Veteran volunteers laid holidays wreaths in honor of fallen soldiers

PHOENIX (KSAZ) - They gave their life honorably for this country -- and no matter how much time passes-- there are people who want families to know these veterans will not be forgotten-- especially during the holiday season.

Wreaths Across America is an annual ceremony that honors fallen soldiers, at a time of the year when families can really start to feel the loss of that loved one, no matter how long it has been.

The focus at today's wreath laying was thanking those veterans and thinking of them during the holiday season.

Hundreds of families gathered at the National Veteran's Memorial Cemetery in Phoenix for the ceremony.

Volunteers throughout the valley laid wreaths on gravestones while saying the name of each and every veteran out loud.

Organizers say laying the wreaths is just a small act that goes a long way towards keeping the memory of our veterans alive.

Wreaths Across America organizes these wreath laying ceremonies for more than one thousand veteran cemeteries across the nation; more than 900,000 laid nationwide.

"There's a sense of community. Its solemn and its humbling, but it's also joyful. We're here to gather a community and family to let our active and our families know that we understand that there tables and living rooms at the holiday season that are not necessarily full and are missing people."

"This shows that some of our old veterans are remembering the old ones so they are coming out to honor them and that's what we're all about."