More than 230 graves were honored at Fort Richardson National Cemetery Saturday as part of Wreaths Across America a national program that provides wreaths for veterans graves. Volunteers from Eagle River, Birchwood, Anchorage and Fairbanks put the wreaths out on the snow-covered headstones. Star Photo by Jill Fankhauser

He got his wish Saturday, with blue skies and a temperature of minus 5 degrees.

White headstones stood up in sparkling white snow, contrasting with the evergreen wreaths with red ribbons.

At least 40 volunteers from the Eagle River High School ROTC and Civil Air Patrol squadrons from Birchwood, Anchorage and Fairbanks trekked through snow to place the wreaths.

Thousands of wreaths were placed at veteran headstones all over the country in remembrance Saturday, as part of a program called Wreaths Across America.

Balnius is part of the Eagle River Knights of Columbus, a worldwide Catholic fraternal organization that does charitable work. He is also part of the Anchorage civil air patrol group known as Polaris squadron.

Balnius' involvement with the squadron and the Knights connected him to Wreaths Across America — a program started at the Worcester Wreath Co. in Maine 15 years ago originally to provide wreaths for graves at Arlington National Cemetery. It expanded in 2006 to honor veteran graves across the country.

Last year Balnius and a group of volunteers were able to provide 35 wreaths. This year they had 234 — only a fraction of the 4,600 graves at the state's biggest national cemetery (the other is in Sitka where more than 900 are buried).

Balnius comes from a military family. His spouse is in the U.S. Air Force and both of his parents were U.S. Marines. Balnius himself was in the Navy. It was the death of his younger brother, who died at Fort Drum Army Base in New York. The death prompted him to delve deeper into his faith at St. Andrew Catholic Church and get involved with the Knights.

Balnius said his brother is buried in the Lower 48 and he can't make it to the grave every Christmas. Laying wreaths at other veterans' graves helps him feel better since he's doing something special for other families who've lost a military member.

“This is something I can do to honor the veterans,” he said.

Balnius decided to bring on other councils and civil air patrol groups for this year's event.

The Knights councils purchased the wreaths. They cost $15 each, but a buy-two-get-one-free deal through Wreaths Across America brought the cost down to about $10 per wreath.

The national goal of the program is to provide 1,500 wreaths in 2009 to each national cemetery, about 200 in total.

Balnius invites groups from all over the state to help sponsor 1,500 wreaths for veterans buried at the Fort Richardson cemetery in 2009. He said the wreaths would cost $15,000.

For more information about the wreath program visit www.wreaths-across-america.org.

This article published in The Alaska Star on Thursday, December 18, 2008.