NAMPA -- This Veterans' Day people around the Treasure Valley, across the USA and around the world are honoring people who've served in the military in years past and those who are serving today.
Nampa High School plans to build a new memorial in front of the school.
The first name on that memorial is that of a Nampa High School graduate who was missing in Vietnam for more than 40 years.
Students at Nampa High School held an assembly Wednesday morning to honor service men and women -- both past and present.
In the audience was Lori Yacono.
Her father is Chief Warrant Officer Jesse Donald Phelps -- a 1955 Nampa High graduate.
Phelps went missing in action in 1965 after his helicopter was shot down over Vietnam.
Lori was four years old when it happened.
"We weren't even allowed to look for him for some time," she said.
Phelps wasn't found until 2008 with the help of a Department of Defense search team.
His remains were brought home in late September.
"Once the casket came here and I saw his uniform, he was home and I was at peace," Lori said.
Phelps was laid to rest at the Idaho State Veterans Cemetery on Oct. 1.
Yacono says this is the first time she's celebrated Veterans' Day, knowing the fate of her father.
"It's the first time that I've felt proud and not sad," she said.
Lori said in the past, Veterans' Day felt incomplete for her because her father was missing.
"I didn't understand the word closure until it happened to me. It's a not a just a verb, it's a feeling that you feel deep inside," Lori said.
Lori received a plaque today, and a new memorial will be built in front of Nampa High School. Her father's name will be on it.
With hugs and handshakes, people thanked Lori for her father's sacrifice.
"It's a wonderful day. It's a day of celebration, not of mourning," she said.
The memorial is expected to be complete by spring break of next year.
Once it's built, organizers will invite all veterans to come and dedicate it.
