaths were placed on headstones at 2,557 participating locations nationwide. After visitors do this, they remember the fallen heroes by saying each name out loud.
The full story starts on page 1A of the Friday, December 25, issue of The Apopka Chief.
The Apopka Chief and The Planter are weekly community newspapers, independently owned and family operated, that have served the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923 and 1965 respectively. Subscribe today!
