Thousands of holiday wreaths will be placed at the grave site of fallen soldiers nationwide Saturday. Trucks carrying the wreaths made a stop Friday at the Wal-Mart distribution center in St Landry Parish.

"Remember the fallen, teach our children the value of freedom". That is the mission-statement of the Wreaths Across America Program. Several Wal-Mart 18-wheelers full of wreaths, are trekking across the country, and four of them bound for Houston, stopped Friday at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center in Opelousas.

There are also trucks headed to Arlington National Cemetery, and the three sites of the September 11th terrorist attacks. The wreaths will be laid by volunteers and family members at the grave sites of the fallen.

The program started 18 years ago by Morrill Worcester, founder of the Worcester Wreath Company, who visited Arlington National Cemetery as a kid, and it had a lasting effect on him.

National Wreath Laying Day is Saturday. The trucks will head to the Houston National Cemetery.

Jason Newton