MOUNT VERNON — Honoring veterans should extend beyond one day, Mount Vernon Fire Department Assistant Chief Nathan Hines told veterans and their families Wednesday.
“It should be reflected in how we treat one another,” he said. “How we appreciate our freedoms and how we teach the next generation about the sacrifices that made those freedoms possible.”
Hines, a Navy veteran, spoke at a Veterans Day ceremony on Public Square. He thanked the veterans for taking the oath and noted every veteran’s story is different, whether they served in war or peace, overseas or stateside, and whether or not they speak about their experiences.
“Remember the men and women behind the uniform. Remember their stories, recognize their sacrifices, and never take for granted the freedoms we have been given.”
Assistant Fire Chief and Navy veteran Nathan Hines
He also honored military families, citing the spouses, children and parents who endured missed holidays, long separations and the worry that comes with military life.
Hines opened by explaining the holiday’s history. An armistice ended fighting in World War I on Nov. 11, 1918, and the date became known as Armistice Day. President Dwight D. Eisenhower renamed it Veterans Day in 1954.
“Veterans Day became a day to recognize every American who has worn the uniform of our Armed Forces, regardless of when or where they served,” Hines said.
Finding a new direction
Hines said military service gave him the direction he lacked as a young man.
Hines has lived in Knox County most of his life and has served the fire department for two decades. Before that, he served in the Navy as a damage controlman.
He fought shipboard fires, worked as a hot suit man during helicopter crash and salvage operations, and served on a vessel boarding, search and seizure team.
He said he always planned to join the Marine Corps. Instead, he worked as an operating engineer in Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky, earning more money than he had imagined.
“But there was always something missing,” he said.
He moved to California, where his life began to unravel.
“I was heading down a path that, quite honestly, could have ended with me in jail or dead,” he said. “I knew I needed something different even if I didn’t fully understand what that was at that time.”
A newspaper classified ad changed his course. It offered a $5,000 bonus to become a firefighter. Hines went to the listed address and found a military recruiting office.
Naval recruiters introduced him to the damage controlman career field. He visited the Marine Corps recruiters down the hall, but they could not offer a comparable job. He chose the Navy, a decision he said “changed the course of my life.”
The Navy taught him discipline, maturity and accountability. He also learned the value of teamwork.
“Perhaps one of the greatest lessons was understanding that life isn’t always about what you want for yourselves,” he said. “Sometimes it is about recognizing that you are part of something bigger.”
Recognize an opportunity
Hines urged young people in the audience to stay open to unexpected paths, despite their plans or expectations.
“Don’t be afraid to recognize an opportunity,” he said. “Don’t underestimate the value of discipline, commitment and being part of something bigger than yourself.”
He closed by saying the Navy made him “a better man, a better leader, and a better servant to my community.”
“Sometimes the greatest impact of an experience isn’t what it gives you at that time, but what it makes you become,” he said.
“When I look back at my life, I realize that the Navy gave me much more than a job or a place to serve. It gave me direction. It gave me structure. It helped me understand responsibility and what it means to be accountable to something beyond myself. Those lessons followed me home and continued to shape the person I became.”
Assistant Fire Chief Nathan Hines
Sunshine and a warm breeze bathed Public Square as Lt. Col. Chris Salvucci opened the ceremony at 11 a.m.
The 2026 ceremony included the traditional rifle salute performed by the Knox County Joint Veterans Council and laying of wreaths by the Daughters of the American Revolution, Gold Star Mothers, and the VFW.
Air Force JROTC posted and retired the colors, and Pastor Doug Pummell gave the invocation.
The Mount Vernon High School choir sang the national anthem, and the MVHS band played the Armed Forces Medley and “Taps.”
The Eyes of Freedom traveling memorial will be at the CA&C depot, 501 S. Main St., through Friday. The memorial honors honors 22 Marines and one navy corpsman of Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment who died in service to their country while deployed in Iraq between May and August of 2005.
(Below are Cheryl Splain’s photos of the 2026 Veterans Day ceremony.)
