MNVM holds wreath ceremony

Veterans and military members were honored for their dedication to the country during a brief ceremony that was held in conjunction with a national event. Missouri’s National Veteran Memorial held its annual Wreaths Across America event on Saturday.
Wreaths Across America is a national program that involves community members purchasing wreaths and donating them to decorate graves for veterans and serve as memorials for them during the holidays. The program started as a project in Maine but quickly gained popularity and became a nationwide event.
In the first year, 58 wreaths were sponsored by community members in Perryville to donate as memorials for fallen veterans. The second year greatly exceeded those as 162 wreaths were sponsored. The third year, the goal was to have at least 150 wreaths and it went past that goal with 161 wreaths again for 2020. Each December on National Wreaths Across America Day, our mission to Remember, Honor and Teach is carried out by coordinating wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 3,400 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea and abroad.
For MNVM Executive Director Rae Lynn Munoz, it is a way to honor veterans during the Christmas season.
“It started as a simple gesture of thanks that has grown into a national movement of dedicated volunteers and communities that come together to remember the fallen and other military members and honor their service,” Munoz said. “It’s also a teaching opportunity for the next generation about sacrifice that so many made for us to live freely.”
She said as much during the event.

“We gather as one nation to remember and teach,” Munoz said. “The freedoms we enjoy today did not come without a price. Veterans and other military members sacrificed so that we could live in freedoms and without fear. We can live as we see fit and each our children. The United States of America was founded on ideas of justice, equality, and freedom. Our nation stands as a shining beacon to the world.”
Wreaths were laid in recognition of each branch of the armed forces, as well as those classified as Prisoner of War or Missing in Action.
“Today more than ever, we reflect on our veterans and active service members who have and continue to fight for us,” Munoz said. “For those of you here today who have answered the call for the country, we say thank you. There are many men and women were are serving our country here at home and places far away we have never heard of. These men and women are part of the best trained force in the world. We hoor them and their families for the sacrifices they make to keep our country safe from terrorism, hatred and injustice,” Munoz said.
She ended the speech with a quote from former United States President Ronald Reagan.
“Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction. We don’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It is to be fought for and protected through them.”