YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — Under somber skies, veterans, soldiers and civilians paused Thursday morning to honor those who had come before, those who, in the keynote speaker’s words, “became extraordinary because of their choice to serve their country.”

They gathered to honor the veterans of yesterday and the soldiers of today, who are fighting in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan even as wreaths were being laid at the small stone war memorial on Yongsan.

Some 100 guests and dignitaries attended the Yongsan Garrison Veterans Day ceremony, organized as it has been for the past 14 years by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

“Today we salute and honor all soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines,” Lt. Gen. Charles C. Campbell, 8th Army commander, said in his keynote address.

“They have never been found wanting.… Our servicemembers reflect a society like no other. America and its armed forces stand for what is right and what is good.”

In his remarks, Campbell mentioned his nephew, currently serving with an armored cavalry regiment taking part in the offensive on Fallujah. Campbell recalled how his nephew, Capt. James Holmes Campbell III, follows in the steps of his father, who fought in Vietnam, and his grandfather, who fought in World War II.

Punctuating his words at times with jabs of his finger, and with evident emotion, Campbell listed a litany of countries where U.S. servicemembers fought and died. Highlighting those who fought in Korea, Campbell said “their sacrifices truly make this a hallowed ground.”

American soldiers, he said, had helped rebuild South Korea from a “places of ashes” to a “place where democracy has flourished.”

After Campbell’s remarks, several wreaths and baskets of flowers were placed on the stone monument. A lone bugler played taps, and members of the U.N. Honor Guard performed a 21-gun rifle salute.

“This is the only time of year when we officially celebrate people who served their country,” Jim Malone, a retired Army sergeant first class, said before the ceremony.

Malone, in his role as vice chair of the American Legion’s Foreign Relations Council, has been making the trip from his home in Anchorage, Alaska, to South Korea for almost 20 years.

“We do this to honor them,” he said simply.

During the ceremony, speakers mentioned the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, a reference to the moment when an armistice ended fighting in World War I, and a day which would eventually become known as Veterans Day.

Grant Strombaugh of the VFW said the day also belonged to those who are still listed as missing in action or prisoners of war.

“We must not let others forget,” he told the crowd. “When their nation called, they answered.”

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