So many people showed up for a Veterans Day ceremony in Joliet that it could make a veteran cry to see the appreciation for their service.

About 150 people filled the hall at American Legion Post 1080, which has become the central location for Veterans Day honors in Joliet.

“The support of the veterans and the sacrifice that they made, it pretty much brought tears to my eyes to see how many people were here,” said Eileen Bogle, a U.S. Army veteran who served from 2000-2022.

Bogle is an ROTC instructor at Joliet Central High School, which provided an honor guard to present colors at the ceremony.

It was the first Veterans Day event attended by Bogle since she left the Army.

Betty Peterson of Shorewood, now 101 and a U.S. Navy veteran from World War II when she served as a stateside clerk for the military, took the ceremony in stride.

Peterson said she comes “every time they have this.”

Having lived so long, Peterson no longer remembers her rank in the Navy. But she does remember the days when she was encouraged to enlist by a lady friend,

“My mom said no,” Peterson said. “The next day, she changed her mind.”

The differences between World War II and future wars was one of the topics at the Joliet ceremony.

Tony Arellano, senior vice commander of the American Legion Post, noted during a speech to the audience how his mother bought war bonds during World War II.

“She never cashed them in,” Arellano remembered. “She said that was for America.”

The American people embraced the war effort against Nazi Germany, Arewllano said, “because they knew they were fighting something they opposed. They were fighting totalitarianism.”

Such civilian support for a war effort had disappeared by the time Arellano served during the Vietnam War.

Arellano spoke of the war protests that made it evident that his country did not support the war in which he was fighting.

“The protests were loud and clear,” he said. “The people didn’t want us to be there.”

But Arellano said the protests during the Vietnam War also showed that “it’s the American people that are in control” of the government.

Vietnam War era veterans now are among senior members at Veterans Day ceremonies.

Tom Zettergren of Joliet was drafted into the Army in 1965 but was never sent to Vietnam.

Zetttergren now plays bugle for Wilmington Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5422.

Zettergren said he thinks of those who fought in Vietnam when he plays Taps.

“I want to show my respect to all those guys who were in Vietnam and the ones who didn’t come back,” Zettergren said.