It's been an emotional year for the 130th Air Lift Wing out of Charleston. It was about this time last year that the base almost closed, but in the final hours the community rallied to save it. And on Saturday, anyone could visit the base and see for themselves what the men and women are training to do.

This was not the first time Remick Keaton has walked across the base of West Virginia Air National Guard.

“It means a lot to me,” said Keaton. “There's a lot of deep meaning behind it."

Her father brought her here as a child, and now, he's retired from the national guard, and she's the one giving the orders. She’s showing her nephew and son things they're used to seeing on television.

The equipment is very cool to look at and to touch. But for many people it's much more than that. It's freedom.

“Freedom is not free,” said Keaton. “Men die for it. There's a possibility each one of them here could die to protect them and their freedom."

That's the message Remick wants the little ones to take away from the event.

The Air National Guard hosted the open house to give people an idea of what they do. They’re taking care of each other to take care of a country.

The 130th Airlift Wing has a long history in West Virginia. It dates all the way back to 1947.