Kenney Machinery Employee Participates in Annual Wreaths Across America Event

As you celebrate Christmas, New Years, or other holidays this time of year, ask yourself the following question:

How would your celebration be different if it weren’t for all of the veterans who have helped defend our country and our way of life over the past several hundred years?

That’s the question posed by Wreaths Across America, a nonprofit organization that places over 700,00 wreaths on the tombstones of veterans at over 1,000 locations every year in December.  Last week on December 17th, Kenney Machinery employee Rick Harrison volunteered with the local chapter of Wreaths Across America to help place 712 wreaths on headstones at Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis.

Rick, a Navy veteran, found out about Wreaths Across America from a representative of the organization that spoke to his American Legion meeting last fall.  While the members of his group agreed to donate funds for wreaths and also help raise additional money, Rick wanted to go a step further and actually help place the wreaths at Crown Hill National Cemetery, where over 2,000 soldiers, sailors, and airmen are buried.

The National Cemetery sits on 1.4 ares of the 555-acre Crown Hill Cemetery.  The land was purchased by the government in 1866 for the purpose of reburying several hundred Union soldiers who had died in the Civil War.  The veterans buried there have fought in every major war since that time up until the Vietnam War.

The local chapter of Wreaths Across America had a goal of placing 1,000 wreaths on headstones at the cemetery this year.  While they didn’t quite reach that goal, they certainly accomplished the larger goal of the organization, which is to ensure that our veterans are not forgotten.  The red and green wreaths on the snow-covered hillside at the cemetery were a stark visual reminder of the sacrifices made by the men and women who have served in our military over the years, and something that no visitor to the cemetery could miss.

Rick plans on participating in the event again next year, and will also be helping the American Legion Riders raise money for next year’s wreaths.  If you’d like to support them with a donation or learn more about volunteering with Wreaths Across America, you can visit their website at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.