Veterans Heritage Site Foundation is heavily involved in the Wreath Across America program.  Military and veteran gravesites are Veterans Heritage Sites and this program is a major part of our annual activities. Beginning in 2020 we created within our organization the Great Smoky Mountain Veterans Gravesite project. This program involves identifying the veterans who are buried within the boundaries of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park which includes land in five different counties and two states. We are committed to identifying and honoring these heros. Each year we work on identifying, marking and cleaning these gravesites. We also honor these deceased veterans at their burial sites by placing wreaths the during the winter holidays and flags for Memorial Day.

Currently, 239 veteran gravesites have been identified within the park. The majority of these have been buried within the 63 historic cemeteries in the park but there are several that are not buried in a cemetery. These veterans remains are located in isolated plots that were once part of family homesteads and farms before the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created. We are continually vetting additional gravesites on a daily basis. Identifying these Veterans Heritage Sites involves a great deal of research, time and technical skill. To help in these areas we have partnered with the US National Park Service, the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Historian Frank March, Forensic Anthropologist Arthur Bohannon, and descendants of the original land owners. You can help too. We always need financial and volunteer assistance! If you would like to volunteer or donate to this important project please click on the buttons below!

Are you a member of a church or small community with it’s own privately maintained cemetery? We would love to help you identify your buried veterans and create a program to honor them throughout the years. Please use our contact page to inquire about our Wreaths Across America Community Cemetery Program.