This weekend, the 6th Cavalry Museum in Fort Oglethorpe will rally the community to celebrate local involvement in America's military history and to honor the memories of soldiers who lost their lives defending the nation.
The occasion is the annual reunion and memorial service for the 6th U.S. Cavalry Veterans Association.
Executive Director Chris McKeever said the association and its annual celebration are a unique project in American cultural commemoration.
She said the 6th Cavalry continually has adapted to contemporary conflicts, allowing its members - new and old - to interact and share their experiences in battle. Many other veterans associations "have become only a resource or a referral," Ms. McKeever said.
Jim Hornady is a 6th Cavalry Veterans Association member who served in the Vietnam War.
"When you're young, you serve your time and don't really think about it," Mr. Hornady said. "As you grow older, you see that value of being part of a unit.
IF YOU GOWhat: Reunion and memorial service for the 6th U.S. Cavalry Veterans AssociationWhen: 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. SundayWhere: 6th Cavalry Museum, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.Information: 706-861-2860, 6thcavalrymuseum.com
"When I was serving (in Vietnam), it was a very unpopular war, and we didn't really talk about it. Now there is more appreciation for the kids in Afghanistan and Iraq. There never can really be a good war, though."
The public is invited to a morning service at Cavalry Memorial Baptist Church, followed by the main memorial service at the museum's flagpole, where a bell will be tolled for soldiers who died in the last year. A lunch will follow.
The 6th Cavalry, active since the Civil War, maintains active groups in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ms. McKeever said.
"There's something about being in battle together that just solidifies your bond to your fellow person," she said. "It's really the local community that has kept the museum open, brought people back and kept that bond going."