As the fog cleared Saturday morning, community members gathered at cemeteries in Gilroy and Morgan Hill to pay a tribute to—and to reflect on the loss of—every veteran buried in South County. More than 250 volunteers at ceremonies in both cities laid pine wreaths near the headstones of approximately 1,000 local veterans as part of Wreaths Across America after raising $16,000 to pay for materials.
The ceremony was an emotional experience for many involved, from those who never had the chance to meet their fathers, like Gilroy Mayor Don Gage—whose father died during World War II just nine days before he was born—to others who came to remember fallen loved ones, friends, acquaintances and neighbors.
“We come together this morning to stand in solidarity. We come to honor those who served and the price they paid,” Pastor Greg Quirk said to the crowd gathered at Saint Mary Cemetery during an invocation at the outset of the ceremony. “Each wreath represents a valuable life—a life to be remembered and also a reflection of a nation to be proud of.”
Organizers gave the families of fallen service members the opportunity to lay their wreaths first. Ultimately, the mission of Wreaths Across America is to remember the fallen, those who currently serve and teach children the value of freedom, according to Gilroy Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Turner, who helped organize the event.
During the wreath laying ceremony, Gage paid respects to his father and his stepfather, also a veteran buried at Saint Mary Cemetery. He said while Veterans Day and Memorial Day are two formal days set aside to honor service members, it’s vital to always remember who and what the fallen left behind.
“We need to remember what the sacrifice meant—the children with no mothers or fathers, parents who didn’t think their children would pass before them, the family that will never be, the void of generations to come, the loneliness, suffering and the headaches,” Gage said.
Growing up without a father, at least until his stepfather entered his life when he was 5, he explained it wasn’t until later than he started pondering the ‘what ifs.’ “What if he had lived? All of my father’s family was in Oregon and I probably would have moved to Oregon with my parents,” Gage added. “When you think about the soldiers and the things they did, there’s a void there and you never know what the future brings.”
One Gilroy woman, who attended the ceremony with her husband, said she came in hopes of being present as volunteers placed a wreath on her older brother’s grave—only to find out they needed volunteers and she could do it herself. So, they stayed to place more wreaths.
“You don’t forget,” said Mary, of who preferred not to give her last name, as she fought back tears. “You never forget. A lot of the veterans buried here went to school with him (my brother)—a lot of them. A lot of them were friends of my older brother and sister.”
Mary and her sisters restarted a family tradition after their mother died, and as the seasons change, they change the flowers in the cemetery.
“A lot of times, we have extra flowers,” she said. “We always place them on a veteran’s grave.”
While wars like World War II and the Vietnam War claimed the most American lives and left many family members back home without a father, brother or a husband, Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman emphasized the fact many continue to be willing to put their lives on hold to serve.
“The public needs to remember not only those who have passed in the big wars, but that there are hundreds of thousands of men and women right now defending our freedom and the freedom of other countries throughout the world,” he said. “These men and women come back after their tour is over and they need to be acknowledged, recognized and need to have jobs provided for them.”
As a bugler played “Taps,” signaling the ceremony was drawing to a close, Mary paused to reflect on the loss of those she knew—and those she never had a chance to get to know.
“You never forget—not even the friends you went to school with, ran around with or talked to,” she said. “And there are a lot of them.”
