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As the fog cleared on a recent Saturday morning, residents gathered at cemeteries in Gilroy and Morgan Hill to pay a tribute to—and to reflect on the loss of—every veteran buried in South County. More than 250 volunteers at ceremonies in both cities laid pine wreaths near the headstones of approximately 1,000 local veterans as part of Wreaths Across America after raising $16,000 to pay for materials.
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One of those in attendance at the Dec. 13 ceremony in Morgan Hill, at Mount Hope Cemetery on Spring Avenue, was City Councilman Larry Carr, who was impressed with the attendance and involvement of the volunteers.
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“It was quite a moving ceremony,” Carr said after the ceremony. “I hope it’s an event the community really embraces and builds on for the future.”
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The event was an emotional experience for many involved, from those who never had the chance to meet their fathers, like Gilroy Mayor Don Gage—whose father died during World War II just nine days before he was born—and others who came to remember fallen loved ones, friends, acquaintances and neighbors.
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“We come together this morning to stand in solidarity. We come to honor those who served and the price they paid,” Pastor Greg Quirk said to the crowd gathered at Saint Mary Cemetery during an invocation at the outset of the Dec. 13 ceremony. “Each wreath represents a valuable life—a life to be remembered and also a reflection of a nation to be proud of.”
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Organizers gave the families of fallen servicemembers the opportunity to lay their wreaths first. The mission of Wreaths Across America is to remember the fallen, those who currently serve and teach children the value of freedom, according to Gilroy Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Turner, who helped organize the event.
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While wars like World War II and the Vietnam War claimed the most American lives and left many family members back home without a father, brother or a husband, Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman emphasized the fact many continue to be willing to put their lives on hold to serve.
“The public needs to remember not only those who have passed in the big wars, but that there are hundreds of thousands of men and women right now defending our freedom and the freedom of other countries throughout the world,” Wasserman said at the Gilroy ceremony. “These men and women come back after their tour is over and they need to be acknowledged, recognized and need to have jobs provided for them.”
