Thousands of wreaths — each one representing a fallen member of the armed services — will be trucked through Brookhaven Thursday on their way to Houston for wreath-laying ceremonies to be held nationally Saturday.

Area veterans, their families and anyone with a patriotic spirit are encouraged to attend a wreath-passing ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday  at Easthaven Baptist Church as part of the national Wreaths Across America project.

Walmart  in Brookhaven is hosting the ceremony as part of Wreaths Across America, an organization that places wreaths on the graves of veterans across the country. Their partners include Easthaven, Riverwood Family Funeral Service, Copiah-Lincoln Community College and the City of Brookhaven.

The event will include former Miss Mississippi Laura Lee Lewis who will sing the national anthem and a video tribute to World War II veteran Howard Britt, said Terrance Turner, an Army veteran and manager with Walmart who has also been instrumental in organizing the event.

Brookhaven has participated in the ceremony for the past 10 years.

Walmart is holding wreath-passing ceremonies all over the country, but Brookhaven’s ceremony is more elaborate than some, Turner said. Veterans and their families are encouraged to attend. Following the ceremony, lunch will be served.

The trucks are headed from Worcester Wreath Co. in Harrington, Maine. From Brookhaven they’ll split up and go to Natchez and to Amite, Louisiana, to be distributed in ceremonies at cemeteries there. The caravan will be escorted by the Patriot Guard and the Mississippi Highway Patrol to the state line. Some of the trucks will head to Houston.