2018 Wreath Laying Ceremonies at Texas State Veterans Cemeteries
The Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB) Texas State Veterans Cemeteries held their annual holiday wreath laying ceremonies to honor and remember our nation’s military heroes. One holiday wreath was placed on every grave, monument and columbarium for the Veterans and their families who are interred at each cemetery.
“The members of the Armed Forces wake up every morning and put on their uniform to serve and protect the rest of us,” said Chairman George P. Bush. “They do this without question, hesitation or doubt. It is only fitting that we honor their courage and sacrifice, not only during the holiday season but each and every day.”
The ceremonies at the Rio Grande Valley Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Mission and the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen were held on Saturday, November 24.
The Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery had about 4,000 members of the community attend the ceremony and lay wreaths. We are sincerely grateful for the continued support of the Friends of the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery, a local nonprofit who support various events and projects at the cemetery including the organization and promotion of the wreath laying ceremony every year.
American Legion Post 101 and American Legion Department of Texas District 15 were delighted to accept a very generous donation from Doctors Hospital at Renaissance to help purchase additional wreaths and bows for the wreath laying ceremony at the Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery.
The Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery were pleased to welcome about 500 members of the community to their wreath laying ceremony including American Legion 15th District Commander, James Ryan, and Senator Juan Jesus “Chuy” Hinojosa.
The Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene and the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in Corpus Christi held their wreath laying ceremonies on Saturday, December 15.
Twelve hundred members of the community arrived Saturday morning to lay wreaths at the Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene. Congressman Jodey Arrington was the keynote speaker and a large number of local city, county and state dignitaries also attended the event. Many thanks to American Legion Post 61 for organizing the program.
“Our ceremony was outstanding, we had the largest group of volunteers ever,” said Jimmy Defoor, VLB On-Site Representative for the cemetery. “It was a special joy to see all the Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and other children that turned out for this event.”
Approximately 2,200 volunteers attended the wreath laying ceremony at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery including members of three high school JROTC programs. Our deepest gratitude goes to Walmart for transporting the wreaths to the cemetery and to the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association Chapter 23–8 for giving the truck full of wreaths a proper escort on the way to the cemetery.
Wreath Retrievals
We would like to invite members of the community back out to each of our Texas State Veterans Cemeteries to help retrieve the holiday wreaths. For the Texas State Veterans Cemeteries in Abilene, Corpus Christi and Mission, the wreath retrieval ceremonies will be held on Tuesday, January 15, 2019, at 10:00 a.m.
Texas State Veterans Cemetery at Abilene
Wreath Retrieval
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
10:00 a.m.
7457 West Lake Road
Abilene TX 79601
Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery
Wreath Retrieval
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
10:00 a.m.
9974 IH 37 Access Road
Corpus Christi TX 78410
Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery
Wreath Retrieval
Tuesday, January 15, 2019
10:00 a.m.
2520 S. Inspiration Rd.
Mission TX 78572
The wreath retrieval ceremony for the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen will be hosted by the Friends of the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery on Saturday, January 12, 2019 at 3:00 pm. Parking will be available at the cemetery and at the Texas A&M Central Texas campus. Shuttle buses will be running from 1:30 p.m — 4:30 p.m.
Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery
Wreath Retrieval
Saturday, January 12, 2019
3:00 p.m.
11463 SH 195
Killeen TX 76542
The Texas Veterans Land Board (VLB) has four Texas State Veterans Cemeteries across Texas in Abilene, Corpus Christi, Killeen and Mission. These cemeteries are hallowed grounds exclusively for Veterans, their spouses and dependents. They are special resting places, close to home, where friends, family and fellow Texans can remember their loved ones. For more information please call 1–800–252–8387 or visit TexasVeterans.com.
