AUSTIN — Today Veterans Land Board Chairwoman and Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D. encouraged Texans to help the Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery (SVC) in Mission, Texas achieve its goal of having over 4,200 wreaths sponsored to lay at the graves of our nation's heroes.

The cemetery's Wreath Laying Ceremony is on December 14, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. Currently, the cemetery has 143 wreaths sponsored, only 3.2% of its goal. The Rio Grande Valley SVC is also seeking volunteers to help with the ceremony.

Wreaths laid at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen

Visit the Rio Grande Valley SVC Wreaths Across America page to sponsor a wreath, volunteer, or invite a friend to help by clicking the button below:  

 Rio Grande Valley SVC Wreaths Across America

Veteran Cemetery Events and Volunteer Opportunities 

Veterans can email VoicesofVeterans@glo.texas.gov to tell their stories. Please note that the Veteran must be a resident of Texas at the time of their interview.

Voices of Veterans is a state agency's first Veteran oral history program. It records the stories of Texas Veterans through their time in service and after returning home from combat.

The VLB records interviews with veterans over the phone or in person. Their interviews are then permanently archived in the Office of Veterans Records at the GLO, where they join the historical documents of other Texas heroes such as Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Barret Travis.

Veterans' interviews are also available to researchers, historians, genealogists, and the public. These precious records inspire future generations and remind us of our Veterans' sacrifices.

To listen to the over 500 archived stories of Veterans documented through the GLO's Voices of Veterans oral history program, click the button below:

Voice of Veterans