PLAQUEMINE — One memorial in Iberville Parish is part of a growing event honoring those who serve to defend the nation.

Dedicated in 2008, the Iberville Parish Veterans Memorial honors each branch of the military and past foreign conflicts, including World Wars I and II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The Huey helicopter behind the memorial came later, unveiled in 2019, as a way to honor veterans of the Vietnam War.

Bronze statues represent both those who serve and those who enjoy the nation's freedom. Letters etched into metal share the stories of those who served and the home they longed to return to.

Fry Hymel, an Army veteran who served during the Cold War, helped start the parish's first Salute to Veterans, an annual event each November which now takes place at the memorial. Hymel said its inaugural year in 2000 gathered a circle of veterans at the parish's museum, numbering more than 100 people.

"We see these people on the streets every day in our community. But many times we don't realize they're veterans. They served somewhere," Hymel said.

Over the years, the event got bigger, eventually moving to the Veterans Memorial.

Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle said there is much that citizens can learn simply by looking to veterans.

"It's important that we remind our next generation that the sacrifices that our veterans have bestowed are allowing us that freedom right here in the United States," Daigle said.

As the event grows, so too does the Wall of Veterans, which goes up each November on display at Salute to Veterans, depicting the names and faces of more than 2,000 servicemen and women.

"This is one opportunity, one day of the year to show great respect, great honor, great tribute to those who have served their country," Hymel said.