Sailors assigned to Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC) are volunteering at Albert G. Horton Veterans Memorial Cemetery, in Suffolk, Dec. 12, to help lay 7,000 wreaths.

NECC's Operational Specialist 2nd Class Sabrina Jackson from Jacksonville, Florida coordinated volunteers from the command to help out with the wreath laying event to honor fallen veterans.

"Being able to lay wreaths on the headstones of veterans is important to me because it gives me the personal opportunity to recognize those that have gone before me to defend our country's freedom and democracy around the world," said Jackson.

Gabriela Morrison, spokeswoman with the Horton Wreath Society, helped to coordinate the annual event at the Albert G. Horton Veterans Memorial Cemetery and expects to have more than 4,000 volunteers to assist with the wreath laying.

"I have been volunteering for the past five years and it has been amazing to see the number of volunteers that have grown over the years," said Morrison, who added when she first started volunteering five years ago they only had several hundred who provided assistance.

Morrison, who served on active duty in the Navy for six years, expects active-duty, retirees and civilians from across the Hampton Roads area will volunteer at the cemetery to pay their respects to the fallen.

"It's an honor to have children also participate in this event to teach them about honor, tradition, and sacrifice to pay respects to the fallen," said Morrison.

She added that their annual event also honors the living and provides them an opportunity to pay their respects and helps in the healing process.

NECC is an enduring war fighting force providing sea-to-shore and inland operating environment capabilities across the full range of military operations, which is focused on delivering combat-effective expeditionary forces ready for worldwide operations now and into the future.


For more news from Navy Expeditionary Combat Command , visit www.navy.mil/.