In times of crisis, it’s refreshing to see our country’s fallen heroes aren’t forgotten.

A trio of boroughs in Carbon County have made sure of that through their participation in the National Wreaths Across America program.

Lehighton, Summit Hill and Nesquehoning have placed wreaths at the graves of local veterans for the holiday season.

Kevin “Spike” Long, commander of the Lehighton United Veterans Organization, said the group placed the wreaths at the Lehighton Cemetery on Dec. 16.

Long said that initially the plan was to place the wreaths on the veterans’ graves on Dec. 19, but due to the impending snowstorm, the decision was made to put the Christmas wreaths on the veterans’ graves a few days earlier.

“The ones that were donated from people in Lehighton, we put them over on a plot in the Lehighton Cemetery where there’s a pretty good contingent of Civil War veterans,” Long said. “They don’t get anybody to visit them anymore, so we thought we’d give them that honor this year.”

The local initiative was spearheaded by Summit Hill teen Gabriel DeMatto and Christine LeClair, Carbon County Veterans Affairs director.

Last year, DeMatto approached the Rev. Allen Hoffa, pastor of St. Joseph Parish of the Panther Valley, about starting a program that would place wreaths on the graves of veterans who were buried in the parish’s cemeteries, much like the national program does, as a way to honor the fallen and teach younger generations about the meaning of sacrifice and selfless service.