ELK RAPIDS -- Brandon Stites is a soldier.
His ancestors also were soldiers, represented in every American conflict for centuries.
It'd be easy to say Stites enlisted because his relatives did, as if the roots of military service were planted in his genes through each generation. It's partly true.
But the Gulf War ended during his senior year at Elk Rapids High School, and the principal released students one day to greet a returning Army Reserve unit at a park near the Elk River.
He became a soldier because of them, too.
"We all grabbed every flag in the school and headed down there," Stites, 36, said by e-mail from Iraq, where he is serving his second tour of duty as a pilot and chief warrant officer with the Army. "That's the way it should be. I will never forget that."
He hasn't forgotten Elk Rapids, even though he hasn't lived in the region for years: Stites gave an American flag that flew over Iraq to his high school, where it will be on permanent display.
It was dedicated Wednesday during a school Veterans Day assembly.
He chose the flag because it "was a physical reminder of all veterans and that it had actually flown in a combat zone half way (sic) around the world," Stites wrote. "I think we all should recognize Veterans (sic) no matter what. We are where we are today because normal people stepped up."
Students today think of Afghanistan and Iraq when they think of war, and several can list family or friends fighting overseas.
But as Principal Mike Travis showed them Wednesday, Veterans Day has existed as they know it since the 1950s, after beginning as Armistice Day following World War I.
Lt. Col. Sam Pfeiffer, a retired Marine Corps pilot who last saw combat during the Gulf War, told students about the sacrifices soldiers make to win freedom for others.
In the trenches, "You are continually thinking about the loved ones you left at home," Pfeiffer said, adding that it's evident Stites never lost sight of his hometown. "He is one of you."
Stites' great-great-grandfather made Williamsburg home after the Civil War and co-owned a sawmill in the 1800s. His grandmother on his mother's side was from Yuba.
In high school, Stites worked at the Edward C. Grace Memorial Harbor in Elk Rapids, named for his grandfather, a World War I veteran wounded in France nearly two weeks before the 1918 armistice.
His father, Don Stites, retired in 2004 after a 36-year Army career. At 13, the younger Stites visited an air show with his father and decided to be a pilot.
"I knew of all the opportunities the Army offered," he wrote, adding that he turned down acceptance to Western Michigan University in favor of the military.
He is scheduled to receive a promotion while in Iraq.
"It is not for everyone," Stites wrote of a military career. "When I was 25 years old, I was given a 20 million dollar (sic) helicopter and from three to thirty-three (sic) other Soldiers (sic) to be responsible for.
"I am proud to be a part of it."
Displaying Stites' flag in the school will have "so much meaning," said Bridget Granger, 14, an Elk Rapids freshman.
Two of her cousins are serving with the Navy and the Army, respectively, and between them have seen combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq. An aunt also served in the military.
Veterans Day, understandably, has a special meaning for her family.
"I think about them all the time, but it makes me think more about what they've done," Bridget said. "It was really great to honor people who fought so hard and gave so much to this country."
