BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WWLP) – Veteran’s Day was celebrated at Belchertown High School Monday morning with a special ceremony.

The Chestnut Hill Community School band, chorus, and the Belchertown community paid tribute this veterans day to honor and remember those who have served.

One of the veterans honored, Keith Poulin. He served in the military from 1977 to 2001, serving in the United States Army, Air National Guard, and the United States Air Force.

“The nation has really turned the tide and is more and more recognizing of the sacrifices for not only veterans but what their families have made as well,” Poulin said.

For kids, Veterans Day might not seem like much more than a day off from school. But many kids, especially young, were taking in the ceremony at Veteran’s Memorial Auditorium.

Some people told 22News that it’s important to teach the younger generation about the sacrifices being made every day in our country.

To teach them a little bit about what we’ve come through helps us to understand what our life was like today and what we want to preserve for the future generation but also what has been preserved for them,” Pastor of Hope United Methodist Church, Joy Toll-Chandler said.

Americans around the country not only honoring those who have served during a specific period of war, but who have served in the U.S. Military at any point in our history.