Veterans Day: Events and ceremonies around nation

Across the nation, Americans are commemorating Veterans Day with parades, wreath-laying ceremonies, monument dedications and other events.

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NEW YORK: WOMEN IN SERVICE

The US military's first female four-star general will be a grand marshal at New York City's Veterans Day Parade.

Gen. Ann E. Dunwoody retired last year after a 37-year Army career.

Organizers of the parade up Fifth Avenue have renamed it America's Parade. The commemoration will include a wreath-laying ceremony at the Eternal Light Monument in Madison Square Park.

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WASHINGTON, D.C.: TUSKEGEE AIRMEN

The District of Columbia will honor two of the original Tuskegee Airmen with the Congressional Gold Medal for Veterans Day.

Washington Mayor Vincent Gray and congressional delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton will lay a wreath at the African American Civil War Memorial. A commemoration will follow for two Tuskegee Airmen who are D.C. residents at the African American Civil War Museum.

The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of African-American pilots in World War II.

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VIRGINIA: ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

President Barack Obama has paid tribute to America's veterans by laying a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery and by hosting a breakfast at the White House for those who have served in the military, and their family members.

Obama said in his Veterans Day proclamation that the country's obligations to those who have served "endure long after the battle ends."

He said the courage, self-sacrifice and devotion of veterans represent the American character at its best, and he encouraged everyone to honor every service member who has ever worn the country's uniforms.

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OKLAHOMA: PRISONER OF WAR

A retired soldier who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war is dedicating a wall commemorating Vietnam veterans.

Col. Lee Ellis is speaking yesterday at the dedication of the Vietnam Memorial Wall at Enid's Woodring Regional Airport. Ellis was a former Vietnam prisoner of war with Arizona Sen. John McCain.

The wall is a smaller replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington.

The dedication ceremony will include a 21-gun salute by the Silver Talon Honor Guard from Vance Air Force Base and a flyover of Vietnam-era aircraft.