SubmittedVolunteers placed wreaths Saturday at Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Newton as part of the Wreaths Across America program.

NEWTON — Close to 1,000 people gathered Saturday at the Mississippi Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Newton, for a ceremony to honor and remember fallen veterans by placing a Christmas wreath at each of their headstones.

The ceremony was a part of national Wreaths Across America day. More than 1,600 cemeteries participate in the program throughout all 50 states, Puerto Rico and national cemeteries on foreign soil. Last year more than 1.8 million veterans’ wreaths were placed at 1,640 participating cemeteries.

Family members and volunteers took the wreaths and placed them at the site of the more than 970 veterans who are laid to rest at the state cemetery in Newton.

The wreaths were purchased from the Friends of Mississippi Veterans, a nonprofit organization whose purpose is to promote public interest in and support for Mississippi Veterans Affairs, the four state veterans nursing homes and the two veterans memorial cemeteries.

Executive Director Stacey Pickering said by partnering with Wreaths Across America, they are able to honor the veterans who have served, remember those who have fallen, and teach the younger generation the price of freedom.

“This event supports the work we do for our veterans each day, and that is to provide superior service, care and assistance to Mississippi’s 186,000 veterans and their families,” Pickering said.