OTTAWA, OH (WLIO) - Residents in Putnam County take time during the holiday season to honor the men and women who served and gave us the gift of freedom. This is the 4th year that a Wreaths Across America Event was held at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Ottawa. The event is being held at 4200 sites across the country and in different parts of the world. The goal of the Wreaths Across America is to Remember the fallen. Honor those who serve. Teach the next generation the value of freedom. Organizer Marcia Klima is thrilled with the outpouring of support the event has gotten over the last four years.
“It just shows how much our community cares for each other and their loved ones," says Marcia Klima, organizer of Wreaths Across America in Ottawa. “There are people coming from different towns. First timers, but some of them are here all four years and so, it’s a marvelous opportunity for all of us.”
The volunteers that placed over 400 wreaths, and members of the Ottawa-National Honor Society learned a lot from the event.
“I took away just the number of veterans and how many people actually come out to support them,” says Evan Buckland, Ottawa-Glandorf High School.
“It makes me feel good as a person and I had a grandpa that served too,” says Will Gulker, Ottawa-Glandorf High School. “It’s just really good to get out here to lay wreaths for the veterans that served.”
“Just the fact that all these people have put their lives on the line for us to be free and volunteer. Just come out here and help out,” says Zachary Ruhe, Ottawa-Glandorf High School.
The wreaths will remain on the veterans’ graves until volunteers pick them up on January 20th.
