About 50 Lady Lake (Fla.) residents gathered at the historic Lady Lake cemetery on Saturday afternoon, Dec. 14, to honor the 136 veterans buried there. It was the Wreaths Across America ceremony, hosted by local Sons of The American Legion Squadron 347.

The Post 347 Honor Guard started the ceremony with the posting of our nation's colors. In addition to the American flag, they also included the flags from each military service branch and the flags for each American Legion family subgroup (Legion, Auxiliary, Sons and Riders).

The Wreaths Across America ceremony is observed by over 2 million volunteers nationwide, who place wreaths on veterans’ headstones. The ceremonies occur on the second Saturday in December at over 4,600 cemeteries in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and also at national cemeteries located on foreign soil. Wreaths Across America's mission is to “Remember, Honor and Teach": Remember the fallen; Honor those who serve and their families; and Teach future generations about the sacrifices made to preserve our freedoms. Visit www.WreathsAcrossAmerica.org for more information.

Lady Lake Mayor Ed Freeman spoke briefly at the ceremony, emphasizing that we are gathered today not to mourn for the veterans, but to celebrate their lives and remember what they sacrificed while serving for our country. All the volunteers then placed wreaths on each of the 136 veteran headstones, saluted the veteran and thanked them for their service.

Photos show the Honor Guard, the podium area and the volunteers lined up to carry the wreaths to the gravesites. On video, the Honor Guard starts their march toward the podium during the posting of the colors: https://youtu.be/0wR4KXclZmg