Wreaths Across America Day held at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood on Saturday

ELWOOD – Linda and Jerome Ringl of Chicago Heights attended Wreaths Across America Day on Sunday in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood. They came with a list of 18 veterans whose graves they would visit, place a wreath on and pray over.

The people on the list are strangers for the most part, people who reached out to the Ringls on Wreaths Across America Facebook page.

“We do it for anybody who can’t be here, or can’t bring themselves to come yet,” Linda Ringl said.

It’s Linda Ringl’s way of giving back to others. Her own brother, MSG Edgar Marts Jr., a Marine for 23 years and a member of one of the first troops to go into Afghanistan, is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

When a friend offered to place a wreath on Marts’ grave a few years ago during Wreaths Across America Day, it meant the world to Ringl.

“I thought how special that was. We decided to do it here, and we just love it. It’s very humbling, and it’s heart-wrenching at the same time,” Ringl said through tears.

Debbie Smothers, one of the creators of Operation Care Package, which sponsors the Elwood wreath event, was thrilled at the number of people who turned out for the event, which has grown exponentially.

Cars lined bumper to bumper in all directions on Route 53 as they waited to enter the cemetery.

“I love it. I can’t even guesstimate how many people are here,” Smothers said.

However, 9,400 wreaths were ready to be laid near the graves, up from 6,500 wreaths last year, said Sean Baumgartner, cemetery director. That’s 20 percent of the number of those buried in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery.

Some people registered to place wreaths on their own loved one’s graves. Another 1,500 volunteers were there to place the rest. For every person who attended Saturday’s event, there was a story about why they were there.

Millie and Dick Schuster, owners of JCTV Chanel 6 in Joliet, volunteer to record and air the event each year. They brought along two of their grandchildren to help distribute wreaths.

“I think it’s nice we put the wreaths out. The soldiers in [combat] don’t have family with them,” said 18 year old Ashley Orlando. “[These] graves are all alone out here.”

Lori James and her three children, Matthew, Hailey and Sarah James, were representing their 4H group Willing Wilton Workers of Wilton Center, Illinois.

“It’s a really nice thing to do and I feel good doing it,” Hailey James said.

“Especially for those who don’t have family here,” Lori James added. “So they are not forgotten and their sacrifices are acknowledged.”

It’s the mission of Wreaths Across America to remember, honor and teach. One of the ways it accomplishes that mission is by coordinating nationwide wreath-laying events on a specified day during December to coincide with the holiday season.

Mary Kay Morenzori of Chicago was there to place a wreath on the grave of her husband, Army Sgt. Joseph Morenzori. It was very important to her husband to be buried in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, she said.

This is the third year since he passed away that Mary Kay made the trip to Elwood for Wreaths Across America Day.

“It’s overwhelming coming out here; it’s also very comforting,” she said.

It’s the goal of Smothers and every volunteer that someday every grave will have a wreath to honor and remember every American veteran.

“If we can keep getting the word out,” Linda Ringl said, “ we can fill this place with wreaths.