The national event impacted traffic between San Antonio and New Braunfels on Friday as a convoy of 18-wheelers carrying wreaths and close to a hundred motorcyclists left the Walnut Square Shopping Center for Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Veterans salute after laying a wreath in honor of the Air Force on Saturday at the Vermont Veterans Home in Bennington during a ceremony for Wreaths Across America Day on Saturday. Rowlan represented the ROTC alongside veterans from each branch of military.

"It's because of his service, and the service of others, that we're able to live our lives as we do and enjoy the freedoms we have, that we're able to come together - even disagree if we want", she said. Over the course of about a week, she and other volunteers went row-by-row through the hilly cemeteries, counting where the local VFW had placed American flags on veterans' graves; they used plastic utility flags to mark any other graves that noted military service. "It's kinda hard to put into words".

Every time they laid a wreath, they were encouraged to pause, say the veteran's name, and thank them for their service.

Despite the cold temperatures and a light snowfall, about 150 people were at the ceremony, many of them children or teenagers. It's part of the Wreaths Across America program.

And it was the generosity of the community that helped the cadets purchase the wreaths. "Although we have placed these wreaths on the headstones of those who moved on before us, the Wreathes Across America experience is very much for the living".