December 23, 2023

Submitted by Lion Press Secretary Robert Hayter

On December 16, 2023 three members from the Lee’s Summit Lions Club met at the Longview Funeral Home & Cemetery and participated in the ceremony and placed wreaths on graves of veterans laid to rest at that cemetery.

Preceding the laying of the wreaths, a ceremony took place inside by laying wreaths on plaques of the eight recognized areas of service. The first was the U.S. Coast Guard, Army, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, Merchant Marines, Missing in Action and POW.

Megan Breedlove, director, was in charge of the Wreaths Across America Project at the Longview Cemetery. Wreaths Across America first got its beginning when in Harrington, Maine on December of 1992 wreath maker Morrill Worcester found itself with a surplus of 5,000 fresh wreaths during the holiday season. Worcester saw the surplus as an opportunity to pay tribute to our country’s veterans and with the help of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe arranged for the wreaths to be placed at the Arlington National Cemetery.

Since then, a foundation was formed and now all over America on this date, at the same time millions of wreaths are laid on graves to honor the courage and sacrifice our military veterans and their families. These veterans should never be forgotten. Longview is the only cemetery in Lee’s Summit that participates in this particular tribute. There are 588 Veterans buried at this location and all grave were decorated. The cost of each wreath was $17 which is paid to the foundation and they delivered them fresh, to each location across America, to be laid by the cemetery volunteers.