Albuquerque honors vets with holiday wreaths

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.  – Families from near and far all gathered at Sunset Memorial Park Saturday morning to observe National Wreaths Across America Day.

“We had people come in from all over, our RSVP list includes folks from Dallas, Texas, Denver, Colorado lots of families from Albuquerque,” said Josh Glass, executive director of Sunset Memorial Park.

They raised enough funds to place nearly 1,000 wreaths on graves across the cemetery, but aside from that it also provides a unique opportunity to teach the next generation.

“It is a very special day for a lot of families that have veterans here at the park and it is a training, learning opportunity, to teach young children and remind us as adults about what these veterans have done for us,” he said.

This was the first time Sunset Memorial Park has participated in the event. They hope next year they will be able to place more wreaths on the gravesites of veterans.

“It is a serious thing to honor veterans, but it is also a fun thing. It is a time to gather, it’s a time to bring your family out just time for the kids to get to see what this is all about,” he said.