At the Nov. 7 pre-Veteran’s Day celebration there were some who saluted the country’s flag for the first time in years.

For years, there was confusion as to whether veterans could salute the flag out of uniform. They were left by law to place their hands over their hearts instead.

But it was not until a bill passed in July of 2007 by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) that specified veterans could now salute out of uniform. It was last month when Inhofe amended that bill by specifying that veterans out of uniform can salute the flag during the national anthem.

“The salute is a form of honor and respect, representing pride in one’s military service,” Inhofe said in a press release. “Veterans and service members continue representing the military services even when not in uniform.”

Aaron Haverty, a senior operations management and information systems major who served in the U.S. Navy from 2000 to 2004, was one of those who had the honor of saluting the nation’s colors once again.

“It felt good,” Haverty said. “It’s paying honor to my prior service and the service of my fellow veterans and the people who are still in the armed forces.”

John Galan, president of the NIU Veterans Club, also attended the Nov. 7 ceremony.

“I’m happy that we have permission now; not that we were really looking for it,” Galan said. “We did it regardless, but it’s nice to have the legislative support for things that were that way already.”

Today, the Census Bureau says there are approximately 23.6 million veterans living in U.S.