by Lieutenant (SG) David Miller, HMLAC Gazala
Long before the HMLAC Gazala formed, and continuing to this day, the Miller family has supported an outstanding continuing charity event – Wreaths Across America.
Wreaths Across America is an annual national program that seeks to place remembrance evergreen wreaths at veterans’ cemeteries and memorials during the holidays to honor those who served the U.S. as well as current military members. Started by the Worcester Wreath Company in 1992 with surplus holiday wreaths placed at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington DC, the event has grown since then and now includes events in all fifty states with the main event still occurring at Arlington. The mission of WAA is to remember the fallen, honor those that serve and their families, and teach the next generation about the value of freedom. WAA is also a charity event raising funds for non-profit organizations through the sale of remembrance wreaths to the public. Last year, approximately 1.7 million wreaths were placed by tens of thousands of volunteers at more than 2,500 participating locations around the country simultaneously on Wreaths Across America Day (typically the second or third Saturday each December).
2020 marked the fifteenth consecutive year that the Millers made sure WAA at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri, was part of their holiday tradition. But they’ve done more than just participate and place wreaths on veterans’ gravesites – David and Nikki Miller actually ran the entire program at Jefferson Barracks for over a decade.
Serving as the overall location coordinator from 2006 until 2017, David coordinating the efforts of thousands of volunteers in the placement of more than 70,000 wreaths, helped multiple groups raise tens of thousands of dollars in charity support, coordinated flyover events (including a B-2 bomber), personally placed over 500 grave-specific wreath requests, served as the annual guest speaker, and coordinated media coverage of the event with the distribution of over 500 media releases and articles, as well as a number of radio and television interviews, during this timeframe. And his wife, Nikki, and their two sons, Christopher and Max, helped each year as well.
In addition to his service as the Jefferson Barracks location coordinator, David has also served every year since 2006 as a group leader for the event specifically raising thousands of dollars in charity support for the Missouri Wing of the Civil Air Patrol, U.S. Air Force Auxiliary, through the personal sale over the years of almost a thousand wreaths. Finally, as a senior officer of the Missouri Wing, David served as the CAP point-of-contact for the event for many years assisting in the participation of multiple CAP units, from both the Missouri and Illinois Wings, including cadet color guards and CAP aircraft flyovers.
Typically, hundreds to thousands of volunteers are needed at every location to assist in placing wreaths on Wreaths Across America Day. Unfortunately, COVID-19 restrictions last year limited the total number of persons in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery at a time, section by section. Nonetheless, through an extraordinary effort over several days, this smaller group of dedicated volunteers (Millers included) still placed more than 30,000 wreaths throughout the cemetery! Despite obstacles, the mission was accomplished.
Looking for a community charity event for your members to get involved with – perhaps one that has a limited time-commitment? Please consider volunteering with Wreaths Across America. While the most volunteers are needed for the single-day Wreaths Across America Day event on a Saturday in mid-December, help is also needed year-round by local organizations supporting the event – so now is the time to find your local WAA event and volunteer! Find more information at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org about events near you.
