BIG SANDY, Texas (KLTV) - East Texans gathered to honor lives lost in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and those who served in the military response.

Two veterans reunited alongside East Texas country singer Neal McCoy.

Deployment nine days after 9/11Marine veteran John Latham deployed to the Middle East nine days after the Sept. 11 attacks."We didn't know until last minute. We got on the ship and they said: Yep, you're going somewhere close to Afghanistan. We didn't know we were going to Afghanistan," Latham said."We made it into Pakistan. We made it into the mountains of Afghanistan. I just happened to be one of the ones who got picked to be in the first wave that flew in there," Latham said.