Rows of evergreen wreaths honor fallen veterans this holiday season on grave sites at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl.

The wreaths adorn 1,288 graves in the central section of the cemetery and are part of the Wreaths Across American campaign.

While the Worcester Wreath Co. in Maine donates five wreaths to Punchbowl every year to be placed next to the Armed Forces seals near the cemetery’s flagpole, this is the first time the campaign has come to Hawaii in such a large scale.

"The Worcester company recognized this national shrine probably has the greatest number of visitors out of all the 131 national cemeteries," said Punchbowl Cemetery Director Gene Castagnetti. "There’s no cemetery in the system that has the volume of visitors, both our mainland and international visitors, as this national shrine in Honolulu."

Eleven Civil Air Patrol members and volunteers from the Hickam Composite Squadron spent a full day on the wreath-laying project last weekend.

Lt. Col. Carswell Ross, commander of the Civil Air Patrol’s 66th Composite Squadron at Hickam Air Force Base, said a handful of visitors at the cemetery chipped in to help. Some packed their rental cars with wreaths to help take them throughout the central section of the cemetery. "That’s the tear-jerking part. People feel so attached to what we were doing. That was great," Ross said.

In a news release, Capt. Skyler Ross of the Hickam squadron said, "Standing in Punchbowl Cemetery and seeing all of the gravestones reminded me of the freedoms these veterans fought for. Every time I laid a wreath, I would read the name of each veteran’s gravestone and be grateful for the honor to recognize them for their service and sacrifice."