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  • Veterans of all branches of military service come together to...

    Rob Ostermaier / Daily Press

    Veterans of all branches of military service come together to mark Veterans Day at the Victory Arch in Newport News Saturday November 11, 2017. The ceremony was organized by the American Legion Braxton-Perkins Post 25.

  • Noah Swatsenbarg stands with siblings Esther and Elias as the...

    Rob Ostermaier / Daily Press

    Noah Swatsenbarg stands with siblings Esther and Elias as the National Anthem is played during Veterans Day ceremonies at the Victory Arch in Newport News Saturday November 11, 2017.

  • Colonel Stephen Rogers the chief of the Future Warfare Division...

    Rob Ostermaier / Daily Press

    Colonel Stephen Rogers the chief of the Future Warfare Division at Fort Eustis delivers the keynote address during Veterans Day ceremonies at the Victory Arch in Newport News Saturday November 11, 2017.

  • Hampton ROTC students plant flags at Fort Monroe for a...

    Kate Mishkin / Daily Press

    Hampton ROTC students plant flags at Fort Monroe for a Veterans Day ceremony Saturday, Nov. 11.

  • Air Force veteran Floyd Brown attends Veterans Day ceremonies at...

    Rob Ostermaier / Daily Press

    Air Force veteran Floyd Brown attends Veterans Day ceremonies at the Victory Arch in Newport News Saturday November 11, 2017. Brown joined in 1959 and did 26 years in the Air Force.

  • Catalina Dalangin and Mayumi McGinnis, 4, plant flags together at...

    Kate Mishkin / Daily Press

    Catalina Dalangin and Mayumi McGinnis, 4, plant flags together at Fort Monroe for Veterans Day Saturday, Nov. 11.

  • Pete Pederson plays with the American Legion Post 25 Brass...

    Rob Ostermaier / Daily Press

    Pete Pederson plays with the American Legion Post 25 Brass Ensemble during Veterans Day ceremonies at the Victory Arch in Newport News Saturday November 11, 2017.

  • Korean War Navy veteran Richard VanDerzee watches as wreaths are...

    Rob Ostermaier / Daily Press

    Korean War Navy veteran Richard VanDerzee watches as wreaths are lain during Veterans Day ceremonies at the Victory Arch in Newport News Saturday November 11, 2017. VanDerzee served from 1950-52 on a destroyer.

  • Deja Dunn, of Hampton University's ROTC program, plays Taps at...

    Kate Mishkin / Daily Press

    Deja Dunn, of Hampton University's ROTC program, plays Taps at a Veterans Day ceremony at Fort Monroe Saturday, Nov. 11.

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As soon as Rev. Michael Robinson pulled onto Fort Monroe Saturday morning and saw Hampton University’s ROTC students, he felt a pull. Then, he saw a bus full of veterans pull up, and he felt an even stronger wave of emotion.

“It kind of just tugged on my heartstrings,” the pastor told a crowd of about 150 people at a Veterans Day event early Saturday morning. He talked about joining the Navy right after September 11, 2001. He spent five years with the Marine Corps and went to Kuwait when he was 20 years old.

Hampton ROTC students plant flags at Fort Monroe for a Veterans Day ceremony Saturday, Nov. 11.
Hampton ROTC students plant flags at Fort Monroe for a Veterans Day ceremony Saturday, Nov. 11.

“For a lot of people, this day is just a day you get off work,” he said of Veterans Day. “For a lot of people in the military its a 96 — four days of liberty. They let you go a day before and come back a day late. But for those who’ve worn the uniform, for those who wear the uniform, we know this day represents so much more.”

The crowd huddled for warmth, listening to Robinson. Later, the families, ROTC members and veterans exchanged stories of military service and planted tiny American flags into the grass — one of the many events planned around Hampton Roads for the holiday.

“To be in a place like Fort Monroe on a day like today is amazing,” Robinson said.

Fort Monroe is like a lasagna, Ranger Aaron Firth said. There are many layers of history from the National Parks Service and the military. Robert E. Lee and Edgar Allan Poe were stationed there, he noted.

“We wanted to have this program for you so we could tell the world Fort Monroe is relevant, that we appreciate our veterans. It’s more than saying thank you for your service. It’s really showing that we appreciate your service,” Terry Brown, superintendent of Fort Monroe, said.

One of the faces in the crowd was James Kotrch, a veteran who brought his boy scouts and eagle scouts. Coming to the ceremony was a way of showing respect, he said.

Deja Dunn, of Hampton University's ROTC program, plays Taps at a Veterans Day ceremony at Fort Monroe Saturday, Nov. 11.
Deja Dunn, of Hampton University’s ROTC program, plays Taps at a Veterans Day ceremony at Fort Monroe Saturday, Nov. 11.

“I’m not gonna lie, when I hear Taps, I cry every time,” he said before the event.

In a speech, Robinson urged people to treat every day like Veterans Day.

“Shake our hands, tell us that it mattered. Don’t ever let a veteran sit in a coffee shop by himself,” Robinson said.

The message resonated with Kathy and Craig Schnepf, who both retired from the Air Force. Though neither was stationed in Hampton Roads, they moved here after they retired to be near the community of veterans.

“It made me think of why we stand for the national anthem,” Kathy Schnepf said.

At the end of the ceremony, scouts from Troops 29 and 31, both in Hampton, presented a flag, folded 13 times, to Robinson.

After that, Hampton ROTC member Deja Dunn started the slow notes of Taps. Kotrch turned around and started to cry.

Catalina Dalangin and Mayumi McGinnis, 4, plant flags together at Fort Monroe for Veterans Day Saturday, Nov. 11.
Catalina Dalangin and Mayumi McGinnis, 4, plant flags together at Fort Monroe for Veterans Day Saturday, Nov. 11.