AUSTIN, Texas — On Saturday morning, hundreds of people came out to the Texas State Cemetery in East Austin to honor fallen service members by laying wreaths on their graves.
Volunteers and families at the ceremony laid 3,300 veterans’ wreaths as a part of National Wreaths Across America Day. Gov. Greg Abbott said this event is in line with Texas values.
"Even though it's something that happens across America, it is, in a way, quintessential Texan," Abbott said. "What Texans do, we support and recognize and do whatever we can to thank those who serve."
Candy Turco from Hutto brought her two granddaughters to the wreath-laying ceremony to learn an important lesson.
“They should always humbly respect anybody in the military,” Turco said.
To show that respect, they prayed over the graves.
"We just prayed in general for all the service men who are serving right now and the ones who have given their lives for our freedoms that we will never forget," Turco said.
But she wasn’t the only one teaching the younger generations. Leila Banse and Kelly Wadsworth brought their sons, Luke and Jett, as a part of their mother/son service organization, Youth Men’s Service League.
“This is one of our philanthropies, and so it's very special and we're honored to be part of it, to come and honor the veterans that have given their lives for us,” Banse said. “I think there's nothing more important than our freedom here.”
Walking through the graves of leaders who sacrificed for their freedom touched them.
"It's a little bit emotional walking through, just to see and looking at the dates and the times and all the different stories," Wadsworth said.
And just like that, sharing this tradition with their kids became a day they won’t forget either.
“This is just a special thing to be able to do,” Wadsworth said.
You can learn more about Wreaths Across America on its website.