First-ever wreath laying ceremony at Utah Agent Orange Memorial

The wreath laying ceremony at the Agent Orange Memorial in Sunset, Utah, on Dec. 13, 2025. From left to right: Frank Betts, Carolyn Stirn, Jay Jones, Carol Beck, Joseph Vigil, Andy Vigil, Debbie Vigil, Hannah Turk, Larry Kerr and Terry Dammer.

On National Wreaths Across America Day, Dec. 13, wreaths were placed at graves, memorials, and other sites nationwide to honor veterans in a way that helps ensure their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten. 

One of the most notable wreath laying ceremonies this year was in Sunset, Utah, where for the first time the day was honored at the site of the Agent Orange Memorial in Sunset Veterans Park. 

The official groundbreaking ceremony for the Agent Orange Memorial took place on Nov. 15. The monument’s construction began two days later and is still in progress. 

Even though the memorial has not yet been completed, the Utah Agent Orange Veterans Foundation (UAOVF) scheduled a wreath laying ceremony to honor victims of Agent Orange and other toxic chemicals. 

Those victims number in the hundreds of thousands and include Vietnam veterans, Gulf War veterans, and post-9/11 veterans. Service members from all three groups were exposed to extremely hazardous chemicals. 

An information stand located in front of the Agent Orange Memorial contains details about veterans exposed to toxic chemicals. Those details indicate where chemical exposure occurred and other relevant data. 

Some of the information provided at the memorial site relates to Vietnam veteran Larry Kerr, founder and chairman of the UAOVF. This is due to Larry’s exposure to Agent Orange during his service in Vietnam. 

As one consequence of Larry’s exposure to toxic herbicides sprayed in Vietnam, his voice is not quite what it used to be. As he spoke at the ceremony, however, Larry gave a voice to countless Agent Orange victims who no longer have one. 

Larry also played a major role in planning the wreath laying ceremony, where an appropriately decorated wreath was placed in front of the information stand with the solemnity fitting such a revered occasion.

While the wreath laying ceremony was brief, its significance endures.

Wreaths Across America Day is always a very special occasion in the Beehive State, but that was especially so this year, at the first-ever wreath laying ceremony at the rather majestic orange-colored monument in Sunset, Utah.