MOULTRIE, Ga. — Local veterans and patriotic groups commemorated Veterans Day Wednesday at the Lewis Hill Amphitheater on the Colquitt County Courthouse Square.

The annual event attracted about 50 people.

Speakers included Tom Davis of the Veterans Activity Committee, David Adams of American Legion Post 324 and the Rev. Wayne Woods, a Navy veteran who was the keynote speaker.

Woods, a 1975 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, flew submarine-spotting missions during the Cold War. He left the service in 1982 and eventually became a minister and retired as pastor of First Baptist Church of Moultrie last year.

In his address, Woods emphasized that he had not served in combat but offered great respect to those who had. He described the nation’s attention to the families of servicemen deployed during the Gulf War. Even though he wasn’t fighting a war, he said, his wife made great sacrifices during his three deployments.

“Those families make those sacrifices all the time,” he said, urging those present to recognize the sacrifices of both servicemen/veterans and their families — not just on Veterans Day but throughout the year.

Woods’ other main point was to not forget the values that made America great, even when the country isn’t as good as we want it to be.

“America has problems it needs to address, I know that,” he said. “At the same time, we cannot ignore the foundations on which this nation was founded. … As imperfect as our nation is, it’s still the best nation on the face of the earth.”

He expressed concern that the next generation may not be hearing that message and that in 10 or 15 years Veterans Day may be a meaningless holiday. Less than 10 percent of the American population are veterans, he said.

“Make sure the coming generation doesn’t forget how tenuous our liberties can be,” he said.

After Woods’ speech, representatives of five local organizations presented wreaths in honor of veterans, then the John Benning Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution held a presentation of a Quilt of Valor to Alan Mathis.

Mathis graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy then transferred to the Navy, where he served as a fighter pilot. He served in Bosnia during the conflict there. He retired in 1999 and formed Eagles of America, a company that provides support services for aircraft. Eagles of America took over such operations at the Moultrie Municipal Airport in 2004 and the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport in Albany in 2010.

Quilts of Valor are sewn by volunteers in honor of a veteran’s service in a war zone. Each one is unique and includes the recipient’s name and service dates on the quilt itself. Its primary purpose is to provide warmth and comfort for the veteran, DAR Regent Jean Gay said, but it also becomes a memento that will be handed down for generations.

Mathis’s quilt was donated by the Pavo Quilters.

Also scheduled to receive a Quilt of Valor was Ron Hutchins, but he wasn’t at Wednesday’s event.