The sounds of a piano echoed through Floyd Hunt's East Greenbush home.

“I will tell you a story,” he began to sing. "It’s called back then, I remember back then."

The 75-year-old former sailor has written several songs about life and his time in service. This one in particular is about Vietnam.

Floyd Hunt joined the Navy during a turbulent time for the nation.

"I was 22 years old," Huny recalled. "I went in August 1967, retired the first part of October 1989. I had orders to the USS Independence, which is a carrier. I went to board that in November of 1967. I spent the next three years on that ship. We probably went 60,000 sea miles."

As Hunt says, once a sailor, always a sailor. You never really retire from the Navy.

"I have a lot of pride for the Navy because they were my teacher. They taught me how to be a real human being," said Hunt.

The military continues to play a huge role in his life. He’s part of the Fleet Reserve Association, and you can find him at veterans events across the area. Still, decades after serving, Hunt still gets emotional when he talks about what he saw and the people he met.

"I work with these guys. I remember all their stories, all the pain they went through being away from home," he said. "I cry because I think about them because I’m here and they never came back."

Hunt has been in spots to honor veterans lost before.

"I did do two burials at sea on one of my ships, the USS Miller, and we did that down in the Caribbean. We took the casket and put it over the side. We got the three-gun salute. We did ashes for another. It’s very touching," Hunt said.

This Veterans Day, Hunt had another opportunity to honor those who never made it home when he was invited to the annual ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

"I didn’t know them either, but still, I have a feeling for them because of what they served, what they had to go through," he said.