Two local veterans got a big surprise in honor of Veterans Day Monday.

The owner of Stamford Ford says he wanted to celebrate the holiday by giving away a few brand-new cars to those who served the country.

Ret. Cpl. Andrew Burns and his family walked away with a free three-year lease Ford Explorer.

Army Col. Vanessa Benson presented Burns with the car. To her surprise, she too was given a free vehicle, a Ford F-150.

"I'm going to a job fair to recruit military mechanics at the Mechanics Schoolhouse at Fort Lee, Virginia, so, very exciting,” says Benson. “About to be on its first mission."

The leases on the vehicles will last three years, but the owner says the gratitude for what these veterans gave will last a lifetime.