"The single greatest gift you can give to a veteran is to not waste your freedom."
Adolph McQueen, commanding general of the 200th Military Police Command, stood tall in his dark green dress uniform in unseasonably cold environs Tuesday morning.

The day is especially significant for Anderson, who lost her partner of 10 years, Army Sgt. Jeremy E. DePottey, when he was killed in a single-vehicle accident in Afghanistan on Sept. 11, 2006.

In the more than 66 years since the USS Grunion, a World War II Gato-class submarine, was lost somewhere between Pearl Harbor and the Alaskan Aleutian Islands, hope of finding them alive had vanished. But the mystery was surreal, and palpable the pain of not knowing why their boys never came home.

GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- Every day they remember.

HOLLY, Michigan -- From the Holly School District to Great Lakes National Cemetery, the people of Holly honored area veterans for their service to the country.

Skwirsk, a sophomore at Carman-Ainsworth High School, made it his mission to honor and remember his family history in a concrete way. Brandon, 15, a Life Scout in Linden's Troop 111, decided to make his Eagle Scout project about his family's service by raising around $13,000 for granite benches and an irrigation system at the Swartz Creek Area Veterans Memorial and erecting two bricks bearing the names of his ancestors.

The organization hosted its annual Veterans' Day ceremony at 11 a.m. at Flushing City Hall.

GRAND BLANC TOWNSHIP, Michigan &mdash The frigid cold didn't stop about 70 people from marking Veterans Day on Tuesday at Crestwood Cemetery, 2020 Hill Road. Veterans from Flint VFW Post 822 provided the Honor Guard. They included a veteran of the Persian Gulf War, two from the Vietnam War, two from the Korean War, and one World War II veteran.

"They gave up everything they had for us and our country — all we can do is remember them," said Chaplain Ed Prchlik from the American Legion during the opening prayer.