GILLETTE, Wyo. — Following a recent proclamation by Mayor Shay Lundvall, the second Saturday in December will be a day to honor active-duty service members and veterans of the U.S. armed forces.
During the Gillette City Council meeting on Nov. 19, Lundvall made a public proclamation designating Dec. 14 as Wreaths Across America Day for 2024.
According to Wreaths Across America, the day is an annual observance that has been honoring active-duty service members, veterans and their families by placing wreaths on the headstones of fallen heroes since 1992.
The movement is also intended to teach younger generations about the sacrifices made by past service members and those made by active service members stationed in locations far from their homes this holiday season.
The local proclamation references words spoken by President Ronald Reagan in his 1967 inaugural address, in which he said freedom is a fragile thing that is never more than one generation away from extinction.
“It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people,” Reagan said. “And those in world history who have known freedom and then lost it have never known it again.”
