Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was spotted on Saturday at Arlington National Cemetery volunteering to lay wreaths to honor the nation’s veterans.
The conservative justice was seen laying wreaths at the cemetery with Wreaths Across America — a nonprofit organization that holds a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery every year.
Thomas was seen in a photo alongside Washington, D.C.-based journalist Emily Miller, who shared the picture on Twitter.
“Love how Justice Clarence Thomas quietly lays wreaths with all the other volunteers every year at Arlington National Cemetery for #wreathsacrossamerica to honor those who have the ultimate sacrifice,” Miller wrote.
Love how Justice Clarence Thomas quietly lays wreaths with all the other volunteers every year at Arlington National Cemetery for #wreathsacrossamerica to honor those who have the ultimate sacrifice. pic.twitter.com/xerCBt8ICM
— Emily Miller (@emilymiller) December 17, 2022
The journalist went on to note that Thomas also spent time that day supporting Gold Star families — meaning those who have lost an immediate family member in the line of duty of military service — at Arlington.
According to the Western Journal, Thomas has been known to take part in laying wreaths for veterans for several years.
The Supreme Court justice has been seen honoring veterans at Arlington National Cemetery in the past in other ways, as he was photographed helping to clean up the cemetery in 2013.
Saturday was National Wreaths Across America Day, in which wreaths are not only placed on graves at Arlington National Cemetery, but at “more than 3,400 cemeteries in all 50 states, at sea, and abroad,” according to Breitbart News.
“The annual tradition began in 1992 when Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company in Maine, had a surplus of wreaths for the Christmas season. Worchester then made arrangements to place some of the wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery,” the outlet reported.
The tradition continued year after year, until it gained national attention in 2005 after a heartwarming picture of several tombstones covered in snow with wreaths placed on them went viral.
Two years later, Worcester — along with veterans and other groups — formed Wreaths Across America while continuing their annual tradition of honoring veterans.
Miller also shared a video to YouTube of the thousands of volunteers who had gathered to take part in this year’s volunteer effort to lay wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery. While she states in the video that she believes there are roughly 200,000 graves at the cemetery, Arlington’s website states that “approximately 400,000 veterans and their eligible dependents are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.”
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