PIERRE – The South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs, in partnership with the Midwest Honor Flight and Wreaths Across America, will host a wreath laying ceremony on Dec. 17. The ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. at the Committal Shelter at the South Dakota Veterans Cemetery, 25965 477th Ave., in Sioux Falls.

Midwest Honor Flight, and their partners, are providing the wreaths for our heroes.

Immediately following the 30-minute program, guests will be encouraged to assist in placing wreaths at all veterans’ graves.

The tradition of laying wreaths to honor our veterans during the holiday season began in 1992, when Morrill Worcester of Worcester Wreath Co. in Harrington, Maine, was left with a number of extra wreaths at the close of the holiday sea­son. Remembering a boyhood trip to the nation’s capital, and the sacred grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, he donat­ed 5,000 wreaths to be placed at the headstones of an older section of the cemetery.

What began as one man’s gesture grew into a national movement in 2007 when Wreaths Across America was formed as a non­profit organization. Today, more than 2,500 locations participate on a Saturday in December in laying the wreaths out of remembrance and respect for our nation’s brave servicemen and women.

The public is invited to join the ceremony paying tribute to our heroes.