SPRING LAKE, N.C. — Th​ousands of veterans' graves in Spring Lake and Fort Bragg are decorated with wreaths thanks to Wreaths Across America.

What You Need To Know

  • Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit that honors fallen veterans by placing wreaths on their graves every December

  • Army Veteran Ann Provencher held a special wreath ceremony at Sand Hill Cemetery in Spring Lake and had several gold star families in attendance

  • Wreaths Across America looks for sponsors each year to help raise money so every veteran's grave can get a wreath. Right now, more than 2,000 cemeteries across the country join in remembrance

Every year, the nonprofit lays wreaths at thousands of cemeteries across the country in honor of fallen veterans.

Army Veteran Ann Provencher held a special wreath ceremony this year at both Sand Hill Cemetery and Fort Bragg Main Post Cemetery.

Gold Star mothers Paula Garcia, of Raeford, and Juanita McKinnon, of Greensboro, both laid wreaths on their sons' graves.

"It warms your heart to know that every hero out here is recognized and remembered, and that they are not forgotten,” Garcia says.

Her son Shawn Knisley was killed in 1997, and was the first veteran buried at Sand Hills.

McKinnon's son, D'Angelo Demack McKinnon, was killed in October 2019.

“We should never take anyone for granted, especially our loved ones that serve in the military because if it wasn't for them, some of us wouldn't be here,”​ McKinnon says.

Every year, Wreaths Across America works with different people and groups to sponsor wreaths. Currently, more than 2,000 cemeteries participate in National Wreaths Across America Day every December.