The Rock Island National Cemetery will participate in the national Wreaths Across America program and conduct a remembrance ceremony at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14, the cemetery on Arsenal Island.
This is a special event and vetting will take place at the gate, and visitors will not require obtaining a pass to access the installation and the cemetery.
The keynote speaker will be Brig. Gen. Ronnie Anderson, Jr., commander of Joint Munitions Command. Brig. Gen. Anderson has been in command of JMC since June 2023. With a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to service and our Veterans, his insights will provide a welcome touch to the day’s event. Brig. Gen. Anderson’s military career includes several deployments in support of Operation New Dawn, Operation Inherent Resolve, and Operation Enduring Freedom in Kuwait and Afghanistan, making him a highly respected leader in the military community.
The cemetery’s remembrance ceremony will include the laying of ceremonial wreaths to honor each of the military services, POWs, and all veterans, past and present. The Department of Veteran Affairs works hand-in-hand with the national nonprofit Wreath Across America organization across the country to assist in the remembrance and recognition of our veteran population during the holiday season.
The national nonprofit Wreaths Across America organization is working to ensure no veteran from the Quad Cities area is forgotten this holiday season. Individuals who would like to sponsor a wreath can contact Wreaths Across America at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org. This program ensures that the more than 1,600 individuals buried at Rock Island National Cemetery, who served to protect our freedoms and country are not and will never be forgotten.
Each year the Wreaths Across America program ensures that remembrance wreaths will be placed at the headstones of fallen veterans at nearly 1,000 locations across the country and overseas.
