Veterans honored at NHC in Bristol

BRISTOL, Va. — A crowd gathered at the NHC in Bristol Thursday, saluting the flag and honoring veterans.

"I've been to ceremonies and have actually cried for deceased veterans," says Sgt. James Nace from the Veterans of Foreign Wars Honor Guard.

Nace served in the U.S. Army for 33 years.

"I want people to know that we still do this kind of thing in America for the Veterans who have already died," Nace says. "We honor them for their sacrifice to keep us a free nation under God."

While it's become a staple in American culture to enjoy barbecues, parades, and fireworks on the fourth, Bristol, Va. Mayor Neal Osborne says it's important to remember how we got to this point.

"If it wasn't for these veterans, the soldiers who are serving currently, there's no Fourth of July," Osborne says. "There's no America."

Osborne's dad served in the Air Force, giving him an even greater appreciation for those who serve.

"People tend to gloss over the knitty, gritty hard parts of what they do,” Osborne says. “You don't see your family. You're 24 hours a day on call basically. You don't get a vacation when you're in a war zone."

Nace tells me he never takes these days for granted.

"Tears me up sometimes,” Nace says. “These fellas are suffering. When you're older aged it isn't cracked up to be what they say it is."