Mulberry Bed and Breakfast owner Frances Murphy, and the Inn on Onset Bay innkeeper Cheryl Bagangan decided to honor veterans this year by opening their doors to them.

Murphy jumped at the opportunity to participate in the B&Bs for Veterans program, when she heard about it through Professional Innkeepers Incorporated.

The Veterans Day three-day weekend can be a tough time to book a room, according to the innkeepers. The program asks bed-and-breakfast owners to host a veteran on the Sunday before Veterans Day. Murphy took it a step further, and hosted veterans for the entire weekend.

“It’s a way to show the vets a little gratitude for what they’ve done for us,” said Murphy.

Bagangan booked all three of her open rooms, and was inundated with calls from more veterans than she could accommodate.

"I found out [about the program] because I got an email from B&B.com, and it just seemed like a no-brainer," said Bagangan. "In terms of an inn in this area, we definitely are going into our quiet season. We have the rooms, so why not?"

At the breakfast table on Sunday morning at the Mulberry Bed and Breakfast, three veterans talked about their time in the service. They represented two different military experiences: Serving during war time, and serving during peace.

Sabine Prather immigrated to the United States from Germany, and joined the Air Force in 1985, a couple years after earning her citizenship. Prather served on the U.S. base in Seoul, South Korea.

“In Korea, on paper, they’re still at war,” Prather explained. The United States has maintained a large presence there since the end of the Korean War.

Sean Marcotte and Viviana Cordoba met while serving together in Iraq, and are now engaged.  She worked at the front desk of a clinic, where Marcotte helped to counsel soldiers.

Cordoba joined the military in 1999, inspired by her father who served in the Chilean military, and hopeful that she could earn money for college.

“I mainly wanted to go because I wanted to go to college, and they paid for it,” said Cordoba. She says her recruiter had assured her it was highly unlikely she would see combat, as it had been such a long time since the United States had been involved in a major conflict.

Then, the September 11, 2011 terrorist attacks led to two wars.

“I got a call thirty minutes after the first tower went down,” said Cordoba.

Marcotte was a sophomore in high school when he watched the towers fall during his history class.

“I knew I was going to serve before," Marcotte said, "but that added concrete to my foundation."