Our community cannot say “thank you” enough for the amazing, herculean-even, volunteer effort to which our community was treated last week.

Military volunteers from all over the country came to Natchez to offer free health care services in exchange for the chance to train in order to be ready should such a humanitarian need arise somewhere in the world.

Thousands of people received care, many of them said they had no other alternative and could not afford traditional medical care.

As the old cliché goes, it was indeed a “win-win” for everyone involved.

Needy people received free, no-questions asked health care, including vision and dental care.

The troops received great training in the process.

And, as local volunteers who helped put the training together suggested — the effort showed just how well our community could pull together to work with one another on a project of such great importance.

The result of all that hard work impressed us all, including the military coordinators of the effort. They pledged to come back again in the future because of the great need they saw in the population they served but also in the hospitality the local volunteers showed them.

It was impressive all around.

We applaud the effort, but certainly wish such a need didn’t exist, but as a rural, mostly poor corner of the world, we understand why it does.