Wreaths Across America Day 2026: Come help remember them Dec. 19

The CGSC Foundation, along with many other volunteer groups and community members, invite the public to celebrate National Wreaths Across America Day on Dec. 19, 2026, at the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. with wreath placements immediately following. 

The CGSC Foundation is one of many sponsor organizations for the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery that works to support the mission of Wreaths Across America. This year’s goal is to place 20,000 remembrance wreaths on the graves of our country’s fallen heroes. 

When sponsoring wreaths through the CGSC Foundation’s Wreaths Across America page, you also have an opportunity to be entered into a drawing for a gift basket* sponsored by Wreaths Across America Fort Leavenworth and the CGSC Foundation. The basket, valued at more than $200, includes a Fort Leavenworth throw blanket, a bottle of Eagle Rare bourbon, FMWR Fort Leavenworth gift certificates, a Buffalo Soldier monument ornament, and more.  

The last day to sponsor wreaths through any Wreaths Across America group for placement during the 2026 holiday season is Nov. 29. Any wreath sponsorships received after that date will roll over to 2027. 

The Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery, among the first 12 national cemeteries established by Abraham Lincoln in 1862, is located near the center of historic Fort Leavenworth at 395 Biddle Blvd., across from the Frontier Community Center. 

The mission of Wreaths Across America is to remember the fallen, honor those who serve and teach the next generation the value of freedom. The theme for 2026 – “Remember Me” – comes as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, a milestone Wreaths Across America says calls for renewed focus on the individual lives behind America’s military service.

“While we often honor service members collectively, each one has a name, a family and a story,” says Karen Worcester, executive director, Wreaths Across America. “Their sacrifices are deeply personal, and their stories shape the freedoms we enjoy today.” 

Thank you for your support of Wreaths Across America.

To sponsor a wreath visit the CGSC Foundation’s WAA website https://www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/KS0101P or click the button below.

Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s mission – Remember, Honor, Teach – is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies in December at Arlington, as well as at thousands of veterans’ cemeteries and other locations in all 50 states and beyond.

The Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery was established in 1862 as one of 14 national cemeteries at that time. Today the cemetery has more than 23,000 graves of veterans representing every conflict since 1812. Notable veterans buried at Fort Leavenworth include Captain James Allen, 1st U.S. Dragoons, who died in August 1846. Allen’s is the oldest known military grave in the cemetery. Also, the remains of Brigadier General Leavenworth, the fort’s namesake, were disinterred from Woodland Cemetery in Delhi, N.Y., and reinterred in the national cemetery on Memorial Day in 1902. Nine Medal of Honor recipients are also buried there, including Capt. Thomas W. Custer, brother of Lt. Col. George Custer. Thomas received the Medal of Honor twice while serving in the U.S. Army, Company B, 6th Michigan Cavalry; first for capturing the flag at Namozine Church, Virginia, on May 3, 1865, and second for actions at Sailor’s Creek, Virginia, April 1865. Custer died in 1876.

*The last day to sponsor wreaths through the CGSC Foundation’s Wreaths Across America page and qualify for the gift basket drawing is Nov. 29, 2026. Wreath sponsors must be 21 years of age or older to qualify for the gift basket opportunity. The gift basket must be picked up from the CGSC Foundation gift shop prior to Dec. 15, 2026. Shipping is not available. Not redeemable for cash.