Families Lay 6,300 Wreaths At West Virginia National Cemetery

Hundreds of people trooped to the West Virginia National Cemetery recently for Wreaths Across America Day. Wreaths Across America has laid tens of thousands of wreaths in honor of late military personnel since its establishment in 2007.

Families have now adopted the tradition of showing up every year to pay tribute, and among the many regular visitors is Kathie Staten. Kathie was first inspired by her father, who “was Commander of the American Legion in Elkins.”

Kathie keeps the routine alive

Kathie continues to show up at the cemetery to honor her dad, who died six years ago. “I started doing it with my dad years ago, he started at the little Arlington Cemetery in Elkins and I’ve always come to this cemetery and continue to honor him,” she said.

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She also carries his name tag and American Legion with her every year, like they used to do when he was alive. “This is just a tradition that I keep on…He does it with me every year,” she added. According to the West Virginia National Cemetery and Grafton National Cemetery Location Coordinator Cliff VanGilder, the wreaths will remain on the gravestones until Wreaths Clean Up Day in January, after which they will be placed in Tygart Lake for fish habitats.

The goal is to teach younger ones

VanGilder says the primary goal of the annual ceremony is to inspire and teach the younger generation about the late heroes. “We want to see the surrounding counties come out here because all these people in here— that are laid in here, paid the ultimate sacrifice. They’ve all fought for our freedoms that we have today. Without them we wouldn’t have the freedoms we have today,” he said. He also called for the community to sponsor wreaths throughout the year and for schools to “be a part of this.”

Some students from many miles away showed up for the event, including Anna Eagle, who is a member of the Child and Youth Program for the National Guard. “My mom and my dad and my step dad have all been a part of the military. My mom’s in the army, my dad’s in the army, my step dad was a marine, and just really important for me and I also have probably a couple of relatives here, we were actually looking for the graves,” she said.