Young and old united Sunday to celebrate and remember those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The Ames Patriotic Council hosted a Veterans Day memorial service, honoring veterans and remembering the origins of Veterans Day, in the auditorium at Ames City Hall.

The audience filed in, filling a quarter of the auditorium, as the Heartland Senior Services’ band played “America the Beautiful.” Brian Snider, Ames Patriotic Council president, opened the ceremony by stressing the importance of honoring veterans.

“Today we honor those men and women whose personal sacrifices have preserved our nation through the toughest of times. They embody everything that makes this country great,” Snider said. “American veterans truly deserve the thanks of a grateful nation.”

The ISU ROTC color guard presented the colors to a standing audience that remained standing for the “Star Spangled Banner.” Everett Freel, commander of Ames American Legion Post #37, took the stage and recited a poem by Linda Ellis. The poem portrays a child asking his or her mother what a veteran is, and “describes how we have gathered here today, and what we honor,” Freel said.

Freel also spoke about how the number of veterans is increasing daily and how the current wars are affecting the United States today.

“Our nation is making new veterans every day,” Freel said. “The war on terrorism is painful and personal. As the war on this terrorism continues, there are many skirmishes that our veterans here at home are involved in.”

Snider passed the microphone to audience members who served in the armed forces or who were representing a family member who had been lost in combat.

The guest speaker was Army Reserve Captain Dan Walter, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2003 to 2004. He spoke about the origins of Veterans Day. It began as Armistice Day, marking the end of World War I and honoring its veterans. The day was later changed to Veterans Day to honor all veterans of American wars.

“I ask that all you remember that today we will most likely, and unfortunately, lose one or two more soldiers to war. There will also be a handful more injured as they attempt to protect our nation,” Walter said. “We must remember the fallen and their family members. It is right that our nation sets aside one special day to publicly recognize and celebrate the strengths of these special Americans.”

State Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, member of the Ames Patriotic Council and associate professor in economics, ended the ceremony. He spoke about the Ames Veterans Memorial “Descending Strength, Ascending Peace,” which was completed last year. It now displays 11,000 bricks representing veterans that have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.

The memorial is a living memorial, which means bricks can be added to the monument at any time.