Fort Smith Christmas Honors event recognizing veterans to be held Saturday at national cemetery

Mista Perry (right) and Alan Domer, freshmen ROTC cadets from Fort Smith Southside, gather wreaths on Jan. 5 at the Fort Smith National Cemetery. 
(File Photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Mista Perry (right) and Alan Domer, freshmen ROTC cadets from Fort Smith Southside, gather wreaths on Jan. 5 at the Fort Smith National Cemetery. (File Photo/NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)

FORT SMITH -- A local program is preparing to honor veterans in a ceremony Saturday, which includes displaying roughly 17,000 wreaths in Fort Smith National Cemetery.

The Christmas Honors event starts at 8 a.m. for families with a veteran buried at the cemetery at 522 Garland Ave.

Organizer Philip Merry said other attendees are asked to wait as families spend a private moment laying wreaths for their loved ones.

A group of Wreath Riders will organize at Fort Smith Harley-Davidson, 6304 S. 36th St., starting at 9 a.m. Saturday. At 10 a.m., they'll receive a police escort through the city to carry a number of wreaths to the cemetery and lay them under the American flag.

A service will start at 11 a.m. with guest speaker Terisa Riley, chancellor of the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith.

Merry said in addition to all the veterans and branches of service, two people special to the Christmas Honors program will be commemorated.

"One is a guy named Bob Newbold. We've always called him Truck Number One," Merry said. "He passed on a few months back, so his family is going to drive his truck. He was the very first one the very first year that showed up saying 'How can I help?' And he was there every year since. So we've got a volunteer hall of fame award for his family.

"And then we have another named Lt. Col. Earl Massey, who passed away a few days ago, and he's the one who helped Christmas Honors form an alliance with the ROTC and the JROTC in the area," Merry said. "They are our biggest labor and workforce group, and we could not pull off this fluffing and this wreath-laying without them, so we will be recognizing him."

After the ceremony, attendees will lay wreaths on all of the remaining headstones.

"It's very beautiful. It's very meaningful. Speed is not the goal, but there's just that many people there to help, and we're very thankful for that," Merry said.

Merry has previously stated one wreath should be placed per headstone unless both spouses are veterans and should lean against the headstone at roughly a 60-degree angle. Volunteer teams called Wreath Patrol then tour the cemetery each morning to fix any wreaths that have fallen.

Merry said the nonprofit group Christmas Honors started in 2009 when he went to the cemetery to pay respects to his wife's grandfather. He said the view reminded him of Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

When Merry looked up photos of the site at Christmas, he saw all the graves decorated through Wreaths Across America at Arlington, compared to thousands of graves at Fort Smith that weren't decorated.

The cemetery agreed Merry could put up wreaths for the 12,000 veterans buried there at the time, and the Walmart Supercenter on Zero Street sold Merry supplies at $4 per wreath, and 95 cents per big, red bow. Merry explained Christmas Honors is separate from Wreaths Across America at Arlington. He said Wreaths Across America uses live greenery that is replaced each year, whereas Christmas Honors' wreaths can last for roughly five years, only needing new bows due to water damage.

Merry said the nonprofit group typically needs volunteers to help collect the wreaths and dry them before they're stored until the next year.

Cleanup will be at the cemetery and the Fort Smith Convention Center on Jan. 5.

Merry said Christmas Honors believes there's no way to adequately thank veterans for all they've done, but they can help ensure they're never forgotten.

"I have learned through talking to these vets over the years that their greatest fear has never been of dying, but of being forgotten," he said. "And we're proud that in our town, in our area in the River Valley, we will never forget them. Ever."

Links to donate or volunteer for Christmas Honors can be found through the organization's website at www.ChristmasHonors.org.


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