SPARTA, New Jersey -- As the holiday festivities approach, families and volunteers across the country have joined Wreaths Across America's mission to honor and remember our country's fallen heroes this holiday season.
Wreaths Across America, a non-profit founded in 2007, honors and raises awareness of the sacrifices of veterans through wreath-laying ceremonies and other events.
At Northern New Jersey's Veterans Memorial Cemetery (NNJVMC), after an entire year of fundraising, families, and volunteers laid wreaths on the graves of their loved ones while saying their names aloud.
This year's proceeds, from the money raised from wreath sales, went towards the organization Pets for Vets, which connects military Veterans with rescued animals.
"You're not decorating a grave, you're remembering people. And we never forget. Even all the ones that never came home, POW's and MIA's. You have to remember and that's what we try to do, to educate everybody on those facts," said John Harrigan, a Vietnam Veteran and founder of the Northern New Jersey's Veterans Memorial Cemetery.
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