Wreaths Across America ceremony set for December 13

By Roscoe Barnes III
Natchez, MS, USA / ListenUpYall.com
December 4, 2025 | 10:46 AM
 

As participants in the Wreaths Across America program, Home with Heroes volunteers placed wreaths on the graves of more than 700 U.S. military veterans in December 2024 at the Natchez National Cemetery.

NATCHEZ, Miss. – Home with Heroes will host the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday, December 13, at the Natchez National Cemetery. The annual event is part of a nation-wide program in which millions of people pay tribute to U.S. military veterans by placing wreaths on their graves.

Saturday’s program is free and open to the public.

“As a veteran and the widow of a veteran, Wreaths Across America is more than just a patriotic act—it’s a deeply personal way to honor the veterans who have passed,” said retired Army Major Gabi Crousillac. She is the vice president of Home with Heroes and chair of the Mayor’s Veterans Task Force.

Retired Army First Sergeant Ben Tucker participates each year in the Wreaths Across America program. For him, it is more than a tradition.

“I do it because I am a soldier, a retired soldier,” he said. “I understand the contributions the soldiers have made to this country and the future we all share. It’s more than worth the sacrifice.”

Tucker is a board member of Home with Heroes, and he also serves on the Mayor’s Veterans Task Force. He is the first vice commander of the VFW Post 9573.

Crousillac said the day’s ceremony will be held on the old side of the Natchez National Cemetery at the Committal Service Shelter. It will open with a prayer by Vietnam-era Army veteran Doug McAlister and the welcome by Mayor Dan Gibson.

Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Herman Curry, Jr. will serve as the guest speaker. Curry is the instructor of the Natchez High School’s AFJROTC program. The ceremony will include a presentation of wreaths by Boy Scout Troop 158.

Crousillac said members of the local Dirt Broke motorcycle group, many of whom are veterans, will also attend the ceremony. “Taps” will be performed by McAlister, who is president of the Point Man International Ministries of the Miss-Lou.

Crousillac will serve as the Mistress of Ceremonies.

Following the ceremony, over 200 wreaths will be laid on the graves of the veterans.

This year, Crousillac will place a wreath on the grave of her husband, Brad Cromie, who died in 2024. He served in the Marine Corps. She said the volunteers will also be sure to lay a wreath on the grave of G. Mark LaFrancis, the founder and former president of Home with Heroes — and energetic promoter of the Wreaths Across America program. LaFrancis passed in June 2024 following a long battle with cancer.

Speaking last year, retired Army Lt. Col. Larry Smith, former president of Home with Heroes, praised LaFrancis for his contributions to the Natchez community. “Mark lived his life with purpose, providing support to local veterans and their families, as well as to the broader community, through his writing and his filmmaking, he said. “His example has been an inspiration to us all.”

LaFrancis was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. His wife, Eileen Mary Maher, died in August. Her name appears on the opposite side of LaFrancis’ headstone.

See more at this link: https://listenupyall.com/2025/12/04/wreaths-across-america-ceremony-set-for-december-13/