Tuesdays brisk wind and cool breeze flew the flags with ease as the community paid tribute to all who served.
Dawsonvilles 4th Annual Veterans Day Celebration began with a parade where the ones who could take the mile route, proudly walked through Dawsonville Tuesday afternoon.
Others stood with pride on patriotic floats, waving to those who came out in support and adoration.
Some had smiles on their faces, others tears in their eyes.
Wearing their fatigues or dress uniforms, the veterans in the parade were witness to a community that appreciates what they did and what they gave during their years of service.
World War II veteran and lifelong Dawson County resident George David served as the ceremonys grand marshal and led the parade, which began and ended at Dawson County Middle School.
A formal ceremony on the football field and speakers recalling the gift of freedom veterans so selflessly have given and continue to give followed the parade.
"Here today we celebrate this Veterans Day for a few hours and then we go about our daily lives, but as we do so facing challenges and meeting our everyday responsibilities, I think its appropriate that we remember those contributions and sacrifices so many men and women have made through the years," said Capt. Larry Freeland, master of ceremony.
Hundreds were in attendance to honor the veterans.
Quoting John F. Kennedy, Freeland said, "A nation reveals its self not by the men it produces but by the men it remembers and the men it honors."
Keynote Speaker Colonel Jesse Johnson, who recalled the nations wartime history, said, "It became clear that there will always be threats to our freedom. There will be those who wish to challenge our ways of life; however, more importantly, there will always be those who choose to stand ready to defend it."
"Here am I, send me," Johnson said, reciting from the book of Isaiah.
Dawsonville is one of just two nationally recognized Veterans Day sites in Georgia, having received the designation last year from the Department of Veterans Affairs.