How 70,000 Arlington Cemetery volunteers touched a mother who lost her son in Iraq

By Anna Giaritelli, Anna Giaritelli

Published December 20, 2015

ARLINGTON, Va. - Saturday marked the ninth time Diane Travis has made the 700-mile trip from Pulaski, Tenn. to Arlington, Va. to place a remembrance wreath on her son's grave in Arlington National Cemetery.

It's no coincidence that she picked December 12 — National Wreaths Across America Day — to visit the country's largest cemetery. Travis, along with 70,000 volunteers from around the country, come together at the end of every year to place commemorative wreaths on the headstones of more than 240,000 veterans buried here.

Travis lost her 22-year-old son Marine Cpl. Jason Lee Davis on July 5, 2008 while he was serving in Iraq. After her son's death, Travis began participating in the Missouri-based nonprofit Wreaths Across America's annual project to honor U.S. veterans during the holidays.

"I'm from Tennessee, I get to come up here once a year and knowing that people care and knowing that people come by here and visit the graves, it gives you a sense of peace," Davis, an American Gold Star Mom, told the Washington Examiner. "It's an honor to see all of these people that don't have people that are interred here honoring our military."