On a crisp, cloudy day, young and old waved Old Glory and paid homage to those who sacrificed for the benefit of our country. In Branson, people lined the streets for the annual Veterans Day Parade.

Before the pageantry, Lt. Col. Oliver North reminded civilians that Veterans Day isn't about a day off from work but a time to pay tribute to our men and women in uniform.

“Thank you. My primary message is the American people need to thank those who have served when our country is in harm’s way,” said North, who served in the White House under President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s.

In Springfield, the Missouri State University campus USO troupe saluted our veterans with a musical tribute. The gesture from today's youth was heartwarming to veterans, especially older ones who fought in what's often referred to as the forgotten war, the Korean War in the early 1950s.

"They called it a police action but, later on, Congress was forced to call it a war,” said John Girth, who fought in Korea.

"It was a war to us but it was a peace action; it was never a declared war. When you lose 50,000 GIs that were killed in action, that's a war to me,” said Chuck Hendricks, another Korean War veteran.

First known as Armistice Day, in honor of the day in 1918 that World War 1 officially ended, Nov. 11 became Veterans Day in 1954 by proclamation from President Dwight Eisenhower to honor all U.S. veterans.

For those who have never donned a uniform, it's impossible to fully understand the sacrifices made by those who have. But, on this day, we can at least say thank you.

"Like the old expression goes, you wouldn't take a million dollars to do it again, but you wouldn't take a million dollars for what you did,” said Girth.