OUTER BANKS, N.C. — Applause rang out as our veterans from recent conflicts, all the way back to World War II, stood up to be honored at Nags Head's Veterans Day ceremony on Wednesday. This was one of many Veterans Day celebrations held up and down the beach.
A lot comes to mind for the veterans News 3 spoke with Wednesday when asked what Veterans Day means to them.
"Veterans Day means to me, honoring everyone who has served. My grandfather served in World War II, and I kind of followed in his footsteps to join the military and serve my country," said Brendan Cameron, a Navy veteran.
"Veterans Day means a lot to me because my dad was in the Navy in World War II. I didn't get to meet him until I was five years old," said Edwin Liebig, an Army veteran.
News 3 attended ceremonies in Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills. Both had dozens of community members there to celebrate veterans who answered the call to serve and helped protect the freedoms we have today.
"It was special," said Cameron.
"Thank you for the support. I appreciate people thanking me for my service," said Liebig.
Dare County Veterans Service Officer Patricia O'Sullivan has many family members who have served in our armed forces.
"My father was a Marine, my brother was a Marine, his son was a Marine, my husband was Navy, my nephew was Air Force, and my son was Army. Veterans are very special to me," said O'Sullivan.
News 3 also spoke with O'Sullivan about how Veterans Day can spotlight services available to veterans on the Outer Banks through Dare County and veterans organizations.
"Our veterans they they signed up and they put their lives on our lives to defend us and I feel like the least I can do is to try to help them as best as I can. I feel personally that this community, veterans are very important to them, and I see them honoring them all the time," said O'Sullivan.
Cameron also talked about how important support can be, even if it's simply checking on other veterans.
"Veterans should check on other veterans or people who are close to them check on them as well, because you never know what they're going through at that time. Every day is different," said Cameron.
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