ARLINGTON, Va.—Vice President Mike Pence paid tribute to fallen members of the U.S. armed forces on May 27, thanking their loved ones in a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and acknowledging that for them “every day is Memorial Day.”
Pence placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to remember dead service members whose remains haven’t been identified and observed a moment of silence. He told Gold Star families he was honored by their presence.
Dignitaries attending Monday’s ceremony included Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr. and acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan.
President and First Lady Visit Arlington Cemetery
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited the Arlington, Virginia, cemetery last week and placed flags at several gravesites, a decades-old tradition known as “flags in.” Trump, in Japan, was expected to address troops aboard a battleship before returning to the United States.The president and first lady made an unannounced visit to Arlington Cemetery on Thursday, May 23 to pay their respects to fallen soldiers.
The presidential motorcade arrived outside Arlington Cemetery at 2:20 p.m.
During their 20-minute visit to the cemetery, the first couple laid flags in section 34, where the headstone of Fred Buckles, the last living veteran of World War I, is located, according to the White House press pool.
On Memorial Day each year, a flag is placed by every tombstone in memory of the more than 400,000 men and women who fought for freedom for America. In 2018 on Memorial Day, Trump spoke of the fallen soldiers’ love for their country as being “more deep and more pure than most will ever know.”
“They marched into hell so that America could know the blessings of peace. They died so that freedom could live,” he said.
In June 2018, the president had made a promise to 95-year-old Allen Jones.
Jones celebrated his 95th birthday at the White House, where he was there with three other World War II veterans, including centenarians Floyd Wigfield, Sidney Walton, and Paul Kriner at the Oval Office.
“Here with us tonight are three of those heroes: Private First Class Joseph Reilly, Staff Sergeant Irving Locker, and Sergeant Herman Zeitchik. Gentlemen, we salute you,” said the president.
Trump also spoke of the soldiers who took part in D-Day: “They did not know if they would survive the hour. They did not know if they would grow old. But they knew that America had to prevail. Their cause was this nation, and generations yet unborn.”
“Why did they do it? They did it for America—they did it for us,” Trump added. “Everything that has come since—our triumph over communism, our giant leaps of science and discovery, our unrivaled progress toward equality and justice—all of it is possible thanks to the blood and tears and courage and vision of the Americans who came before.”
Memorial Day is traditionally observed on the last Monday of May and commemorates all those who died while serving in the United States armed forces.
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