Veterans and their loved ones were treated to a moving program Wednesday at Oak Harbor High School that featured live music, singing and dancers swinging through a toe-tapping performance of “Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy.”

The ceremony also offered moments that left even some of the saltiest old sea dogs swiping away tears.

One of those moments was a performance of “Armed Forces Medley,” which featured snippets of each service’s song. As each song began, members of that service stood.

Another was the symbolic setting of an empty table to honor prisoners of war and those missing in action.

“We lost people — some people we don’t know what happened,” said Tom Bond of Oak Harbor. He served in the Marine Corps 28 years, including four tours in Vietnam where he worked mostly as aircrew in a helo.

While the Greatest Generation may have had the highest number of veterans, the virtues and values they exhibited can still be seen in today’s servicemen and women, said guest speaker Capt. Scott Farr, commander of Electronic Attack Wing, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

They, too, “wrote a check to the U.S. government that’s payable up to and including your life.”

Pastor Andy Mahoney of Grace Community Church delivered the invocation and benediction. He’s the son of Lt. Cmdr.

Dan Mahoney, killed in 1980 when the SAR H-46 he was piloting crashed on Mount Challenger during a rescue mission.