MCAS Cherry Point  –   An MCAS Cherry Point couple serving aboard the base’s medical clinic share a passion for honoring America’s deceased service members every holiday season.

Mr. John Pick and his wife Amanda serve aboard Naval Health Clinic Cherry Point, John as a General Schedule civilian and Amanda as a contracted Supply Technician and volunteer their spare time with Wreaths Across America as location coordinators for Cedar Grove Cemetery in New Bern, North Carolina. 

“I chose to be active in Wreaths Across America because it is our duty to honor all our veterans past and present,” said Pick.  “I volunteer at Cedar Grove Cemetery in New Bern [North Carolina] during the spring through fall seasons maintaining the grounds, cleaning veterans’ headstones, straightening headstones and identifying veterans buried there without headstones so we can order them through the VA and give them proper recognition.”
 
Pick, a native of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is a Financial Technician aboard the clinic.  Previously, he served 17 years in the Marine Corps in Motor Transportation before his medical retirement with deployments aboard the USS Kearsarge and in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Pick and his wife volunteer in communities surrounding MCAS Cherry Point throughout the year to increase awareness of the organization’s mission.

“Last year I volunteered to lay wreaths at the National Cemetery in New Bern and realized that the 375 identified veterans buried at Cedar Grove were not getting recognition,” said Pick.  “That day my wife Amanda and I decided that it was our duty to make sure that never happens again.”

Both John and Amanda volunteer in communities surrounding MCAS Cherry Point throughout the year to honor deceased veterans.  Through various activities and events, they raise awareness about the organization’s mission and the need to honor America’s service members who have passed away.

“It’s important to honor those veterans that came before us and to say their name and honor their sacrifice for our country,” said Pick.

Wreaths Across America is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at national cemeteries across the nation.  This year’s National Day of Wreath Laying is scheduled for Saturday, December 14.