Wreaths Across America: supporting Veterans

Well, this Veterans Day, we're honoring those who served our country and the veterans who continue serving others long after their military careers end. The organization Wreaths Across America is known for placing wreaths on the graves of veterans every December, but its mission goes well beyond that. Now, to tell us more about how veterans are turning remembrance into action all year, we're welcoming now Dan Mead. Dan is a former member of the 1st Ranger Battalion and a board member of Wreaths Across America. Dan, it's good to see you. And for those who may not know what the organization is, how would you describe it? Good morning, Dave. Thanks for having me. So, Wreaths Across America started as a one-man gesture. He's a wreath maker in Maine, and he had 5,000 wreaths left over in 1992, and he took them to Arlington National Cemetery. And placed them, and they did that for about 10 years, and a picture came out with all the wreaths covered in the snow in Arlington, and it became a, you know, the family decided, hey, it's time to do this nationally, so we're at over 6,000 cemeteries this year in the United States, around the world, and we, there's those coming down on the largest Veterans Day parade, and we, We have lots of things we do. The wreath is a catalyst, right? It's a small part of everything that we do. We have sponsorship groups that you can have a $5 buyback program for every $17 wreath that you purchase in a veteran's name or a loved one's name. $5 goes back to your charity. So you give twice, right? That's one of the programs we do year-round. We also have a dog tagging program. So Dan, how does this affect you every year and being involved with it all year long? What does it do to you? It's some of the best people and stories you'll ever hear. I was fortunate enough to take them over to Normandy for the first time and then to Luxembourg in the Netherlands. I run the operation down at Arlington National Cemetery to put 70 tractor trailer loads into Arlington. And the people you meet and the stories you hear along the way, it's unbelievable. When you do it and you watch the little kids, I'll stand aside in Arlington and I'll watch the smallest little kid That's, the wreath is almost bigger than them, go to place a wreath, and you watch it, and that's what it's really about, right? Our mission is to remember the fallen, honor the veteran, honor their service, and teach the children about the cost of freedom, right? And that's the biggest part that we do is. Yes. Now, remembering should not be limited to just one day or one season. You'd agree? 100% agree. 100%. Wreaths supports veterans all around the year, right? They give rides to veterans to VA appointments. Recently, we had a ranger killed in training from Savannah, Georgia, at my foundation, the Hard Rock Charlie Foundation, with help of Wreaths Across America was able to fly a whole platoon out to his funeral in California, and Wreaths was a huge part of that. That's amazing. So people at home are watching Dan Mead right now saying, how do I get involved with Wreaths Across America? What would you say? Yeah, go to wreathsacrossamerica.org, right? All the information you need to get involved in there. We have over, this year I think we're over 6,000 cemeteries that will be placed in Wreaths. The sponsorship group information is there. If you have a cemetery close to you that's not one of ours yet or participating, we'll help you get that started. We're here to support everybody to get the mission done. You're doing great work. Dan Meade, a board member of Wreaths Across America. Keep doing great things, Dan. And thank you for being with us on Mornings on 2. Thank you, sir. Have a great day. You too. Oh, Dave, one last thing. San Bruno, 12 miles south of Golden Gate National Cemetery. Yes. There are only 843 wreaths there so far sponsored out of the 145,000 they need. So if your viewers, yeah, 843 out of the whole, 145,000. Wow. So if your viewers can hop on and give us a hand filling that cemetery up, we'd appreciate it. Wow. San Bruno. Thank you for bringing that up, Dan. We appreciate it. Thank you. Have a great day. All right.