Volunteers spread Wreaths Across America at Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery
BY LEAH BETHEA
Last year , as John Griffin knelt and laid a Christmas wreath on a headstone at Milledgeville ’ s Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery , he was approached by a woman who asked him why it was that he was doing it .
“ Well , I just feel it ’ s my obligation , and I hope , by George , when I ’ m laid to rest out here somebody ’ s laying it on my headstone ,” he remembers telling her .
Griffin , an Army veteran , is commander of American Legion Post 6 in Milledgeville and he ’ s also the local group leader for Wreaths Across America , a national initiative whose mission is to distribute wreaths to be placed in military cemeteries all over the country as well as at locations at sea and abroad . The national initiative began back in 2007 , and it ’ s been a project that local volunteers have embraced for many years .
Each year in the months preceding Christmas , The American Legion calls on the community ’ s help to ensure that those who made the ultimate sacrifice are remembered during the holidays . The community helps by mak-
22 Milledgeville Scene | Holiday 2022