MIA POW Major Thomas &uot;Buddy&uot; Waring Bennett Jr.’s 1971 Buick Rivera, kept in mint condition by friends and relatives, was parked in front of the Red-Watkins Vocational-Technical building at Copiah-Lincoln Community College Thursday.

Inside, the W.L. Nelson Multi-purpose room was filled with those who came to pay tribute to America’s heroes at the &uot;Salute to Veterans&uot; ceremony.

Donnie Verucchi, senior vice commander for Mississippi’s VFW, told veterans present: &uot;This is your day, we have come to honor the freedom we have and those who fought and died for it.&uot;

Verucchi spoke about our nation’s need to remember the nation’s veterans and to teach young American’s about the sacrifices that have been made so they can live in freedom and safety.

&uot;Let us honor our obligations to our veterans as they have honored their obligations to us and let us thank them for making it a safer, more peaceful world,&uot; Verucchi said.

Mark LaFrancis, director of public information for Copiah-Lincoln Community College and a Vietnam veteran, choked back emotions as he gave gratitude to veterans past and present.

&uot;Thank you men and women in uniform, those here and those not. We owe you a debt that we will never be able to repay,&uot; he said.

The crowd also watched a documentary on Major Bennett, produced by Co-Lin Introduction to Broadcast students,

titled &uot;For the Love of Buddy.&uot;

Bennett’s mother Louise said she kept the Buick in hopes that some day her son, who became missing in action when the B-52 he was in was shot down near Hanoi, would be able to return home and take her for a drive.

&uot;There are only 12 of us gold star mothers (mothers with sons missing in action) left, but there lots of sons missing,&uot; Louise said. She said not a day goes by that she doesn’t think of Buddy.

Sharon Goodrich acknowledged the empty chair on the far left of the stage, with a POW/MIA banner, as being placed in honor of veterans still missing.

She also acknowledged Wesley Caldwell, a former World War II POW, who did return from a prison camp in Germany.

Goodrich said another World War II POW, Bob Mims, could not be present. She said Mims recently learned that a fellow soldier, who he had thought perished when the aircraft they were both in was shot down, had survived and was living in Branson, Missouri.

He was not at the event because he was visiting his friend.

The ceremony concluded with a benediction by Rev. Cynthia Barfield and taps played by Natchez High School juniors Chris Tucker and Kenny Johnson.

A group of students from Cathedral High School were present at the event and many seemed to leave with a deep appreciation of the sacrifices that veterans have made.

&uot;It takes on a whole new meaning for me after today,&uot; said senior Claire White. &uot;This really brings it to life and helps me understand what these people have done to protect us,&uot; she said.