NATCHEZ &8212; Natchez National Cemetery on Thursday will be one of 200 cemeteries across the country to participate in Wreaths Across America.

Organized by the Patriot Guard Riders with help from the Civil Air Patrol, the wreath-laying ceremony will be 11 a.m. in the Central Time Zone, with all other sections of the country and Puerto Rico synchronized to hold ceremonies at the same time.

Gregory J. Whitney, director of the Natchez National Cemetery, said ceremonies such as Wreaths Across America are especially important during a time when many U.S. troops are in harm&8217;s way, as they are in Iraq and Afghanistan.

&8220;The way the environment is today, it&8217;s important to promote an awareness,&8221; Whitney said. &8220;There still is some true patriotism out there.&8221;

Whitney likes the idea of the synchronized ceremony. &8220;This is a big deal, with all the wreaths laid at the same time,&8221; he said.

Jera Anderson, one of the Mississippi members of Patriot Guard Riders, helped to organize the state&8217;s participation.

He said the Riders, now about 69,000 world wide, has a two-prong mission.

&8220;We stand in honor and respect at funerals and memorial services for soldiers,&8221; he said. &8220;And, second, we stand to protect soldiers&8217; families from protesters.&8221;

In fact, the Riders sprang from an awareness that some soldiers&8217; families were undergoing protests during funerals.

&8220;We put a wall of flags between the protesters and the family,&8221; Anderson said.

Traveling on motorcycles, a group of the Mississippi Patriot Guard Riders will come for the Natchez ceremony.

&8220;We&8217;re asking the VFW to take part,&8221; Anderson said. &8220;But what we&8217;re desperate for is to get the word out to more veterans. This ceremony is not just for the deceased. This celebrates and honors those still with us and those fighting the battle today.&8221;

The ceremony also is for those who want to honor veterans. &8220;You don&8217;t have to ride a motorcycle. You don&8217;t have to be a vet,&8221; he said.

&8220;You just have to have an underlying respect for the ones out there who put themselves in harm&8217;s way.&8221;

In Mississippi, wreaths also will be laid at national cemeteries in Corinth and in Biloxi.

The wreath-laying idea springs from a 1992 observance. Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine, began donating wreaths to be laid on veterans&8217; graves at Arlington National Cemetery.

The idea has grown, this year evolving into the synchronized event.

Morrill Worcester, president of the wreath company, bought into the idea of Wreaths Across America in September.

Not a veteran himself, Worcester said the holiday season is a good time to remember veterans.

&8220;We can&8217;t imagine a better time to stop and take a moment to say thank you &8212; to remember that what we have today is only here because of those who gave their lives, and the families who will be without loved ones these holidays,&8221; he said in a statement.

More information about the event is available by calling Anderson at 601-984-1592 or 601-214-2835.