For the 2018 Christmas season, Chattanooga area military organizations are joining forces with the Civil Air Patrol to ensure that a wreath is placed on each of the 43,000 gravestones at Chattanooga National Cemetery. The placement of these wreaths will take place on Saturday, Dec. 15, at noon.
Officials said, "In many local discussions, there is a perception that a wreath is placed on every grave marker at Chattanooga National Cemetery but that is not the case. In reality, only enough funds or wreaths donated at a national level, cover at most 10,000, of the 43,000 headstones. Since enough wreaths have not been received to cover all headstones, the Civil Air Patrol works with Chattanooga National Cemetery to prioritize which section or sections are covered. This means that the remaining sections are not honored with a wreath."
Information will be forthcoming about how the public can help.