The Welcome W. Chandler Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas proudly announces that this Christmas season all 2,000 veterans buried at Greenleaf Cemetery will be revered with lovely, fresh, handcrafted balsam wreaths from Maine.  

“We have 2,000 wreaths to lay on Greenleaf Cemetery veterans’ graves next Saturday,” said Mary Lee Bailey Shelton, wreath liaison for Brownwood’s DRT. “We need help!”

The Daughters invite family, friends, and all Brown County community members to the Wreaths Across America Day ceremony at Greenleaf Saturday, Dec. 13, 10 a.m., at the cemetery’s new office. The office is located at the old, original entrance to the cemetery in the 100 block of Texas Street, on the north side of the cemetery.  

DRT supports Wreaths Across America’s motto to Remember the Fallen. . . Honor those who Serve. . . and Teach our children the value of Freedom. That is what Wreaths Across America Day exemplifies.

“Thanks to our generous sponsors, we are gratified to honor all our Greenleaf veterans in 2025,” said Dr. Julie Welker, president of the Brownwood DRT. Welker added that DRT and Wreaths Across America have worked for several years to reach their goal of honoring all 2,000 veterans. “We can now recognize every one of them at this year’s event.”

Saturday’s event will begin with a short ceremony highlighted by the posting of the U.S. and Texas flags on horseback, recognition of each branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, patriotic songs sung by the Coggin Elementary sixth grade choir, and cannon salutes. Complimentary Starbucks will be served. 

Following the ceremony, the audience will be directed to take the wreaths to veterans’ graves that are marked with small fluorescent flags. At the grave, participants are to say the veteran’s name, thank them for their service, and place the wreath on the headstone.

“The experience is utterly moving,” Shelton said. “It really does hit my heart as I say the name on the headstone, thank them for their service, and contemplate the years they lived and served.  I wonder about that mother, that spouse, those children who missed him or her, or that mother, that spouse, those children who never existed because the veteran gave their life for our freedom before they had a chance to live out their life.”

The 2,000 veterans at the historic cemetery personify Texas and American history. Greenleaf veterans’ service chronicles the Texas Revolution, the Civil War, the Spanish American War, the American Indian Wars, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Cold War, and Middle Eastern conflicts.

Greenleaf Cemetery is one of thousands of cemeteries across the United States and the world that will be honoring veterans on Dec. 13, at 10 a.m. Millions of volunteers around the world will be saying American veterans’ names and thanking them for preserving the country’s freedoms on the same day. 

The journey to honoring Brown County veterans is an inspiring one. Fresh, balsam, fir tree wreaths are handmade in Maine, using local greenery, and hand-boxed 12-to-a box. A trucking company donates their rig, gas, driver and time to deliver the wreaths to cemeteries across America. Volunteers at the cemetery unload and oversee the wreaths until Wreaths Across America Day. Volunteers distribute the wreaths around the cemetery to make it easier for more volunteers to place the wreaths. On Wreaths Across America Day volunteers take the wreaths, fluff them, straighten the bows, carry them to a grave, say the veteran’s name aloud, thank the veteran for their service, and place the wreath on the headstone. 

Wreaths Across America is a non-profit organization with a mission to Remember, Honor, and Teach, best known for coordinating the annual placement of fresh balsam wreaths on veterans’ graves at Arlington National Cemetery and thousands of other locations nationwide and abroad, especially on the second or third Saturday in December. Volunteers place wreaths while saying each veteran’s name aloud, honoring their service and sacrifice, and teaching younger generations the value of freedom, ensuring no one is forgotten. Wreaths Across America is committed to teaching all generations about the value of their freedoms, and the importance of honoring those who sacrificed so much to protect those freedoms. 

DRT is Texas’s oldest patriotic women’s organization, founded in 1891. DRT is dedicated to preserving the history, records, and memory of the Texas Republic era through education, research, and stewardship of historic sites like the Alamo (though their role there changed in 2015). They are lineal descendants of those who served Texas before annexation, manage historical properties, and maintain extensive archives, aiming to teach future generations about Texas’s founding families and independence.