Robert Perea
On the second Saturday of every December, more than 1,000 people turn out to the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley and in more than 4,300 other cemeteries across the United States and its territories to lay wreaths on the graves of those who served our country.
The Fernley event is sponsored by the Nevada Veterans Coalition, which hosts the annual Memorial Day ceremony and performs hundreds of military services annually for veterans laid to rest or interred at the cemetery.
Nevada Veterans Coalition President Rich Crombie was the Fallon Chamber of Commerce's November luncheon guest speaker. He said the coalition focuses on ensuring no veteran is forgotten. He also said the coalition is short-handed in both volunteers and funds.
“Every single person in this room, especially you vets, can volunteer for the NVC,” Crombie said. “You don’t have to be a vet. You just have to be willing to put on the uniform and honor your veterans.”
Crombie is a 9-year United States Navy submarine veteran who served in Pearl Harbor from 1977-86. He is also a Gold Star father; his son is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
He said he joined the coalition after attending one of its events and decided he wanted to help.
“In 2009, the Honor Guard was established, and the mission was clear. We’ve got to honor our veterans, support their families, provide the full military honors that they so richly deserve,” Crombie said. “We want to make sure these veterans are never forgotten.”
The coalition is endorsed by the U.S. Army and is sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Defense and the Nevada Department of Veterans Services. The NVC is headquartered in Fernley, with an office at 140 N. Main Street, but includes members from all over Nevada.
“We’ve also been awarded by the Gary Sinise Foundation, and one year, we’re going to get him to come out,” Crombie said.
“We like to call them patriots, of course,” Crombie said. “They believe in honoring, remembering the soldiers, the sailors, the airmen, and the marines who served their country with duty, and now they’re laid to rest at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery.”
This year, the cemetery surpassed 14,000 buried or interred veterans.
The Veterans Coalition is a 501 c3 nonprofit that operates under bylaws and has a board of directors. The coalition’s mantra is “Honoring all veterans past, present and future.”
“Obviously, the ones for the past has to do with making sure they receive the proper military honors for their burial,” Crombie said. “We try to make sure the proper protocols are followed, and it’s really a top-notch service.”
In addition to regular military burials, the coalition also performs Unaccompanied Services on the fourth Thursday of every month to honor veterans who have died and have no family. That includes their Missing in Nevada project, where the coalition works with funeral homes to identify veterans whose remains have not been claimed by family. Those remains are then brought to the cemetery and given the proper honors.
“We do the exact same thing as if family were there,” Crombie said. “We vowed that not one veteran would be left unclaimed on a shelf.”
Toward its mission to honor present veterans, the coalition has a Veterans Service Officer in the Fernley office. They also go to veterans’ homes and the Veterans Guest House in Reno, helping vets with whatever programs they need.
In honoring future veterans, Crombie said they provide education, speak to many schools and civic organizations, and post colors at business openings, school presentations, and special events. They also lead the annual Fernley 4th of July parade and have an informational booth at the park.
“You need us to represent veterans in America. We’re the people you can call,” he said. “We’ll go wherever you need us to go.”
Although Northern Nevada Veterans Cemetery is a state-run cemetery, Crombie said the state doesn’t always have enough money for everything it needs. Hence, the coalition also helps with whatever is required at the cemetery.
“We want to make sure that everything in that cemetery is top-notch,” he said. “It’s almost as though you walked into Arlington.”
The Memorial Day ceremony and Wreaths Across America are the two main events the coalition hosts every year, and they also participate in the Fernley 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony and a Flag Day event.
Wreaths Across America was started in 1992 at Arlington National Cemetery by Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine. The event went national after a photo of headstones adorned with wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery was circulated online.
The Nevada Veterans Coalition had about 20 wreaths in its first year of memorial participation. They covered every headstone in the cemetery for the first time in 2014 and have done so every year since.
Wreaths Across America is held on the second Saturday of December. It starts at 9 a.m. and typically lasts about 20 to 30 minutes as family members, volunteers, and people from the community come to lay wreaths and pay their respects.
Crombie said the wreaths cost $17 each, but if they buy them in January, they get one free for every two they buy. They are still provided by the Worcester Wreath Company and shipped nationwide.
Crombie said that every year after they purchase the wreaths, any surplus money is rolled over to the next year to take advantage of the January buy two, get one free deal. But that means they have to have money in January, and he said this year, the coalition must dip into its surplus to ensure it can cover every headstone. Crombie said they had to order wreaths by Nov. 29 to get them here in time.
“This year, we don’t have a surplus because now we’re taking the surplus to fund this year, so we’re going to roll into 2025 kind of behind, which is not good,” Crombie said. “We’re about 2,000 wreaths short for this year.”
Donations for Wreaths Across America can be made at the nnvc.org. There is a QR code where you can order a wreath for the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley, or you can click on the Wreaths Across America link and designate your wreath to be delivered to any cemetery in the United States.
For information about Wreaths Across America, the Nevada Veterans Coalition, or any of its programs, call 775-575-6842 or email [email protected].
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