FORT HARRISON -- Cannons were shot, helicopters flew overhead and a few hundred people gathered Saturday in a ceremony that celebrated the past and present 163rd Infantry.

World War II battle streamers awarded to the 163rd Infantry, a branch of the Montana National Guard, were rededicated and a new streamer for the unit's participation in Operation Iraqi Freedom III was dedicated.

"This is a wonderful day for the Montana National Guard," Maj. Gen Randall Mosley said. "Personally, I love the honor and tradition of military ceremony."

A demonstration by the 89th Montana Cavalry, who shot balloons and performed various other tricks, was followed by a display of tanks and other military vehicles.

The event enabled World War II veterans to mingle with the younger soldiers while honoring both generations.

"Today, just looking at the smiles on the faces of the World War II vets -- it just made me feel proud. I couldn't be more proud right now," Mosley said.

Buck Torstenson, 87, who served with the infantry in the 1940s, said the ceremony was "pretty neat." It made him reflect on memories both bad and good, he said.

"There are a lot of things you don't really talk about like friends lost," Torstenson said after the event.

Joe Upshaw, a Word War II veteran who served with Montana's 163rd Infantry Regiment in New Guinea, spoke of the infantry's loved ones left at home.

"Let us pay a little more attention to those left at home because they too are soldiers," he told the crowd.

Every night while the infantry was serving, their loved ones wondered where the soldiers were and if they were okay, Upshaw said.

"You know where you are, you're in battle," he said.