Veterans and civilians of all ages hustled through an intense downpour to reach the Smithfield-Selma High School gym, where the school system held its fifth annual Veterans Day service.

More than 600 people filled bleachers and folding chairs for an hour-long ceremony that featured musical performances and several speakers, and the crowd was dotted with military caps and jackets emblazoned with the symbols of every branch of service.

The student All-County Band and All-County Chorus performed military-themed and patriotic music, and dozens of Junior ROTC cadets were in full uniform.

Early in the ceremony, a projection screen displayed photos of young soldiers, many with familiar names like Creech and Barbour. In one photo, a grinning Wade Stewart leaned back, arms wide, in drab olive coveralls.

Stewart, now chairman of the Johnston County Board of Commissioners, was the event's main speaker. "Why do we continue to assemble?" Stewart, a veteran of the Vietnam War, asked the crowd. "It's because of the bond." Almost nothing, he said, is stronger than the bond between soldiers.

Military service makes a permanent imprint on veterans, he said; though he has forgotten the occasional birthday and anniversary, Stewart still knows his military service number. And just the night before, he had lain awake recalling nights spent under a poncho tent in treacherous monsoons during the Vietnam War.

Many of the veterans present also shared a small-town heritage, Stewart said. "We came off small farms, rural areas and small villages," he said. "All of us here raised that hand and swore to uphold the Constitution."

During his speech, Stewart asked a few veterans to stand. One was Raymond Sugg, a World War II veteran with a Silver Star medal pinned to his World War II uniform. The Silver Star is the third-highest award a service member can earn; Sugg earned his for valor on the battlefields of Europe.

The number of veterans present was surprising and moving. They ranged from county and town officials to retirees and brick masons, and most seemed cheered to see other veterans and their many supporters.

On the way to the post-service lunch, Sugg spotted Maggie Banks, a distant high-school-age cousin of his. "You don't have another pair of boots like that, do you?" the elderly man asked, pointing to her bright, floral-print galoshes. "Do you have another pair I could wear?"

At lunch, the veterans and their families ate turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans and more. Dennis Haley, an Army veteran, has attended all of the school system's services.

"It lets us know that people appreciate the time that we spent," said Haley, a Smithfield native who served tours in Korea and Germany in the 1980s.

"I love it," said James Horace, an Army veteran of Vietnam who has also attended all of the ceremonies. He appreciated the chance to be with other veterans, and glean lessons from those older than him.

"It's just a bond; that's what it is," Horace said.

For Pete Outen, also a Vietnam veteran, the event showed a public gratitude for veterans that his generation hasn't always gotten. When he stepped off the plane after his tour, protesters spit at him and his fellow soldiers, he said.

"A lot of us thought we were forgotten, but this show reminds us that we're not," Outen said. Respect for Vietnam veterans in particular has increased even in the last 15 years, he said.

"We're showed a little respect ... we're not looked down on and cast out for what we were told to do," he said.