MILITARY MATTERS: Veterans Day - WTVM.com-Columbus, GA News Weather & Sports

MILITARY MATTERS: Veterans Day

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FORT BENNING, GA (WTVM) -

Veteran's Day means different things to different people. 

For retired Col. Ralph Puckett, it's an opportunity to tell the military story.  Not his story, although Puckett's heroic actions as a U.S. Army Ranger in Korea and Vietnam are legend.

He instead holds the words of General Dwight Eisenhower close to his heart.

"He said humility must always be the portion of any individual whose acclaim was earned by the blood of his soldiers. They're the ones who carried me on their shoulders. I would be nothing without them."

For Toni Gross and her daughter Natalie, this is their second Veteran's Day without their loved one.

Gross' only son Frank was killed in Afghanistan in July of last year. Mother and daughter were here for Monday's paver dedication along the Heritage Walk at thight e National Infantry Museum.

‘It's hard to come here", said Gross. "There are a lot of wonderful memories that are evoked here at the National Infantry Museum. My son's still alive when I come here, in my heart and in my spirit."

Gross now volunteers with the USO at the Tampa International Airport. She's found it's a way to honor her son's memory. 

Active duty soldiers were also giving back, as Ft. Benning troops paid their respects to World War Two veterans. The men and their families had come to the museum by bus from Dothan, Ala. 

Yes, different things to different people. 

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