History of Wreaths Laying at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery
2006 - The First Wreath Ceremony was held in December 2006. The Little Falls American Legion Post 46 and Randall VFW Post 9073 contributed and placed 5 wreaths.
2007 – The cemetery joined in with the Wreaths Across America’s national wreath laying project. No wreaths were placed on any of the graves at that time.
2008 - Starr Marshall, ride captain at that time for the Brainerd Sector of the Minnesota Patriot Guard got a group together to make and lay more wreaths. That year 90 wreaths were provided by Ericksons Greenhouse in Brainerd and placed on veteran’s graves at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery. Plus the Civil Air Patrol joined in and provided a number of wreaths through the Wreaths Across America fund raising program.
2009 –Jason Olson, Motley, Minnesota, the new Minnesota Patriot Guard Ride Captain for the Brainerd Sector had an idea of providing wreaths for all the veterans’ graves at the Minnesota Veterans Cemetery. The original conversation included Terri Letcher, Pete Axeness, Carrie Johnson, and Rick Johnson. 400 Wreaths were placed that year.
2010 –The wreaths were now being made available for individuals to have one placed on a loved ones grave. The results of this offering were overwhelming. 341 specific requests were received and honored. The Civil Air Patrol Squadrons of St Cloud and Brainerd stepped up their efforts and contributed 392 wreaths. 1492 total Wreaths were placed at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery on that cold windy winter day.
2011 - On January 11th WreathsForTheFallen.org had its first meeting. In the following 6 months the organization obtained their IRS 501(c)(3) non profit certification. Shortly the state of Minnesota issued the tax exempt status. Many people stepped forward to assist in the building of WreathsForTheFallen.org. An attorney provided all legal assistance pro-bono. A web design company created the artwork for the stationary, business cards, brochures, and most importantly www.WreathsForTheFallen.org web site. Then a web hosting company donated the web hosting site and programming. Several printing companies provided all the printing needs either at no cost or at a cost basis. Mailings went out to all the VFW’s and Legions in the northern half of Minnesota. This was followed up by mailing to the 341 people that sponsored a wreath in 2010. Recently the United States Postal Service approved our nonprofit standard mail application. This will allow us to save a considerable amount on future mailings. Then there are the many people that have assisted in the various functions needed to make the event a success. There is a growing list of credits on the web page. In December we place a record number of wreaths covering the entire cemetery.
