Communities throughout mid-Michigan are honoring those who served in the U.S. military this Veterans Day with parades, wreath-laying ceremonies and more.
American Legion 8th District Commander Gene Nethaway is a veteran of four wars. He attended a wreath-laying ceremony at the Michigan Capitol.
Nethaway said serving as an Army nurse was not something he imagined growing up.
“What am I going to do? I didn't know,” Nethaway said. “But then all of a sudden, I got number nine in the draft lottery. I was going to go to the war. I knew that.”
St. Joseph Catholic School teacher Joel Hoffman brought his third grade students to a parade in St. Johns.
He said it’s an important opportunity to teach the kids about respect.
“Just watching the kids’ faces every time we come out here, you can really see it in their eyes, you know, the importance that Veterans Day has to them. And we kind of do that lesson before we come out, and it makes you feel good seeing their faces on the parade.”
WKAR News intern Bella Kent contributed reporting.
