President Obama Speaks to the Nation on Memorial Day


The following is an excerpt of President Barack Obama’s address to the nation on Memorial Day, 2014.

Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Please be seated. Thank you, Secretary Hagel, for your introduction and for your lifetime of service -- from a young Army sergeant in Vietnam to our nation’s 24th Secretary of Defense.

Vice President Biden, Jill, Chairman Dempsey, Major General Buchanan, Patrick Hallinan, Chaplain Brainerd; to our men and women in uniform here and around the world; to our outstanding veterans; and, most of all, to the Gold Star families here to remember the loved ones you’ve lost: Michelle and I are humbled and honored to commemorate this Memorial Day with you.

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Clara Gantt watched her husband go off to war 63 years ago. Tragically, Joseph E. Gantt never came home. He died during the Korean War — but his body wasn’t found. Throughout the years, the now 94-year-old widow stood by her husband. Finally, more than six decades later, she was able to welcome him home.

Every year, this ceremony marks another page in the life of our nation -- this year in particular, as we recognize the 150th anniversary of this holy space, Arlington National Cemetery. One hundred and fifty years ago, war raged on hillsides and farmlands not far from where we gather today. A nation ill-prepared for war found itself overwhelmed with the task of burying so many of its sons. So we declared upon this hill a final resting place for those willing to lay down their lives for the country that we love. And on a spring day in 1864, Private William Christman of Pennsylvania was the first American to find eternal rest on these grounds.

Over that century and a half, in times of war, in times of peace, Americans have come here -- to pay tribute not only to the loved ones who meant the world to them, but to all our heroes, known and unknown. Here, in perfect military order, lie the patriots who won our freedom and saved the Union. Here, side-by-side, lie the privates and the generals who defeated fascism and laid the foundation for an American Century. Here lie the Americans who fought through Vietnam, and those who won a long twilight struggle against communism. And here, in Section 60, lie men and women who gave their lives to keep our homeland safe over more than a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Early this morning, I returned from Afghanistan. Yesterday, I visited with some of our men and women serving there -- 7,000 miles from home. For more than 12 years, men and women like those I met with have borne the burden of our nation’s security. Now, because of their profound sacrifice, because of the progress they have made, we’re at a pivotal moment. Our troops are coming home. By the end of this year, our war in Afghanistan will finally come to end. (Applause.) And yesterday at Bagram, and here today at Arlington, we pay tribute to the nearly 2,200 American patriots who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan. We will honor them, always.

Today, in small towns across America, in cemeteries throughout our country and around the world, and here on these solemn hillsides, the families of our fallen share stories of the lives they led. Our hearts ache in their absence. But our hearts are also full -- full in knowing that their legacy shines bright in the people that they loved the most. Through almost unimaginable loss, these families of the fallen have tapped a courage and resolve that many of us will never know. And we draw comfort and strength from their example…

We draw strength as well from the love of the spouses of the fallen. Sergeant First Class Joseph Gantt was a young man but already a veteran of World War II when he met Clara Edwards on a train headed to California. He spent two years courting Clara before she finally agreed to marry him. Then, when Joseph deployed to Korea, he told his young wife to remarry if he didn’t come back. She told him no. He had a hard enough time getting her to say yes in the first place, she said. (Laughter.) He had waited two years for her; she’d wait as long as it took for him to come home.

When Joseph went missing in action, Clara waited -- she waited 63 years. Meanwhile, our country continued to work to bring home the missing from all our wars. And then, last December -- last December -- his remains finally identified, Joseph returned home to be laid to rest. Clara never remarried during those 63 years. And now 96 years old, she was there to welcome him home. And we are honored to have Clara Gantt here with us today. Clara. (Applause.)

We also draw strength from the parents who have given their sons and daughters to America.

…For the parents who have lost a child, for the husbands and wives who’ve lost a partner, for the children who have lost a parent, this day, and this place, are solemn reminders of the extraordinary sacrifice they have made in our name. But today reminds us as well that for these family [sic] and for their comrades-in-arms, their service to our nation endures. There are few who truly understand what it means to send a child into war, or to watch a battle buddy give his life to save others. On this Memorial Day, and every day, these are the families and veterans we’re sworn to look after.

And so here, on these hallowed grounds, we rededicate ourselves to our sacred obligations to all who wear America’s uniform, and to the families who stand by them always: That our troops will have the resources they need to do their job. That our nation will never stop searching for those who’ve gone missing or are held as prisoners of war. That -- as we’ve been reminded in recent days -- we must do more to keep faith with our veterans and their families, and ensure they get the care and benefits and opportunities that they’ve earned and that they deserve. These Americans have done their duty. They ask nothing more than that our country does ours -- now and for decades to come. (Applause.)

The fallen patriots we memorialize today gave their last full measure of devotion. Not so we might mourn them, though we do. Not so that our nation might honor their sacrifice, although it does. They gave their lives so that we might live ours -- so that a daughter might grow up to pursue her dreams; so that a wife might be able to live a long life, free and secure; so that a mother might raise her family in a land of peace and freedom. Everything that we hold precious in this country was made possible by Americans who gave their all. And because of them, our nation is stronger, safer, and will always remain a shining beacon of freedom for the rest of the world.

May God bless the fallen and all those who serve. May God watch over their families. And may God continue to bless the United States of America.

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