Americans gathered at
memorials, museums and monuments and the president laid a wreath at
Arlington National Cemetery to honor fallen service members on Memorial
Day, as combat in Afghanistan approaches 12 years and the ranks of World
War II veterans dwindle.
"Let us not forget
as we gather here today that our nation is still at war," President
Barack Obama said after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
"When
they give their lives, they are still being laid to rest in cemeteries
in quiet corners across our country, including here in Arlington," he
said. He told the stories of three soldiers who had died. Each had been
devoted to their mission and were praised by others for saving lives.
Earlier
in the morning, he and first lady Michelle Obama hosted a breakfast at
the White House with "Gold Star" families of service members who have
been killed.
Another wreath-laying ceremony
was at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on the southern tip of
Roosevelt Island in New York City. The park is a tribute to President
Roosevelt's famous speech calling for all people to enjoy freedom of
speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear.
Mayor
Michael Bloomberg joined military leaders and others at the Soldiers'
and Sailors' Monument in Manhattan. He said celebrate the day and the
good weather but also "remember the sacrifice that was made so that we
could be here."
At the National World War II
Museum in New Orleans, about 20 bicyclists clustered around veteran and
museum volunteer Tom Blakey. The paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne
Division jumped at Normandy on D-Day - June 6, 1944 - and in May 1945
helped liberate the work camp at Wobbelin in northwest Germany.
"Most
of us wondered why we were there, killing people and being killed," he
said. "We didn't do anything to deserve it. When we got to that camp and
saw what was there, the lights came on."
The
cycling group makes regular weekend training runs, and on Monday started
a Memorial Day ride about seven miles away at the national cemetery in
Chalmette, where the Battle of New Orleans - the last in the War of 1812
- was fought.
"I'm glad I took this ride to
hear a personal story," Scott Gumina, 41, said. "Hearing one man's
account of his personal experience was pretty impressive to me."
Across much of New England, several days of heavy rain gave way to sunny skies for parades in towns large and small.
In
Portland, Maine, kids and even pets displayed the Stars and Stripes as
veterans, youth groups law enforcement officials and civic organizations
paraded to Monument Square to the tunes of a marching band, sirens from
a police car and the rumble of motorcycles.
"It's
a very important day, not only for the Veteran of Foreign Wars but
every veteran organization, every branch of the service, and every
patriot in general - every American. This day is hugely significant and
should never be forgotten," said David Olson, 66, of Portland, the VFW's
state senior vice commander.
He said he was
pleased to see a large turnout of youngsters, both in the parade and
along the parade route. "As they get older, they'll realize exactly why
we do this," he said.
For some veterans, it was a somber event.
Richard
Traiser, a Marine injured when his tank came under attack in Vietnam,
helped deliver a three-volley salute with the Marine Corps League.
Memorial Day gives those who served an opportunity to get together and remember friends who didn't make it.
"I
think about them a lot, especially the people I lost in my platoon,"
Traiser said. "A couple of kids were 19 years old. I don't dwell on it
in a morbid way, but it's on your mind."
In
Connecticut, a Waterford man who was killed in the Vietnam War was
honored with a hometown park area named for him. Arnold E. Holm Jr.,
nicknamed "Dusty," was killed when his helicopter was shot down on June
11, 1972. A group of at least 100 dedicated the park this weekend.
In
suburban Boston, veterans gathered in a park to mark Memorial Day this
year rather than hold a parade because of failing health and dwindling
numbers. The city of Beverly called off its parade because so few
veterans would be able to march. The parade has been a fixture in the
town since the Civil War.
In Atlanta, a
dedication of the History Center's redone Veterans Park was scheduled
for early evening. Soil from major battlefields will be scattered by
veterans around the park's flagpole.
The
holiday weekend also marked the traditional start of the U.S. vacation
season. AAA, one of the nation's largest leisure travel agencies,
expected 31.2 million Americans to hit the road over the weekend,
virtually the same number as last year. Gas prices were about the same
as last year, up 1 cent to a national average of $3.65 a gallon Friday.
At
the American Airpower Museum on Long Island, N.Y., a program honored
Women Air Service Pilots, or WASPs, who tested and ferried completed
aircraft from factories to bases during World War II. Thirty-eight died
during the war, including Alice Lovejoy of Scarsdale, N.Y., who was
killed on Sept. 13, 1944, in a midair collision over Texas.
"It's
very important that we recognize not only their contribution to
American history, but women's history," said Julia Lauria-Blum, curator
of the WASP exhibit at the museum. "These women really blazed a path;
they were pioneers for women's aviation. And most important, they gave
their lives serving their country and must be honored like anyone else
on Memorial Day."
