Valerie Haeder enjoyed the pine scent wafting from the back of the truck filled with wreaths as she waited to receive hers. “It’s Christmas in a truck,” she recalled. She and her friend, Heather Colby, had braved the early-morning rain, mud, and crowds on December 14, 2019, to place wreaths on two of the 253,000 headstones at Arlington National Cemetery as part of Wreaths Across America, an effort to place wreaths on headstones at American military cemeteries at home and abroad during the holiday season.
Haeder, a Rapid City, South Dakota, native who now lives in the Washington, D.C. area, had arrived at the cemetery’s Ord and Weitzel Gate with thousands of other people well before its 9:00 AM opening. The crowds did not surprise her, since she had laid wreaths twice before. Yet she wanted to come again, to show Colby what it was about. “I think it’s important to remember our veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom,” she explained, “and I’m so happy that there are like-minded people who want to remember all that they did for us.”
By the time Haeder and Colby made it through the gate, wreaths had already been placed in whole sections of the cemetery. The two headed off to find an untouched area, which they found in Section 28. They stood in a long line to receive their wreaths from one of the many distribution trucks, as the crews explained the wreath placing guidelines: “They told us that you should say the person’s name, lay the wreath, and to have a more-respectful stance and demeanor when placing it.”
Once the two women received their wreaths, they placed them at civilian headstones and said aloud the engraved names. “I stood for a while and said thank you,” said Haeder. Their mission complete, the two exchanged thoughts. “For her it was a novel experience. I was more interested in the crowds and the atmosphere.” Haeder’s only disappoint came from the rainy weather. She wanted snow. “It seemed out of character for what we were doing with the wreaths,” she said. “I wanted it to be a little more seasonal.”
Haeder’s connection with the cemetery is closer than most people’s. Not only had she laid wreaths twice before, once with her sister ten years earlier, when only a handful of people showed up to lay wreaths in a few sections, she also used to volunteer as a tour guide at Arlington House for the National Park Service, providing inside stories to visitors. “I learned so much about the history of the house, about General Lee, and President/General Washington,” she said.
She sometimes spends her free time at the cemetery and its surroundings. “I love Arlington National Cemetery,” she said. Her favorite spot in the Washington, D.C., area is nearby, at the Iwo Jima Memorial, where she has seen deer, foxes, and humming birds, along with a great vista. “You have a great view of D.C. without being in the hustle and bustle of it.”
Haeder would like to someday lay a wreath back home at the Black Hills National Cemetery in South Dakota. “It’s sweet,” she explained. “You still have something that’s innocent, poignant, and good hearted.”
CAPTION 1: A woman places a wreath on a headstone on a rainy Saturday, December 14, 2019. Valerie Haeder and Heather Colby participated in the 28th annual Wreaths Across America Day at Arlington National Cemetery. (Credit: U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser/Arlington National Cemetery)
CAPTION 2. Christmas wreaths adorn almost every headstone in Section 54. Valerie Haeder said “thank you,” after placing her wreath. She only wished that it were snowing that day. (Credit: U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser/Arlington National Cemetery)
CAPTION 3: A young girl places her hand atop a headstone. More than 38,000 volunteers showed up to lay wreaths on every headstone at Arlington National Cemetery. (Credit: U.S. Army photo by Elizabeth Fraser/Arlington National Cemetery)
Author: Kevin Hymel
