BREWER, Maine — It's a sweet tradition -- doughy pancakes and sticky maple syrup, at no price to those who served our nation.
For the past 12 years, the Bangor Area Breakfast Rotary Club has hosted a pancake breakfast to honor our veterans on Veterans Day. Veterans eat for free, and ticket prices are low for others -- seven dollars for adults and four dollars for kids 12 and under.
The low prices are designed to make sure anyone who wants to come can -- and the proceeds from the event go to Coats for Kids and raise awareness about Honor Flight Maine.
The breakfast was just one of many events going on around the state Monday -- and to many Veterans, that recognition means a lot.
At Solstice Senior Living in Bangor, a group of five men were eager to tell their stories to NEWS CENTER Maine about their days in service. Gathering around a table in a cornered-off library section of the facility, they relayed their experiences.
Victor Pinkham is a U.S. Navy Veteran who was in combat in the Vietnam War.
"I graduated from high school in 1960 -- immediately went into the Navy," Pinkham recalled, later adding, "They send you over there to do a job, and you need to be able to do that job with the backing of the people in your country."
It's a sentiment the U.S. Marine Corps Veteran Andre Plant understands well.
"A lot of the ordinary citizens really don’t understand the sacrifices that we make," Plant said, talking about the sacrifices made by men and women who serve.
But when asked why he chose to enter the Marine Corps, Canadian-born Plant simply said, "Pride. Pride in your country."
For Herbert Colson, choosing to go into the Marine Corps was a way of growing up.
"Back then in the Marines, it was tough in boot camp," Colson expressed. "And for an only child, it was even tougher."
"You give your time -- your life, perhaps," added Gerald Conley, a U.S. Army Veteran.
But seeing the support from the public on days like Veterans Day means a lot to these brave men and women.
"When I marched in the parade and saw them clapping and all that -- that made tears come to my eyes," said Donald Wallace, a U.S. Air Force Veteran who served in the Vietnam War.
"When people say, 'Thank you for your service' -- no, thank you for letting me serve," Pinkham declared.
