On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month veterans and families and thankful citizens met at Memorial Park for Veterans Day.

"The most underutilized words but the most important words in the English language continue to be those words....thank you," said Chancellor Jack Hawkins Jr. with Troy University.

There was no shortage of thank you for Wendell Stepp, a champion of veterans’ rights, who passed away earlier this year and now a monument in the memorial bears his image

"It is a great day, and a great day for a great person in Wendell Stepp and for a lot of great people in our veterans and our community that support our veterans so well," said Al Smith.

Chairman Memorial Committee, Forrest Register, said "He was truly a civic minded individual who supported this community and with his heart he supported the veterans."

Visitors also paid respects to the memory of Marques Knight who died this September in Afghanistan, one of the Wiregrass most recent additions to the memorial.

"I think it's a good gesture for Dothan to have something like this to remember the veterans going on. Just to be here, and see it... I never thought I'd see it here in Dothan," said Jerry Knight.

As the years go on, younger generations of service members look to maintain the sentiment and feeling of these ceremonies.

"All the privileges they have, there was a generation before them that made some sacrifices the next generation has to pick up that torch and lead by example," said U.S. Army LTC Allan Pepin.

Tuesday’s ceremony also marked the dedication of the Wiregrass Armed Services Memorial.