Veterans Buried at Silver Brook Honored at Wreaths Across America Event
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
On a crisp Saturday morning in Silver Brook Cemetery, the city’s oldest burial ground, was transformed into a sea of red, white, and blue and green as hundreds of wreaths were laid at the graves of veterans. The annual Wreaths Across America event, led by Regina Luker, regent of the Hudson Barry Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and Nachel Meyer, drew volunteers of all ages to honor the memory of local service members whose resting place had long been overlooked.
Silver Brook, Anderson County’s first city cemetery, is a quiet, leafy expanse that has weathered the years with dignity but not always attention. A few years ago, Luker found herself among the headstones, struck by the beauty of the place and the sense that it had been forgotten.
“It’s a very beautiful cemetery,” said Luker, “but I discovered there were over 400 veterans buried here—and we didn’t have records for all of them.” With the support of her DAR colleagues and community volunteers, she set out to change that. What began as a modest effort—placing 75 wreaths in the first year—has grown into a tradition, with more than 400 wreaths laid this year alone.
The task of identifying each veteran’s grave is no small feat. Volunteers, including many local children, walk the cemetery in the days leading up to the event, placing flags on graves they can confirm belonged to veterans. The Genealogical Society provided a list of names, though records are incomplete, with a cutoff at 1992. The goal, Luker explained, is to return on warm Saturdays, divide the list, and methodically mark every veteran they can identify.
“We have a lady in our group who works with veterans,” said Luker. “If the time period matches, we know we’ve found one.” The work is meticulous, but the result is a powerful gesture: a community coming together to ensure that the sacrifices of the past are not forgotten.
The event at Silver Brook is more than a solemn remembrance; it is a living tribute, where generations connect through shared purpose. The wreaths, the flags, and the volunteers’ quiet determination speak to a deeper truth—that honoring the dead is an act of care for the living by placing the wreaths and saying the name of the one honored out loud. As the sun rose over Anderson, casting long shadows across the graves, the cemetery felt less like a relic of the past and more like a testament to enduring community spirit.
The Wreaths Across America nationwide event began in 1992 when Morrill Worcester, owner of the Worcester Wreath Company in Maine, found himself with a surplus of balsam wreaths after the holiday season. Remembering a childhood trip to Arlington National Cemetery, he decided to donate the extra wreaths to honor veterans buried there. Volunteers quietly placed the wreaths on graves, and for over a decade, the gesture remained a small, local tribute.
In 2005, a photograph of Arlington’s snowy graves adorned with wreaths went viral, drawing national attention and prompting requests from communities across the country to replicate the tradition. In response, Worcester and supporters formally established Wreaths Across America as a nonprofit in 2007 to coordinate and expand the effort. The organization’s mission is to “Remember the fallen, Honor those who serve, and Teach the next generation the value of freedom.” Each December, volunteers lay wreaths on veterans’ graves in cemeteries nationwide, turning a simple act of remembrance into a widespread movement of patriotism and community.
