George Washington is quoted as saying, “A nation is judged by how well it treats its veterans.”

Treating veterans with respect is vital when they are living, and we believe Washington’s words also ring true when applying them to how we address veterans who have passed away.

We are pleased to highlight a recent instance of teens in Lunenburg County showing respect to fallen heroes.

As we reported last week, members of the Central High School chapter of the Ruri-Teen Club went to Arlington National Cemetery in December to aid people from across the country in laying wreaths on the graves of veterans.

There were 18 participants from the area, including students and a chaperone, who drove to Arlington on Dec. 16 to volunteer with Wreaths Across America, a national organization that seeks to honor fallen veterans by laying wreaths on each grave at the cemetery and the cemeteries of more than 1,200 localities throughout the U.S.

It is an approximately three-hour trip from Central High School to Arlington National Cemetery, so making the journey showed commitment, and we were pleased to see how engaged students were in the activity.

Amber Davis, Ruri-Teen Club sponsor, said the Central students “understood why they were there, and each student spoke aloud the names of the veterans as they laid wreaths on their graves. … The students had different methods for choosing graves. Some chose veterans who were from Virginia, while other students sought out veterans who shared the same birthday as them. The day’s activities closed with a special wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, which our students attended.”

We enjoy great freedoms that did not come without a great price, and we commend these students for honoring those who paid it.