President Biden sought to comfort families of fallen U.S. service members in remarks on Memorial Day.
“To everyone who has lost and loved someone in the service of our country, to everyone who has a loved one still missing or unaccounted for, I know how hard it can be,” Biden said Monday in a speech at Arlington National Cemetery. “It can reopen that black hole in the middle of your chest, bring you back to the exact moment you got that phone call, heard that knock on the door or held the hand and the last breath was taken. I know it hurts.”
As he often does when speaking about loss, Mr. Biden mentioned his son Beau, noting this week marks the ninth anniversary of his death from cancer due to toxic exposure.
“Our losses are not the same,” Mr. Biden said. “He didn’t perish in the battlefield. He was a cancer victim from a consequence of being in the Army in Iraq for a year next to a burn pit.”
“As it is for so many of you, the pain of his loss is with me every day, as it is with you,” the president added. “Still sharp, still clear. But so is the pride I feel in the service, as if I can still hear him saying, “It’s my duty, Dad. It’s my duty.’”
Mr. Biden spoke about that duty that every service member commits their life to — “not to a place not to a person, not to a president, but to an idea” — as he touted the importance of maintaining democracy. Memorial Day services are an opportunity to “recommit to the future they fought for,” he said.
“Freedom has never been guaranteed. Every generation has to earn it, fight for it, defend it in battle between autocracy and democracy, between the greed of a few and the rights of many,” Mr. Biden said. “It matters. Our democracy is more than just a system of government. It’s the very soul of America.”
The president delivered his remarks shortly after participating in the annual wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also attended.
Mr. Austin, in his first public appearance since he underwent a nonsurgical procedure Friday for a bladder-related issue, delivered remarks before introducing Mr. Biden. Mr. Austin spoke in his remarks of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Stevon Booker, one of the first American service members killed in the Iraq War whom the Army named its newest armored combat vehicle after.
“Our arms and technology are the envy of the world,” Mr. Austin said. “But in the end, America’s greatest strategic asset will always be our people. So let us always remember our fallen heroes. Let us always strive to defend the democracy for which they fought and died.”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.