KILLEEN, Texas (KXXV) — Wreaths for Vets prepares wreaths every year to be placed on each grave in the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery. This year, the project will have 16,000 total combined wreaths and mini wreaths.
- Wreaths are prepared before Thanksgiving and are laid on the Saturday after Thanksgiving each year
- Wreath retrieval will be on Jan. 11, weather permitting
- Organizers said they always need volunteers to help prepare, lay and retrieve the wreaths
- The Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery opened in 2005. It now serves as the resting place for approximately 8,300 veterans and family members
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
“It's a small little thing we can do. It doesn't take very little time," Dianne Campbell said. "It's just a way to say we're a patriot. We love our nation, we love those who have served and we want to show that appreciation.”
Dianne Campbell spent her Saturday morning helping prepare wreaths to be laid at each grave at the Central Texas Veterans Cemetery after Thanksgiving.
"My heart is very full," she said.
For Campbell, the annual Wreaths for Vets tradition is extra close to her heart after losing her husband nine years ago. She said he served 40 years in the military.
"My husband is in Arlington and they do the same thing out there and I can't be there," she said. "But just to know that there's people in our community that love and care about our veterans like I do and like my family does and like my friends do, it means a lot.”
For her and many others, these events are also an important way to pass on traditions and values to the younger generation. Campbell said she always brings her children and grandchildren.
“I think it's important that young people get involved in these types of activities, so that we can honor and respect those who serve who gave us our freedoms,” Campbell said.
This year, organizers said there will be a combined total of 16,000 wreaths and mini wreaths for the cemetery.
"I think you don't want to forget the sacrifices that have been made, not only by the service members, but by their families," Veteran and executive committee organizer Stan Bolcer said.
"I think for a lot of the folks in the community that are tied to the military, because Fort Cavazos is so close, whether they know a family member or a service member that they serve with, that may be buried at any cemetery across the country," Bolcer said. "This gives them their opportunity to reflect and give back in a way over the holidays."
