Wreaths Across America
Remember. Honor. Teach.
Every December, more than three million wreaths are placed on veterans’ graves across the country by volunteers who say each veteran’s name aloud as they lay them. Wreaths Across America has been doing this since 1992. Their mission is three words: remember the fallen, honor those who serve, teach the next generation the value of freedom.
Neighbors in Service brings that work to Manatee County.
WHAT WE DO HERE
Our approach is holistic. Every veteran buried in this county deserves four things: a story recorded, a flag placed, a stone marked, and a wreath laid. A wreath on an unmarked grave is a gesture. A wreath on a grave whose occupant has been identified, whose service has been documented, and whose resting place has been tended is something else.
That commitment runs across three tracks.
Preservation and genealogy. We work with the Azario Genealogy Club to identify every veteran grave in Manatee County’s private and neglected cemeteries, transcribe markers, record GPS data, and build accurate records on Find a Grave. This is patient, unglamorous work, and it is the foundation everything else rests on.
Remembrance and ceremony. Flags placed across private cemetery sites each Memorial Day. Wreaths laid each December, in cooperation with the Knights of Columbus San Damiano Assembly 3192 Color Guard, the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 325, and the Manatee County Veterans Council.
Youth and civics education. Local military history taught as a living classroom. This track is in development, and we will share details as programs become available.
OUR 2026 CEMETERIES
We add cemeteries each year as our capacity and our volunteer base grow.
Mansion Memorial Park, Ellenton. Roughly 1,700 veterans rest here. This is our largest site and the one with the greatest remaining need for wreath sponsorships this year.
Historic Old Memphis Cemetery, Palmetto. Established in 1904. We will honor approximately 100 veterans here, a number that has grown as our documentation work has continued. On December 19, Old Memphis will host the first Wreaths Across America ceremony ever held there, approved by the Florida Department of Financial Services. Those veterans were identified through the genealogy work described above. That is what the preservation track makes possible.
NATIONAL WREATHS ACROSS AMERICA DAY
Saturday, December 19, 2026. Ceremonies at both cemeteries. Families welcome. No experience needed, and no commitment beyond showing up.
HOW TO STAND WITH THEM
Sponsor a wreath. Seventeen dollars places one wreath on one veteran’s grave.
Your sponsorship goes to the Manatee County cemetery with the greatest remaining need.
You can also scan the code below via your mobile phone:
Lay wreaths on December 19. Come to either cemetery. You will be handed a wreath, given a name, and asked to say it out loud. Bring your children.
Place flags on Memorial Day. Multi-generational flag placement across our cemetery sites each May.
Document a veteran. Work with the Azario Genealogy Club to research, transcribe, and record the veterans resting in Manatee County. Suited to anyone patient with records, and no genealogy experience is required.
WHERE YOUR MONEY GOES
Neighbors in Service accepts no donations for itself. Your sponsorship goes directly to Wreaths Across America through their own secure gateway, and they process and receipt it.
One program works differently, and you should know how. Wreaths Across America returns five dollars to the sponsoring group for every wreath sponsored during a giving period. Those funds come to Neighbors in Service, and 100 percent of them go back into wreaths, placed on veterans’ graves at the Manatee County cemeteries with the greatest remaining need. We decide where they go. We keep none of them.
Stand With Us
If you have a veteran resting in Manatee County, tell us. We want their name in the record and a wreath on their stone.
If you are a neighbor looking for a way to serve, this is one of the most direct opportunities we offer. Sponsor a wreath, place a flag, document a name, or simply show up on December 19 and lay a wreath with your own hands.
Questions, or want to get involved? Contact Dr. Jack McGourty at drjack@neighborsinservice.org.
© 2026 Neighbors in Service