GROVETOWN, Ga. (WJBF) – At a ceremony on Thursday morning, leaders at John Deere Commercial Products in Grovetown showed their appreciation for employees that served our country, and unveiled a special statue in their honor.

The statue is a depiction of a Battlefield Cross, a symbol meant to show respect for soldiers who died in battle.

“We found something that would fit our needs here at JDCP that we could put on display that everybody would see, so it is a perfect memorial for what we wanted to show for our veterans,” said Bryan Lowe, a General Supervisor at John Deere.

Lowe said a large chunk of the factory’s workforce are veterans, so showing support is important.

“I did ten years of military service, I was stationed at Dobbins Air Force Base and I did my school here in Augusta at Fort Gordon, Fort Eisenhower now,” said veteran Marvin Butler. “I realize that after the crowd that showed up here today, the attendants, we have quite a bit of workforce that’s some veterans here at John Deere, which was satisfying to see them give us an honor.”

“In the military I was a ninety-two Alpha, so basically supply. I dealt with all the supplies, ordering of the supplies, rationing out of supplies for the service, for my unit,” said veteran Frederica Haynes. “It’s an amazing feeling, just working for a company in itself that honors veterans. You don’t find too many companies that do that, so just for them to take the time out of production and the work schedules to honor veterans is an amazing feeling.”

Afterwards, veterans were treated to breakfast and given a challenge coin, hats and badges.

It was the factory’s first time doing the ceremony, and Lowe said it turned out even better than they expected.

“They enjoyed it, they really enjoyed it,” he said. “I didn’t hear any negative feedback, I’ve seen a lot of smiles. Everybody’s happy, they were proud to be part of this event.”

Lowe and other said they want this event to become a factory tradition for years to come.