Jordan United Church of Christ, South Whitehall, joined more than 1,600 other groups to honor this nation’s fallen heroes on Dec. 14 with a Wreaths Across America ceremony.

The solemn day began in 1992 when the Worcester Wreath Co., Harrington, Maine, found itself with surplus wreaths at the end of the holiday season.

Remembering a trip to Washington, D.C., as a 12-year-old, owner Morrill Worcester, with help from Maine’s Senator Olympia Snow, sent the wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery which were placed on the graves of veterans buried in a little visited part of the cemetery.

In 2005, a photo of that section of the cemetery went viral on the Internet, setting off an increasingly growing number of groups throughout the country looking to have their own wreath program.

In 2008, Congress voted unanimously to declare Dec. 13, 2008, as “Wreaths Across America Day.”

This was Jordan UCC’s first year to honor its 173 interred veterans, ranging from the Revolutionary War to the current wars in the Middle East.

The solemn ceremony filled the sanctuary of the large church with many veterans, family members of deceased veterans and dignitaries to “Remember, Honor and Teach” the mission of Wreaths Across America.