Field Trip to Arlington National Cemetery
Wreath Laying Event – Dec 14th
NVPS Meeting time 9:00am at the Memorial Amphitheater
On Saturday, Dec 14th Wreaths Across America will be working with hundreds of volunteers to place wreaths at every gravesite in Arlington National Cemetery. If you would like to take pictures during the actual laying of the 110,000 wreaths, the schedule for this year’s event is below:
Saturday Dec 14th
7:00 am Metro rail opens system-wide
8:00 am Arlington National Cemetery Gates open to public
8:30 am Ceremonial Wreaths Across America Truck Parade arrives Arlington Main entrance 9:30 am Opening Ceremony (Memorial Amphitheater)
10:00 am Wreath laying begins at sites throughout cemetery
11:00 am Wreath laying ceremony at President Kennedy grave
11:30 am Wreath laying ceremony at USS Maine Mast
1200 Noon Wreath laying ceremony at Tomb of Unknown
We plan to meet at 9:00 at the Memorial Amphitheater where the opening ceremony is scheduled to take place.
From the Wreaths Across America website:
If you are interesting in volunteering to assist in the placing of the wreaths at Arlington, please join us on December 14th at 9:30 a.m. for a briefing to address the volunteers and instructions. After the briefing the volunteers are lined up behind the trucks and handed wreaths for placement. When you place the wreath please remember you may be the first person to visit this grave in years so take time to read the stone and honor the memory of that hero. The final ceremony will take place at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers at 12 noon.
Sunday Dec 15th
If you are unable to attend Saturday or if you prefer to take images after all the volunteers have gone and all the wreaths are in place, we have planned a second field trip outing to Arlington Cemetery on Sunday Dec 15th at 8:00am. We will meet at the main visitors center.
The wreaths will be in place through Jan 24th. Most people say that the best images of the wreaths and gravesite markers are after a fresh snowfall. But, since we can’t predict when or if it will snow between Dec 14th and Jan 24th, please note that Arlington National Cemetery is open from 8:00am to 5:00pm during those dates.
