El Pasoan Veronica Muñoz was in tears late last month as she stood a few feet from her husband s casket at Mount Carmel Cemetery. I m crying because of everything that went wrong. It was disastrous, Muñoz said. Where are the flowers and the crosses? It was supposed to be at 10 a.m. Look at what time it is; it s close to 12 p.m. Part of the family had to leave to go to work or go get their vaccine.
The Muñoz family is upset by what they see as a series of blunders by an El Paso funeral home over planning for Jose R. Muñoz s funeral. Aside from confusion concerning the time for the funeral service, the family says delays prevented Muñoz from receiving a burial with military honors.
Fort Bliss National Cemetery graves still adorned with holiday wreaths despite pandemic
Wreaths Across America El Paso
Wreaths adorn grave sites at Fort Bliss National Cemetery.
EL PASO, Texas The Fort Bliss National Cemetery partnered with Wreaths Across America this past week to hold that traditional holiday wreath-laying ceremony, while also making several important changes this year to keep it a safe and socially distanced event.
“The cemetery has done a great job in partnering with Wreaths Across America to make sure that this is a safe event, said Associate Director for Nursing and Patient Care Services Blanca Aragon
Ft. Bliss National Cemetery Wreath Laying Ceremony to be Streamed
Wreaths Across America will stream the wreath laying ceremony at Fort Bliss National Cemetery on Friday, December 18. While the pandemic has limited the number of volunteers that will place these wreaths on at the cemetery, it is still comforting to know that this solemn tradition will still be happening in some capacity.
The ceremony will begin streaming at 10 a.m. on Friday, December 18 and can be accessed at facebook.com/wreathsinelpaso.
This will be the 28
th year that Wreaths Across America is able to honor those who have served and are no longer with us. Considering El Paso’s long military ties to Fort Bliss, the ceremony in particular holds a sacred place in the hearts of many here in town.