BOZEMAN — More than 36,000 Montanans served in the Vietnam War, and although the war officially ended 50 years ago today, the memories never faded for some.

The sound of the national anthem and a ceremonial gun salute echoed through Bozeman’s Sunset Hills Cemetery Wednesday morning. Beneath the waving flags and names etched in stone, a crowd gathered to honor those who paid the ultimate price.

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“I was 19 years old when I was there. It doesn't seem like it was 50 years ago,” George Morales says.

Morales was a Huey door gunner, flying into danger daily. On Wednesday, he stood quietly among the crowd, remembering brothers lost and battles survived.

“I got shot down several times,” Morales says. “Through those experiences and those circumstances of being shot down, our crew survived all the time.”

But surviving the war didn’t mean the battles were over. Morales says Vietnam veterans were among the first to speak openly about something many had no name for at the time.

“PTSD is probably one of the main things Vietnam veterans brought to light,” Morales says.

Over the last 50 years, he’s leaned on his faith and the unwavering support of his wife to carry him through.

Veterans stood shoulder to shoulder, many with medals on their chests and tears in their eyes, as names were read, the bell was rung, and sacrifices were honored.

“[People would say] You will get over it, it’s just shell shock. No, you don't get over it. Not if you were in battle, and if you were in combat battle, it may suppress and you may put it in the back of your mind, but it never goes away,” Morales says.

Fifty years later, Morales still carries the weight of the war. The Vietnam Memorial at Sunset Hills Cemetery stretches with names etched into stone, each one a life lost, a story cut short. For Morales, some of those names are personal.

“I had some high school friends that are on this wall, and I still think about them all the time, and it’s hard,” Morales says. “But God has a plan for every one of us.”

For many veterans, today’s ceremony offered recognition and support they didn’t always receive when they first came home.

“I am just a normal guy who wants to do my duty for my country, and I came back, and even my own family, I had an uncle and a couple of cousins that called me stupid for going and doing my duty,” Morales says.

As the ceremony came to a close, there was a moment to honor those who never made it home and a long-overdue welcome for those who did.

“Welcome home, like I am being welcomed home. If anybody is watching this—welcome home, and be glad you are not on this wall,” Morales says.