President Joe Biden honored the nation’s fallen soldiers in an annual Memorial Day service on Monday.
The president visited Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia to participate in a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
He also addressed the nation with live remarks.
“We gather at this sacred place, at this solemn moment, to remember, to honor — honor the sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands of women and men who’ve given their lives to this nation, each one literally a link in the chain of honor — especially back in our founding days,” President Biden said. “Each one bound by common commitment. Not to a place, not a person, not a president, but to an idea — unlike any idea in human history — the idea of the United States of America.”
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where the president laid a wreath, is a symbolic grave for all service members who died in battle who have not been found or remain unidentified.
“Today, we bear witness to the price they paid. Every white stone across these hills, and every military cemetery and church yard across America. A father, a mother, a son, a daughter, a brother, a sister, a spouse, a neighbor — an American, ” President Biden said. “To everyone who has lost and loved someone in the service of our country. To everyone, to the loved ones still missing or unaccounted for.”
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff also attended the ceremony.
