Moving, humbling and inspiring, is how Ed and Cheri Kavanagh of Federal Street in Wiscasset described being among an estimated 44,000 volunteers taking part in the Wreaths Across America project at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday, Dec. 17.

The Kavanaghs are both active in the Wiscasset community. They reside in the landmark Octagon house. Their trip to Arlington, Virginia was a year in the making, they told the Wiscasset Newspaper following their return.

“After Cheri and I witnessed the caravan of tractors carrying the wreaths drive through town, we decided this was something we’d like to take part in,” Ed Kavanagh explained. The first step was enrolling as volunteers on online.

On Dec. 15, they drove to Rumson, New Jersey where they spent the night with their son and daughter-in-law, Scott and Jada Kavanagh and their teenage children Patrick, 17, and Kaitlyn,13. They, too, had volunteered to lay wreaths. Saturday morning found three generations of Kavanaghs standing outside the gates of Arlington National Cemetery.

“Honestly, the weather couldn’t have been much worse. It was cold, gray and pouring rain. I think at that point, we were probably all having second thoughts. After they let us in we went right over to the tractor trailer trucks. They told us to stretch out our arms and they placed four wreaths on each arm,” Ed Kavanagh said.

“They said we could start in any section we wanted to, reminding us we were there not to decorate the graves but to pay homage to those who had served our country. At that point, we forgot about our own discomfort and started to really think about the many sacrifices and hardships these servicemen and women had made, many of whom had given their lives. It was quite humbling,” he added.

The Kavanaghs were part of the first group of volunteers waiting in line. After they entered the grounds and saw the hundreds of white memorial stones, they wondered how the colossal job would ever get done.

“More and more volunteers just kept showing up. It was really amazing,” Cheri continued. “We were told to lean the wreath on the memorial stone with its red bow facing upwards, saying the name of the soldier whose name was inscribed on the stone and thanking him for his or her service to the country. It was very moving.”

As the day wore on, the Kavanaghs met people of all ages from all over the country. “We were so very proud to tell everyone we met that we were from the state of Maine where all of the wreaths had come from. It was such a beautiful and moving sight to see these green wreaths with the red bows on row after row of the white memorial stones,” added Cheri.

The Kavanaghs hope to volunteer again next year when Wreaths Across America will celebrate its 25th year. This year, 245,000 wreaths were placed at Arlington National Cemetery, which spans 624 acres.