Story by U.S. Army Lt. Col. Jennifer Bocanegra, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

DALLAS, Texas — On Saturday morning the 1st Cavalry Division command team, Maj. Gen. John B. Richardson, commanding general, and Command Sgt. Maj. Shade S. Munday, division command sergeant major, joined thousands of volunteers at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery to honor fallen heroes and Veterans by laying wreaths at over 40,000 gravesites.

“For the past 12 years, tens of thousands of wreaths have been carefully and respectfully laid at the foot of the gravestones here in honor of the service and sacrifice of each of these Veterans and their families,” Richardson said during his remarks.

Munday also took part in the ceremony by placing a wreath in honor of the U.S. Army near the assembly area alongside wreaths representing the six other branches of military service and prisoners of war.

The ceremony, which was narrated by 1st Lt. Mason Prewitt from the TX-391 Dallas Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, featured a flyover by the Service Air Corps, the singing of the National Anthem and the Irish Blessing by the Good Times Chorus out of Arlington, Texas, and the presentation of the U.S. National Colors by cadets from both the TX 391 and Black Sheep Squadrons, Civil Air Patrol.

National Wreaths Across America Day is held annually mid-December at more than 2,500 locations across the U.S., at sea and abroad with a goal of laying a wreath at the gravesite of each Veteran.

“Every headstone on these grounds represents a single veteran-an American hero-who selflessly served our nation,” Richardson said. “It is your presence that means so much to the families of those whose loved ones rest in peace on these hallowed grounds.”