OKALOOSA COUNTY - They took an oath to support and defend.

And Wednesday, all who have served were recognized.

Hundreds of people turned out for Veterans Day ceremonies in Okaloosa County.

At one of those events, Channel Three's Laura Hussey met people who bring words like "patriotism" to life.

Rocky Bates: "Thank you for coming today."

Like each of the people he welcomes to the Veteran's Day ceremony, Rocky Bates has a story.

Bates: "I served in the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam Conflict."

Rocky hasn't always gotten thank-yous for his service.

But he'd do it all again, even at 78.

Bates: "Because I love my country. I love the good old USA. I love serving, and I love people."

Patriotism. Respect for service. Love for your comrades-in-arms.

They're values everyone here understands.

Values that transformed Cathy Magnuson's life after a service-related disability.

Cathy Magnuson: "When I got out, I was a little bitter. But when I joined the Disabled American Veterans, and began to do service work, none of that matters anymore. It doesn't matter, you know? It's one veteran helping another veteran."

The sound of a 21-gun salute is familiar to Ruth Jablonsky.

She lives next to the cemetery, and hears the guns during military funerals.

She stands at attention in her yard, thinking of her son, an Army Major who just returned from Iraq.

Ruth Jablonsky: "I watched the plane come in, and when I saw him get off the plane, it was like a ton of bricks taken off my shoulders that he was home safe."

As veterans lost in the past year received their final salutes, a mother's thoughts turned toward her son.

Jablonsky: "Just to be thankful that my son is home, that I don't have to hear his name be called."

In Fort Walton Beach, Laura Hussey, Channel Three News.Okaloosa County Honors Its Veterans