The Bismarck Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol didn't quite hit its goal of providing wreaths for 3,800 headstones at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, but it came close.

The wreaths, 2,583 of them, arrived Monday, Maj. Sean Johnson said. The squadron began a wreath sponsorship campaign in November with the goal of raising enough money to have wreaths for each of the approximately 3,800 veterans and family members of veterans interred at the cemetery south of Mandan.

The project is part of "Wreaths Across America," which began in 1992 when the Worcester Wreath Co. of Maine had excess wreaths as Christmas neared. Company president Morrill Worcester had visited Arlington National Cemetery as a child and remembered being moved by the experience. So, the wreaths were placed on headstones in an older portion of the cemetery. Now, the program partners with the Civil Air Patrol and places wreaths at veterans cemeteries in every state.

"We could not be happier and more excited with the tremendous response we received from the community," Johnson, who commands the Bismarck Composite Squadron, said. "So many people and organizations got behind this effort, and we are confident that it will be even bigger next holiday season."

The wreaths cost $15 each, meaning that the CAP raised $38,745.

MDUResources Foundation, Basin Electric Cooperative, Fischer Sand and Gravel of Dickinson and Butler Machinery of Fargo each put up $1,500 for corporate sponsorships. KQDY-FM and Cash Wise Foods coordinated a live remote and sponsorship drop-off point for donations, which Johnson said helped generate a "tremendous response" to the project. Other sponsorships came from small businesses, families and individuals.

The 188th Family Readiness Group, associated with Battery A, 1st Battalion 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment of the North Dakota National Guard, also raised more than $5,000 toward the effort, Johnson said.

Now that the wreaths have made it to North Dakota, Johnson and the CAPare focusing on Saturday's wreath laying ceremony.

Though the Bismarck CAP has participated in Wreaths Across America ceremonies in 2006 and 2007, this will be the first year wreaths will be placed at individual headstones. The wreath laying ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery. Johnson said the public is welcome to attend and help place wreaths across the cemetery.

The ceremony will be one of close to 300 wreath ceremonies conducted simultaneously across the nation at veterans cemeteries. It will take place outdoors on the flag plaza, so Johnson encourages people to dress appropriately for the weather. The chapel at the cemetery will be open during the event, but will be reserved for people who shouldn't be exposed to winter conditions for very long. The ceremony is expected to last about 20 minutes

Wreaths will be placed in three phases upon the conclusion of the ceremony, which will include placement of wreaths for each branch of the military. First, people who sponsored wreaths and want them to be placed on specific graves will go first. Next, CAP members and volunteers will lay out wreaths on graves for people who sponsored wreaths but could not attend. Last, the remaining wreaths will be placed on gravesites starting from the flag plaza and moving out until the supply is exhausted.

Parking will be available on the right sides of the roadways inside the cemetery. The normal parking area near the main building will be reserved for ceremony viewing.

Johnson said he already has heard from a number of groups planning to attend.

"We're going to have some good numbers there," he said. "We're looking forward to this ceremony."

Johnson said he expected the support the project garnered from the community, but he was humbled by the responses of veterans and their families.

"I cannot count the number of calls I took from family members who were in tears as they expressed how much this meant to them to have a wreath placed on their loved one's grave," he said. "It also meant a lot to many living veterans to have their deceased comrades recognized for all their sacrifices."

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)