Wreaths Across America at Andersonville

For a fourth year in a row, a holiday wreath was placed at every headstone at Andersonville National Cemetery for the Christmas season. Roughly 2,000 volunteers took part in placing wreaths at each of the headstones for the event that was observed in 4,600 locations across the country. The principal partner that made the event possible was the Taylor Foundation, which is a part of the Bennett Family of Companies. The wreath laying began at noon on Saturday, December 14, 2024 with a commemorative ceremony at the Cemetery Rostrum.

A tradition of the event at Andersonville is to honor four veterans that were interred at the cemetery in the past year. Those paid tribute to were Lieutenant Junior Grade Dannelle W. Messner, U.S. Navy, Captain Ben A. Rice (Chaplain) U.S. Navy, Master at Arms First Class Zenith L. Parker Sr, U.S. Navy and Private Betty C. Parker, U.S. Army.

The Bennett Company used several of their long-haul trucks to travel to Maine and pick up the wreaths and bring them to Andersonville. The company’s efforts were led by Lee Gentry, Executive Vice President. Over the first weekend in November, Bennett employees raised $68,000 for Wreaths Across America at Andersonville at an event held at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Other organizations assisted, such as South Georgia Technical College, that provided forklifts and students to unload the wreaths from the trucks the day prior to the event. Many other groups provided groups of volunteers such as churches, youth organizations, veterans’ groups and civic clubs.

During the ceremony, volunteers were asked to pause at each grave and read the name on each headstone while placing the wreath. The national theme of the event is to remember, honor and teach. “The National Park Service appreciates the many volunteers that came to the National Cemetery to honor all those who are buried in this special place, stated Gia Wagner, Superintendent of Andersonville National Historic Site, “We are especially thankful to Bennett Trucking, the Taylor Foundation and so many others who made this remarkable day possible.”

“We’ve come a long way since this event began at Andersonville back in 2008 with just eight wreaths,” stated Fred Boyles, Chair of the Friends of Andersonville, “One of our Trustees, Jim Covington, works all year round to raise funds, awareness of the event and to solicit volunteers that make this day possible.” Wreaths stay in place for approximately one month before being removed. The Friends of Andersonville provided funding support for the event through the Andersonville Trust.

During the ceremony, members of several youth organizations escorted the wreath presenters to the rostrum as each service branch, and individual veterans were recognized.

On the Friday before the event, forklift operator students from South Georgia Technical College assisted volunteers and park staff in unloading the trucks and staging the wreaths to placement on the graves.

This young Cub Scout joined 2,000 volunteers in placing wreaths throughout the cemetery. This is in keeping with the theme of the nation-wide event to remember, honor and teach.

Not only did Bennett Trucking donate the services of their trucks to travel to and from Maine to transport the 20,800+ wreaths to Andersonville National Cemetery, but they were also literally rolling recognition for Wreaths Across America.