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GREENSBORO, N.C. — If you were traveling down West Wendover Avenue near Interstate 40 Monday morning, you may have noticed a Marine standing on a corner at attention and saluting.

Surrounded by American flags, he was hard to miss; the honks, the waves, the stares. People stopped to take his photograph and so many said, “Thank you.”

“I did not serve during wartime. I served in peacetime, so I felt like it’s my duty to at least come out and remember those that were combat veterans, those that paid the ultimate sacrifice,” U.S. Marine veteran Skip Nix said.

Among those who stopped to take Nix’s picture was Becky Lemons, of Stoneville.

“It was an honor seeing him out there,” Lemons said.

Nix stood for two hours in a light mist flanked by two signs with a simple message.

“I want the sign to say it all, just three words. ‘It’s not free.’ Freedom comes at a very, very high price,” Nix said.

The retired division chief who served 35-years with the Greensboro Fire Department says he plans to continue this Memorial Day tradition.

“As long as the good Lord allows me to be able to stand and breathe, I’ll be here,” he said.