Memorial Day 2024: U.S. President Joe Biden, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, honored fallen soldiers on Monday during the 156th observance of the ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.
The state holiday held on the last Monday of every May is a day of honoring and mourning the U.S. military personnel who laid down their lives in service of the United States Armed Forces.
Thus, on the eve of Memorial Day, every grave at the Arlington National Cemetery will have a small American flag precisely a boot’s length far from the headstone. 1,500 soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, or The Old Guard, placed them according to tradition, known as “Flags In.”
In accordance with the ceremony, Biden placed a wreath of flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Honoring Memorial Day, he also hosted a White House breakfast that included military leaders, veterans, administrative officials, and Gold Star families (those who lost their immediate relative(s) in military duty).
Later, addressing all attendees at the cemetery amphitheater, he said, “We gather at this sacred place, at this solemn moment, to remember, to honor the sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands of women and men who have given their lives for this nation.”
He also paid respects to the 21 people killed and several more injured due to tornadoes over the month, expressing support to the governors of Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Furthermore, regarding the fight “between autocracy and democracy” and that “between the greed of a few and the rights of many,” he said, “Freedom has never been guaranteed. Every generation has to earn it, fight for it, defend it.”
Memorial Day 2024: Biden emphasises progress in veterans’ access to healthcare
The president also spoke about his son, Joseph Robinette “Beau” Biden III, who passed away in May 2015 due to brain cancer upon exposure to burn pits in Iraq during his service in Delaware’s National Guard.
“This week marks nine years since I lost my son, Beau. Our losses are not the same. He didn’t perish on the battlefield …And as it is for so many of you, the pain of his loss is with me every day, as it is with you — still sharp, still clear. But so is the pride I feel in his service, as if I can still hear him saying, ‘It’s my duty, Dad. It’s my duty.’ “
Biden thus emphasized the progress made in assuring veterans get access to proper healthcare, referring to the PACT Act that covers treatments for veterans for their illnesses linked to their service in the military.
The president would also travel to Normandy, France, next week, where he would give a speech acknowledging the valiance and sacrifices of the Allied Forces during the Second World War alongside the present threats to democracy.
