Most people can envision the rows and rows of headstones of brave veterans laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Michigan is also home to a few large national cemeteries like the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly or Fort Custer National Cemetery near Battle Creek. On a hill overlooking Camp Grayling is a small cemetery containing two American soldiers. The Stars and Stripes wave at the top of a hill in Hansen Hills Recreation Area. It is there among the trees you will find a fence with a sign U.S. GOVERNMENT MILITARY CEMETERY.

Laid to rest are Private First Class John A. Conroy and Private George A. Laine. Conroy serving in the National Guard at Camp Grayling when he died of pneumonia in August 1927. Laine drowned in nearby Frog Lake on July 14, 1939. It is lost to history as to why the men were buried where they are but they would not have been eligible to be buried in a National Cemetery since both soldiers were on duty with the State Militia, as opposed to the active Army. The little cemetery is maintained by Camp Grayling and if you take the path for the disc golf course you will come across this little graveyard for two men who deserve to be remembered.

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There are times when words elude me and it’s difficult to express my thanks and appreciation for the people who so valiantly served in protecting our freedom. I guess in this instance I will let my photo speak for itself.

The Great Lakes National Cemetery is a few miles north of Holly and borders Fagan Lake on a portion of land granted from the Federal Government to Terrance Fagan in 1836. In the 20th century, the property was purchased by Bryson Dexter Horton, a Spanish-American War veteran-turned-industrialist who invented the “Square D” switch which dramatically improved electrical safety. Mr. Horton constructed a small house on the property in 1927, and reportedly entertained prominent people such as Henry and Edsel Ford, who both hunted and fished on the property. In 2005, the Great Lakes National Cemetery was established and the first burial took place on October 17 of that year. it’s a few minutes off I75, and if you are near it, I recommend stopping for a visit, it’s an awe-inspiring sight to see.

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I saw this tombstone for W.R. McCave with the Stars and Stripes flying next to it in an old cemetery west of Vanderbilt I am not sure who he was or his story but carved on his tombstone he was born in 1822 and died in 1904. He was also in the 8th Michigan Infantry. I visit several old cemeteries on my travels around Michigan and I see these old tombstones for veterans from long ago. While they may not be buried in a national cemetery with hundreds or thousands of other veterans they deserve to be remembered and honored for their service.

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