- Thank you for your interest in helping with the placement of Remembrance Wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, December 17, 2016. Honor Flight is not officially affiliated with this event, but many of our volunteers overlap! ew wanted to pass out all the details we have now, but the Wreaths Across America web page will always have the the most updated details available.
- There is no other sign-up or registration required. Because there will be thousands of people there, we are not organizing a central meeting location. We encourage you to pick a section and tell those who you are meeting, to join you there. As for being able to place a wreath on a specific grave site of a friend or loved one; we expect in excess of 15,000 volunteers on the 17th and it would be impossible to “save” a particular grave site for a person to place a wreath. Our best suggestion would be for you to bring a friend or relative with you to Arlington on the 12th and arrive early so you can enter the gates starting at 8:00am when the Cemetery will be open to the Public to enter. Then have your friend or relative go directly to your friend’s or loved one’s grave site to stand by the site while you go to the closest wreath truck location to await receiving a wreath which will begin at about 9:30am.
- There is no age limit to volunteer. We encourage families to come and share the experience. Due to the potentially high number of volunteers that may be present, for safety reasons and concerns, ANC officials have advised that the gates into Arlington Cemetery and the Welcome Center Parking Garage will be opened to the public at 8:00am. Wreath placement will begin at approximately 10:00am after a brief Opening Ceremony at the McClellan Arch Gate located just off Eisenhower Drive.
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800 Arlington National Cemetery Gates open (Visitor Parking Garage opens at 8am for ANC Family Pass and Handicap Pass ONLY)
0815-0830 (approx)Wreaths Across America Truck Convoy arrives Arlington Cemetery Main Gate
900 Wreaths Across America Opening Ceremony (McClellan Arch)
945 Wreath laying begins across cemetery
1000 Columbarium Ceremony
1100 Wreath laying ceremony at President Kennedy’s grave
1130 Wreath laying ceremony at USS Maine Mast
1200 Wreath laying ceremony at Tomb of Unknown Soldier
PARKING
Again for the safety of all involved, parking at the ANC Welcome Center Main Gate Parking Facility will be very restricted. No private vehicles will be allowed to enter the Cemetery grounds until after 3:00pm on Wreath Day. There will be no General Public parking at the Welcome Center until after 1:00pm on Wreath Day. There will be Bus parking available in the Welcome Center garage for 33 buses. Due to the limited and restricted parking requirements, PLEASE PLAN TO USE THE METRO SYSTEM.
ANC officials have also advised that the ANC Welcome Center parking garage will only be for individuals with an authorized ANC Family Pass and vehicles with valid Handicap Permits which will later be directed out into the Cemetery itself through the Administration Building gate to park in the Administrative Parking lot adjacent to Section 54. Section 54 is a flatter more level section of grave sites within the cemetery more suited for individuals with mobility restrictions. We encourage individual volunteers who have mobility limitations to gather at Section 54 to help place wreaths.
There will be in excess of 60 semi-tractor trucks loaded with wreaths and thousands of volunteers located throughout the cemetery which prohibits shuttle vehicle traffic within the cemetery grounds on Wreath Day.
DONATIONS
Remember, WAA receives no government funds for what they do. WAA must rely on donations and sponsorships to complete its mission to Remember, Honor and Teach. We need you and your friends to help us reach our goal to cover all of the graves at Arlington. The cost is only $15 per wreath, a small price to honor and remember those who have given us our freedoms with their sacrifices. https://wreaths.fastport.com/donateLocation.html?page=14720
Also, Wreaths Across America (WAA) is now listed in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) program, so if you participate in the CFC program at your work, please consider selecting WAA, CFC Code #66860, when making your selection to contribute.
Honor Flight DCA Reagan National Airport 