“Remember the fallen. Honor those who serve. Teach the next generation the value of freedom,” is the mission of nonprofit, Wreaths Across America .
In some of our neighborhoods, the nonprofit is working with local cemeteries to help do that, including the Arizona Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery at Marana .
Each year thousands of cemeteries, including several here in Southern Arizona, participate in the annual tradition of placing wreaths on the graves of veterans.
Wreaths Across America Location Coordinator, Lori Schaeffler has been working towards the mission for the last 15 years. She explains that very early on, she knew this was work she needed to continue after speaking to the mother of two veterans who had wreaths placed on their graves.
She says the mother told her, “You do not realize what it means that you guys honored my two sons. I thought everybody forgot.” Schaefller said, “She had tears rolling down her and from that point on my husband and I were like, ‘we’ve gotta keep doing this.’”