The Garner Veterans Memorial is decorated with wreaths in honor of the community men who died while in military service and other military men who died in our community while serving. The families of those men are honored with a Gold Star family tree.
The annual ceremony, which usually includes bagpipes and representatives from each military branch, was cancelled this year because of the pandemic, but the wreaths are up and the Gold Star tree is decorated.
“This is something that we think is important to our community,” said Jeff Hicks, who helped decorate the tree. “We didn’t want to have the ceremony out of an abundance of caution, but we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to honor those who paid the ultimate price.”
The event is sponsored by Show N Tell Ministries.
The Garner Optimist Club donated the tree and the five wreaths and Garner Florist donated the wreath bows. The Town of Garner erected the tree and hung the wreaths on the memorial using specially designed hangers fabricated by the town.
Each man who is listed on the Garner Memorial has his own star. Last year stars were added for the men who died in our community during the Civil War and during World War II. All of the World War II casualties here were airmen.
In addition, Gold Star families from the area have come to past events to hang a star for their loved one.
The wreaths and the tree will remain up until after Christmas.