With winds whipping at the American flag, Jones County veterans and other residents attended a Veteran’s Day program Wednesday morning at the Veterans Memorial Museum in Laurel.

Vic Lee, an official with the museum, said the event was about saying thank you to those who have served “from the Revolutionary War to today.”

“They placed themselves in harm’s way... and paid the price for us to be here today,” he said. “Freedom is not free.”

Lee noted that this Veteran’s Day came at a somber day when the nation is still reeling from last week’s deadly attacks at Fort Hood in Texas.

“Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 unarmed military personnel and wounded 29 others,” he said. “All you hear is his name, and not those individuals he killed or wounded. I pray that we do not have any other instances like that in this nation.

“We need a strong military to defend us,” Lee added. “Let us say not just today, but every day thank you to those men and women on duty for us.”

State Sen. Chris McDaniel (R-Laurel), who himself comes from a military family, served as guest speaker for the event.

McDaniel, whose grandfather served in World War II, noted that it’s often said that we live in a post-heroic society.

“To those who say we have no heroes, I remind them that they just aren’t looking in the right place,” he said. “Veterans don’t beat their chest to remind others of their heroic sacrifice. When their country asks, they lay it on the line. These noble warriors and distinguished gentlemen of courage unite. We remember you and you have accomplished extraordinary things.”

McDaniel recalled visiting an old funeral home in Collins when his grandfather died. “It’s the first time I had dealt with death and seen my father cry,” he said.

While standing at his grandfather’s casket, McDaniel said he saw something that caught his eye, a black and white photograph of his grandfather as a smiling young man in a Navy uniform.

“I knew there was something special about this man,” he said. “It was a great honor for me that day. As volleys were fired over his gravesite and the still Mississippi air was breached by the playing of ‘Taps,’ my sadness morphed into something very sure. My grandfather was a hero, a patriot, a veteran.”

McDaniel said his grandfather was not a man of great earthly wealth, but “he earned his wings... his value.” He added that his grandfather had signed up shortly after the bombings on Pearl Harbor.

“Almost 65 winters have passed since that glorious Japanese surrender,” he said. “We’re losing our friends to age and disease. I want to say thank you before it’s too late. You transformed from children of the Depression to what Tom Brokaw called the ‘Greatest Generation.’”

McDaniel talked of the veterans who “rode with Lee at Chancellorsville and stood like a stone wall at Manassas.”