FORT WALTON BEACH — Just short of his 100th birthday, local World War II veteran J.C. "Jay" Vaughn proved in one sentence that he's earned his place in what America calls its "greatest generation."

That, of course, is the informal name given to the men and women who grew up during the Great Depression and entered adulthood turning back the threat of global tyranny during World War II.

"Our nation called and we answered," Vaughn said as the nation observed Veterans Day on Wednesday. "We were happy we could."

Vaughn's comments came after he was honored as part of the Veterans Day observances at American Legion Post 235. He was recognized for his service in World War II, which included time as a prisoner of war.

Vaughn also was honored for his subsequent military career, which ended with his 1962 retirement as an Air Force senior master sergeant. And, he was recognized for his subsequent civil service career, during which he worked servicing and teaching about flight control systems among the uniformed Special Operations personnel at Hurlburt Field, work that took him to Vietnam.

In a brief interview Wednesday, Vaughn expressed some ambivalence about being taken prisoner. He entered military service in July 1942, in the relatively early days of World War II. He originally served as a mechanic in the Army Air Corps, but later volunteered to serve as a tail gunner aboard a B-24 Liberator bomber. Less than two years after entering the Army Air Corps, he was forced to bail out of his B-24 when it came under enemy fire after an engine failure.

He and others aboard the aircraft were immediately captured by the Germans. Vaughn was held in three different locations before being liberated in 1945 after almost 15 months in confinement.

"We were serving our country" as prisoners of war, Vaughn said, but he confessed that "at the time, we didn't think so."

Vaughn, who was presented with an American flag and a POW flag Wednesday at the American Legion, said he didn't let his experiences as a POW affect his life after his World War II service.

"It's something you don't think about forever," Vaughn said.

Vaughn has talked with his family about many of his experiences during World War II, but it's been only recently that he's opened up about his experiences as a POW, according to his son Phillip. That change, Phillip Vaughn said, came when one of his father's great-grandchildren asked to interview him for a school project.

One of the surprising things the family learned, according to Phillip Vaughn, was that his father had some sympathy for his German captors, who ate the same rations and endured much the same privations as their prisoners.

"He felt as bad for the guards as he did for himself," Phillip Vaughn said. As for the rest of his experiences in World War II, Phillip Vaughn said his father "never wanted credit for what he did."

As with his great-granddaughter, the lessons Vaughn has wanted to impart about life have made their way onto other branches of the family tree.

"He's taught us so much about honor and respect," said grandson Robert Shuler, who drove from South Carolina to see his grandfather honored Wednesday.

The family was "elated" by the local recognition extended to his grandfather, Shuler said.

"He's just a fantastic person."

Vaughn's story also has had an impact on members of American Legion Post 235.

"I can only imagine what J.C. must have felt like in the coffin-like confines of his tail-gunner position," said Craig Sammons, the post commander, as he told Vaughn's story to the audience.

Then, turning to Vaughn, Sammons said, "I just have this admiration for you, J.C."

Later, during a brief interview, Sammons said he "got emotional just thinking about" Vaughn's wartime service and the subsequent preeminence that the American military brought to the United States after World War II.

Vaughn's story "reminds us of where it all started," Sammons said.

Sadly, though, Vaughn and his fellow World War II airmen, soldiers, sailors and Marines are today part of a rapidly declining segment of the veteran population. The men and women who served in World War II are now in their 90s, with many, like Vaughn, near or even past their 100th birthdays.

According to statistics from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as of this year only slightly more than 325,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are alive.

Additionally, Veterans Affairs' projections for the veteran population indicate that by 2030, there may be no more World War II veterans left to provide a living window to those pivotal years in American and world history.