KINGS MOUNTAIN, N.C. — Even though the Veterans Day Parade in Kings Mountain was a washout on Monday, former members of the military didn't let the rain ruin the day.
Besides, they'd been through a lot worse when it came to weather.
"These veterans have been out there in the foxholes. They've been in the snow, they've been in rain, heat, they have been in a lot worse than a little sprinkle out here," said Air Force veteran Harvey Mayhill.
Following a presentation at the Joy Performance Center, a free lunch was provided to veterans at the American Legion. Over chili dogs smothered in cole slaw, men who were once soldiers recalled the good times and the bad.
"We stuck together, and we knew the only way to get out of there was just get along, and we did," said Bobby Merck, who served his country nearly 50 years ago in Vietnam.
Merck told NBC Charlotte the 11 months he spent in Southeast Asia were life-changing.
"It was bad," Merck said. "We lost a lot. I got wounded myself but thank the Lord, I made it."
Ever since he returned home, Merck and his fellow brothers in arms have celebrated Veterans Day at the American Legion in Kings Mountain.
"It's a proud thing, it's an honorable thing, and I would do it all again if I wasn't so old," joked Mayhill.
He's now involved with the Quilts of Valor of Foundation, whose mission is to cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting, healing, hand-made quilts.
"It's a brotherhood," Mayhill said, describing what it's like to be a veteran.
"What lesson can this country learn from a day like today?" asked NBC Charlotte's Evan West.
"To respect our forefathers and to know what they went through for us to have our freedom today," said a woman attending the event.
