Laying of wreaths

CLOVIS - Lay the wreath. Say the name. Remember.

Volunteers did just that hundreds of times as part of a Clovis component of the nationwide Wreaths Across America remembrance. A local ceremony was held Saturday morning at Lawn Haven Memorial Gardens, and later continued at Mission Garden of Memories.

Saturday's ceremony was part of a nationwide series of events with more than 100,000 wreaths being laid. Locally, 1,530 wreaths were purchased for gravesites, up from last year's 1,460.

Event speaker Chief Master Sgt. Hope Skibitsky said the second Saturday of each December was a good time to take a break from the holiday season and remember not only the sacrifice military members made but the families who would have an empty seat at the table.

Skibitsky is the command chief for the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base. She noted a friend would be missing a granddaughter this holiday, as she has for every holiday since 2005. That friend's granddaughter was Elizabeth Jacobson, killed during the Iraq War in 2005 while providing security for a weapons supply convoy. Jacobson was the first Air Force Security Forces member killed in combat since the Vietnam War.

"We recognize that they are absent from our formations, from our communities," Skibitsky said. "Today, we unite our hearts and our minds with our Gold Star families to celebrate the bravery of their loved one.

"We cherish them. We love them. We honor their memory. We remember."

Following wreath layings for branches of the military, audience members took wreaths throughout the cemetery, placing a wreath on veterans' gravestones and saying their name. Wreath-placers were encouraged to learn as much as they could about that person so they were not simply a statistic.

Following the ceremony, volunteers traveled to Mission Garden of Memories to do the same for veterans buried there.

The Clovis High School Junior ROTC participated in the fundraising efforts in the weeks leading up to the event and volunteered in a flag-folding ceremony and the wreath placings. One JROTC member passed out during the flag-folding ceremony, which continued while first responders arrived on scene. The cadet was conscious when taken into the ambulance.

Event emcee Raymond Mondragon led a moment of silence early in the ceremony, noting that a black-and-blue flag was among those flying at half-staff in honor of Clovis Police Capt. Roger Dial, who died Dec. 6 from a battle with cancer.