Gov. Bob McDonnell stood before men tested and worn by years of war, and thanked them for their service as young troops fanned across the globe.
And yet as McDonnell toured the Sitter & Barfoot Veterans Care Center in Richmond on Monday, the 67th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the residents showered him with thanks.
"It shows appreciation for what we had to do," said Charles Garnett, 87, who served in the Army during World War II. "We really didn't want to at the time. But we did, and we did it because we were asked to do it."
"We all made the best of it. We had no choice at the time. You had to fight for your country. And we're not going to give this country up too easily to anybody. Old as we are, we're still ready to fight if we have to."
Honoring that generation was of personal significance to the governor and first lady Maureen McDonnell, both of whom had parents who served in the war.
The governor's father, John Francis "Jack" McDonnell, served in Thurleigh, England, with the 306th Bomb Group of the 8th Air Force during World War II, flying aboard bombers that made runs into Nazi-occupied Europe.
The first lady's father, Frank Gardner, served in the Pacific during World War II, in the battles of Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
"You are in fact the greatest generation," McDonnell told the center's residents gathered for his visit. "You … really are responsible for the incredible prosperity that we have as Americans today."
"Some of you have sacrificed years of your life, some of you limbs, some of you other (afflictions) because of your service in the military."
The 160-room center sits on the campus of the McGuire Veterans Administration Medical Center but is run by the Virginia Department of Veterans Services. A 40-bed expansion is in the works after a federal grant with a state match came through.
More than 85 WWII veterans are in residence.
Gordon McCandless served in the Navy during WWII and then enlisted in the Army and served in Korea and Vietnam. In retirement, he hit the road in an RV. Now he gets around on different wheels.
"What goes around comes around," McCandless said in praising McDonnell for stopping by. "And he knows what payback is."
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