COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — Governor Henry McMaster is proclaiming December “Wreaths Across America Month” – recognizing a group dedicated to honoring our veterans across the country and across South Carolina.

On Monday morning, Representatives Micah Caskey and Chris Wooten presented the proclamation to the organization’s local coordinator, Carol Davis.

“It is important for all of us to recognize and remember our veterans, let them know we care, and remember those who have passed away. This gives us the opportunity to honor them at all veterans cemeteries and where veterans are buried across SC. This proclamation is a sign that SC loves its veterans,” says Davis.

On December 14, the group’s more than two million volunteers will lay wreaths at veterans’ graves across the United States.

And here locally, on Dec. 14 at noon, more than 13,000 wreaths will be placed near headstones at Fort Jackson National Cemetery.

“And it’s important for us to get there. As individuals and families. And bring the kids. We must remember those who served, honor those who serve today, and teach our children that freedom is not free,” says Davis.

Each crown represents a $17 sponsorship through the organization. Rep. Wooten says the local community here in the Midlands provides enough wreaths to cover every grave at Fort Jackson National Cemetery.

“I attended ‘Wreaths Across America’ in Washington, DC, in Arlington, and saw so many people show up to honor our veterans. And to see this at a lower level, you don’t usually see this at the state level, to see how much South Carolinians care about their veterans, and the fact that people are showing up to file these 13 000 crowns, and it’s all over the world. state in other cemeteries as well, and so it’s an honor as an old Marine to see people who are truly still…I say patriotic, but SC loves its veterans and it’s such an honor to make some part,” says Wooten.

If you would like to make a donation to sponsor a wreath, visit Crowns across America here.