Two El Paso ceremonies commemorate Memorial Day

This Memorial Day El Pasoans honored and thanked the men and women who died serving our country while protecting our freedom.

Veterans laid to rest at local cemeteries certainly received all the pomp and circumstance they deserve at two ceremonies, one at Fort Bliss National Cemetery, and the other at Concordia Cemetery.

For those who attended to honor their fallen comrades, the holiday brought up some memories.

“Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is like having a tattoo on the brain. It can’t go away. Those of us who were really there and did what we needed to do for this great country and came back, nobody ever told us thank you,” Jesus Padilla from the Native American Veterans Affairs said.

In observance of the holiday, many people visit cemeteries and memorials, and volunteers often place American flags on each grave site at national cemeteries.

More than 170 soldiers are buried here at Concordia Cemetery.

“We should do a lot more for the veterans who served our country,” Jesus Fidel Torres said.

Memorial Day was first observed was in 1868 at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C. Even after Fort Bliss National Cemetery was created, many veterans were still buried at historic Concordia, one of the oldest burial grounds known in El Paso.

“Many people chose to be out here with their families … instead of buried by themselves at Fort Bliss,” Patricia Kiddney, president of the Concordia Heritage Association, said.

For many, the annual day of remembrance isn’t enough to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the United States of America.