NATCHEZ &8212; A small crowd gathered at Natchez National Cemetery Thursday for the Wreaths Across America ceremony. There was no shortage of patriotism.

Formal posting of the colors and setting aside holiday wreaths to honor each branch of the military service punctuated the solemnity of the event, which was synchronized among more than 200 veterans cemeteries taking part nationwide.

&8220;My father is a veteran,&8221; said Natchez Alderman Ricky Gray, as he waited for the ceremony to begin. &8220;Anything to do with veterans is special. They are the ones who protect this country. Without them, where would be?&8221;

Members of Mississippi&8217;s Patriot Guard Riders, along with members of other patriotic groups, organized the program to honor veterans living and deceased and those now serving in the military.

Carmen Anderson, representing the Mississippi Riders, conducted the program.

&8220;Freedom didn&8217;t come without a price,&8221; she said. &8220;Our nation stands as a shining beacon of freedom and liberty in the world.&8221;

Her husband, Jera Anderson, also an officer of the Mississippi Riders, asked the group gathered at the cemetery to &8220;remember this day and the reason you are here. The most important thing is to remember the men and women surrounding you, either those under the marble stones or those standing around you.&8221;

Wreaths Across America began in 1992, when Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine, sent holiday wreaths to Arlington Cemetery to be placed on gravesites.

The concept grew, with the idea of a nationwide wreath laying taking shape earlier this year and implemented for the first time on Thursday.

Sgt. 1st Class Severin West Summers III of the U.S. Army 20th Special Forces Group was among about a dozen members at the ceremony to represent the Mississippi National Guard.

&8220;This is part of being a patriot, to respect the fallen veterans,&8221; he said. &8220;People take freedom for granted. Those who died for our freedom should always be in our prayers and in our memories. We should never forget.&8221;

Most of the veterans at the ceremony were combat veterans, said Summers, who returned from a one-year tour in Afghanistan in July.

Wesley Caldwell attended, recalling his service in World War II and the experience of being taken prisoner by the German forces after the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.

&8220;I have never been real active in veteran affairs, but recently I&8217;ve been going to the American Legion,&8221; Caldwell said.

&8220;I was a prisoner of war, and I got really sick in the POW camp. Recently, I found out I was eligible for a little pension, and that makes me feel good,&8221; he said.

Now 84, Caldwell recalls vividly the time in the very cold prisoner of war camp in Neuberg, where there was no wood and no coal to use as fuel for a fire.

And he remembers the battering his division took in the fierce battle. &8220;We lost 7,000 in the battle &8212; captured, wounded and killed,&8221; he said.

&8220;That was about half the division.&8221;

Jera Anderson said one of the most important tasks Americans have before them is to be sure their children learn about the costs of freedom.

&8220;We are here to teach our children that freedom has come with a cost,&8221; he said. &8220;We have to say to them, &8216;someday you may have to pay the cost yourselves.&8217;&8221;