More than 44,000…

ARLINGTON, Va. — Rodrick Harris comes to Arlington National Cemetery from his home in Rockville, Md., at least once a month. He works for a funeral home and does business here regularly.

But being here this chilly December morning to help lay the holiday wreaths on the graves of those who are laid to rest here was something this 21-year retired Army veteran says he has never done before today.

“This is a whole different experience for me,” says Harris, decked out in his Lion’s Club of Rockville vest, adorned with at least 200 pins. “It’s…overwhelming,” he adds, searching for the word. “To see everyone out here…I’m moved.”

Harris is one of the projected tens of thousands of volunteers who make the, usually chilly, journey to Arlington, Va., just before Christmas to help the national cemetery ensure that all soldiers who served and are laid to rest here in this austere place have a holiday remembrance. Volunteers will help distribute hundreds of thousands of donated wreaths by the end of the day Saturday. It’s one of Washington, D.C.’s most iconic events, but it’s so much more than a mere tourist stop.

For people like Harris, it’s a way to remember his comrades, he says.

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