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DVS Staff to Honor Our Nation’s Fallen Service Members at Memorial Day Ceremonies & Events Throughout New Mexico

By DVS

New Mexico Department of Veterans Services (DVS) staff will be attending Memorial Day ceremonies and events throughout New Mexico on Memorial Day Weekend (Friday, May 25 through Monday, May 28.)

 

Friday, May 25

DVS will be presenting a pre-Memorial Day ceremony at its Ft. Stanton State Veterans Cemetery. DVS Health Care Coordination Director Mitchell Lawrence will give the Keynote Address at a 10a.m. ceremony at the State Veterans Cemetery at Ft. Stanton. DVS Cemetery and Memorials Deputy Director Ed Mendez will handle the Master of Ceremonies duties.

 

Sunday, May 27

In Angel Fire, DVS Cemetery and Memorials Director Tom Wagner will be attending a pre-Memorial Day Candlelight Vigil at 6p.m. at its Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Facilities Manager Debra Herbst will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.

 

Monday, May 28 (Memorial Day)

DVS Secretary Jack Fox will honor our nation’s fallen service members during his Keynote Address at the Seventh Annual Healing Field of Flags Ceremony at 5p.m. in Farmington. More than 500 American flags will be on display at the Farmington Boys & Girls Club Football Field, located at 1825 East 19th Street. He will be joined by DVS Farmington-based Veterans Service Officer Beverly Charley.

 

In Angel Fire, DVS Cemetery and Memorials Director Wagner, who is also a Vietnam Veteran, will deliver the Keynote Address at an 11a.m. Memorial Day Ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

 

In Albuquerque, Deputy Secretary Alan Martinez will be one of the honored guests at the annual Memorial Day Ceremony at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial, located at 1100 Louisiana Blvd. SE.

 

DVS Administrative Services Director Sal Soto will attend the annual 10a.m. Memorial Day Ceremony at the Santa Fe National Cemetery.

 

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe Veterans Association in Ignacio, CO, has invited DVS Field Services Director Larry Campos to deliver Guest Remarks at its annual Memorial Day Powwow on Memorial Day.

 

In Las Cruces, DVS Veterans Service Officers J.R. Turner and Larry Ramos will be attending and representing the agency at the annual Memorial Day Candlelight Vigil. The 8p.mceremony takes place at the city’s Veterans Memorial Park, located at 1151 Roadrunner Pkwy.

 

In southeastern New Mexico, Carlsbad-based DVS Veterans Service Officer Dagmar Youngberg will represent the agency at the city’s annual Memorial Day Parade and Ceremony. The parade begins at 9:30a.m. on Canyon St. in downtown. The ceremony begins immediately after the parade.

 

And in Hobbs, DVS Hobbs-based Veterans Service Officer Dalton Boyd will be representing the agency at the city’s annual Veterans Day ceremony at the Prairie Haven Cemetery, located at 2101 East Stanolind Rd.

 

Memorial Day History

Memorial Day is a federal holiday designated by Congress as the last Monday in May to remember the men and women of the United States Armed Forces who have lost their lives while serving in combat.

 

Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the Civil War, when families of Union and Confederate soldiers began decorating the graves of family members killed in that war.

 

The ritual continued through World War I, as families decorated the graves of fallen WWI soldiers.

 

After World War II, the name and concept of this special day had evolved into Memorial Day, as families honored fallen military family members lost in this war.

 

In 1967, Congress formally declared Memorial Day a national holiday to honor all men and women who have died in combat.

 

The New Mexico Department of Veterans Services urges New Mexicans to attend a ceremony to honor our nation’s men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving and defending our country as members of the United States Armed Forces.

 

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