Local nonprofit highlights multiple generations of service members

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Each year on Veterans Day, we honor the millions of Americans who have served our country, and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Historic Fairview Cemetery in southeast Albuquerque is a permanent resting place for more than 12,000 veterans.

"Unfortunately, only about 6,000 of them have markers,” said Gail Rubin, president of the Historic Fairview Cemetery nonprofit organization. "There is so much history buried here in the people in Historic Fairview Cemetery. It was established in 1881."

Thursday morning, it was a place for people to visit and remember.

"Rough riders from the Spanish American War, Buffalo soldiers, African American Union Soldiers who fought in the Indian Wars, Korean War, as well of course World War I and II,” Rubin said.

"They were friends, family, neighbors, and we honor them," said Helen Beatty, the Lew Wallace Chapter regent for the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR).

Not only did New Mexicans gather to honor those who served recently, but also those who fought for our country over the last 140 years.

"People generally don’t know that the Civil War was fought this far west,” said local historian and author John Taylor. "There were two Civil War battles in New Mexico, one called the Battle of Valverde, which was fought down south of Socorro—near what used to be San Marcial — and another battle, the Battle of Glorieta Pass, which was fought east of Santa Fe. They were a part of the confederate invasion of New Mexico in 1862."

Those soldiers, now buried in Albuquerque, live on through their stories.

"It’s important to remember these veterans,” Taylor said. “They gave their lives for the freedoms that we enjoy today.”

"By telling their stories, we can help keep that history and the lessons alive,” Rubin said.