Hanover -- Dick Colt graduated from Hanover High School in 1942, spent the summer working at Bath Iron Works in Maine, and spent just one month at the University of New Hampshire before enlisting in the Army.

He spent four and a half months during the winter and spring of 1944 embedded beneath Anzio Beach as the Axis forces shelled the Italian coast. Of the 100,000 soldiers who served with Colt, two-thirds were killed, wounded or taken prisoner.

“I can only say that I'm one of the lucky ones that came back from that sort of conflict,” he said.

Colt returned to his native Hanover yesterday with his wife, Betty. He, along with other military veterans from New Hampshire and Vermont, was honored for his service at the first Veterans Honor Day held at the Hanover Inn, whose employees conceived of and organized the event.

Among the contingent of veterans, there was a healthy representation of World War II soldiers like Colt and from the conflict in Korea, who were heralded as members of “The Greatest Generation” by Dartmouth President Emeritus James Wright, himself a retired Marine. Wright and his wife, Susan, recently traveled to Normandy, where there are a total of 68 markers representing New Hampshire and Vermont soldiers who died during the D-Day invasion.

“I realized that these were young men … who had a whole lifetime of dreams and expectations ahead of them, until suddenly those dreams and expectations were gone, and they made the sacrifice there that is forever,” said Wright.

“There's not a single piece of our economy, of our culture, of our politics, of our public service, that has not been supported and sustained by the greatest generation,” he said.

Veterans of all ages lined East Wheelock Street to watch the New Hampshire Police Association Pipe and Drum Band perform, as well as the color guard and drill team from Norwich University. At the Hanover Inn, the veterans were praised by several speakers, including Wright, Hanover Inn General Manager Carl Pratt, U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes, D-N.H., and Robert Walton, director of the White River Junction VA Medical Center.

It was Walton who pointed out the significance of the day of honor, held just one day after the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and just a short time before members of the Vermont Army National Guard are scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan.

The veterans of past conflicts “never blinked in the face of danger, and never shied from the difficulty of duty beyond self,” said Walton. “Because of that, our nation has been the greatest force for good in human history.”

Hodes, who graduated from Dartmouth in 1972, is the son of a Navy veteran of World War II. Attending Dartmouth during the conflict in Vietnam, he said, made him appreciate the sacrifices made by both his father's generation and his own.

“It is especially moving because my generation learned a great lesson from those years long ago, which is that no matter what disagreements there may be in our country, the one thing that is most important is that our veterans who serve their country deserve respect, dignity, the benefits and care and support that a grateful nation can give,” he said.

Many said they were appreciative of the overtures that Hanover and Dartmouth made in inviting the soldiers to the event, which raised money for both the New Hampshire and Vermont veterans homes.

“I think that it's putting awareness in the Upper Valley that there are conflicts and our local soldiers are involved in it,” said Frank Morse, a member of American Legion Guyer-Carignan Post 22 in Lebanon and a Gulf War veteran. Morse said that military recruiters have not always been welcome on the Dartmouth campus. Yesterday, however, there was a mobile VA unit and vehicles from the Army National Guard parked on the Hanover Green. That led Morse to believe that the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have made Upper Valley residents more appreciative of what current and past soldiers have fought for.

“Without the people that volunteer, the Upper Valley and America wouldn't be the same,” he said.

Joining the veterans of a past generation were Scott and Patti Holmes of White River Junction, parents of a soldier who gave his life for his country in Iraq. Lance Cpl. Jeffery Holmes was 20 years old when he was killed on Thanksgiving Day of 2004 during the battle of Fallujah.

The Holmeses are working to build a memorial for Vermont soldiers who have given their lives in the war on terror. While their son was a humble soldier, his parents are filled with pride and honor for his sacrifice.

“He never liked being recognized for anything he did,” said Patti Holmes. “But we're doing it anyway.”