“We are not here to decorate graves. We are here to remember not their deaths but their lives.” With those words, Susan Gwaltney ushered in a new tradition in Clarkesville.
On December 17, Gwaltney and more than 100 Habersham Countians joined millions of people across the country observing National Wreaths Across America Day. The Saturday Noon ceremonies at the Old Clarkesville Cemetery and the VFW Memorial Park in Demorest were held simultaneously with observances at over 3,400 other locations nationwide. The coordinated gatherings continued a tradition that began as a grassroots movement three decades ago.
Inaugural year
This was Habersham County’s first year participating in Wreaths Across America. Habersham County residents Barry and Linda Church were instrumental in getting the VFW cemetery registered as a site for the annual wreath-laying ceremony. The Tomochichi Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which Gwaltney represents, is credited with bringing the observance to Clarkesville’s historic cemetery.
Both local events offered a beautiful blend of holiday spirit and patriotic pride.
Former Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal was the featured guest speaker at the VFW’s inaugural ceremony. He opened his remarks with a quote from Thomas Jefferson: “There is a debt of service due from every man to his country. Proportioned to the bounties which nature and fortune have measured to him.”
“That is a great statement in terms of understanding what our responsibilities are to our country,” Deal said.
The former Army JAG officer turned politician spoke of his time as a soldier and the challenges the military faces today. He closed his address by thanking veterans who “continue to remind us all of the responsibility of service.”
Reading from the same script shared at ceremonies across the country, VFW Post 7720 Sr. Vice-Commander Jim Morgan and Gwaltney spoke of service and sacrifice.
“Today, we show a united front of gratitude and respect across the United States of America as we remember the fallen, honor those who served and their families, and teach the next generation the value of freedom,” they told their respective audiences.
Teachable moments
For the handful of children who accompanied parents and grandparents to the ceremonies, it was a teachable moment about the sanctity of freedom.
“To our children, we want you to understand the freedoms you enjoy today have not been free but have come with a cost that someday you may have to pay yourself,” said VFW Post 7720 Commander Bill Miles. “As a nation standing together, we can defeat terrorism, hatred, and injustice. Thanks to our veterans, we have the freedom to do just that.”
It’s a message not lost on 6-year-old Gaines Waldon.
Gaines joined his mother and grandmother for the ceremony at VFW Memorial Park, where his great-grandfather, Horace Garey Huff, is buried. He has another great-grandfather buried at Arlington.
“It means so much to him,” said Joi Huff Campbell of her grandson’s participation in the ceremony. “As he’s getting older, he’s understanding a whole lot more about it, and I just want to be able to provide for him, to let him see the respect that we have for these people.”
The young boy laid a fresh Balsam fir wreath on his great-grandfather Huff’s grave.
Organizers arranged ahead of time for a few volunteers to present ceremonial wreaths in honor of each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces. This year, Wreaths Across America added the Space Force. Ceremonial wreaths were also presented in recognition of those U.S. service members still missing in action and who served as prisoners of war.
Ginger Swilley and her brother Scott Simmons laid the Air Force ceremonial wreath at VFW Memorial Park. Their family has a long history of Air Force service. In years past, Swilley traveled to Gainesville to participate in the annual holiday wreath-laying ceremony. She was glad this year to have the chance to participate in her home county.
“It was a very emotional ceremony as I truly love and appreciate the freedoms we have as Americans,” Swilley says. “We in Habersham are rich in service history, and I am so glad to be able to do a very little gesture.”
Anne Purcell of Clarkesville, whose late husband, Col. Ben Purcell, was a Prisoner of War in Vietnam, laid the ceremonial POW/MIA wreath at the historic cemetery in Clarkesville.
The ‘power of remembrance’
Lane Gresham was among those who attended in Clarkesville. Gresham serves as the chairperson of the nonprofit board overseeing the preservation of the historic Clarkesville cemetery. She says she’s grateful the DAR brought Wreaths Across America to town.
“I couldn’t get over the fact that we were all across the United States doing this at the same time on the same day,” Gresham said. “Just the power of that remembrance was awesome.” She continued, “It was meaningful for so many reasons. For the reasons obviously stated for the sacrifices made by the servicemen and women across our great nation and their families, but in the case of the cemetery, I loved that we started a new tradition for those at the cemetery who have been long lost to us as a community so that we could come together and remember them, as well.”
It’s a remembrance that organizers plan to continue into the future.
“This just really fits into what we thoroughly enjoy doing and what our [DAR] mission is as an organization of historic preservation and supporting the military and also teaching the young,” said Gwaltney.
“Now that we are in the program, we can do it every year,” said Morgan.
“Great program! I’m so glad that we were able to get our cemetery registered in the Wreaths Across America,” Miles said. “What a great ceremony and awesome, awesome feedback from everyone that was here and all of our volunteers. I mean, just look across the cemetery; it just looks awesome, honoring all of these veterans with these wreaths and their families for their service and dedication to this great nation.”
