There's no forgetting among brothers and sisters in arms.
Every year during the holidays, veterans who have died over the years are remembered with fresh pine wreaths laid on their graves at cemeteries in Southwest Florida as well as across the U.S.
“I was in Mogadishu, Somalia, The Gulf, Oman,." That's combat veteran Chris Garrick from North Fort Myers — he's well aware of the price of freedom and vows to never forget those who served, especially during the holiday season.
“We have 5000 plots to lay wreaths on,“ Garrick said.
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At Coral Ridge Cemetery in Cape Coral, he’s one of countless volunteers placing wreaths on grave sites in memory of his brothers- and sisters-in-arms.
“We got to take care of those who came before us," he said. "This is a part of it. They did their time. It is going to be us in the dirt one day. I just hope that somebody is there to look after me on the holidays.”
Cape Coral is one of more than a dozen cemetery locations in Southwest Florida participating in Wreaths Across America. The actual wreath laying took place on the second Saturday in December.
From Sarasota to Marco Island to LaBelle and even in tiny Ortona, volunteers placed at least 28,000 wreaths on the graves of veterans.
Those efforts were made possible by donations from people like Gigi Thomas.
“I'm with the 8463 VFW in Cape Coral," she said. "We are in District 13 and District 13 donated almost 15,000 dollars towards the wreaths this year for the Gold Star moms. We sold candy bars.”
Grateful for the chance to help was 77-year-old Fred Monson, a Navy veteran from Lehigh Acres.
“ It is to honor them for their service, Monson said. "Some of them were probably killed in action. Some survived and lived a long life. “
The wreaths will remain on the graves through New Years.
“We don’t do this for thanks. We don’t do this for the praise. We do it for our brothers and sisters that are in the ground,” Monson said.
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