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| Marine veteran, retired Staff Sgt. Tim Chambers salutes riders in the annual Rolling Thunder 'Ride for Freedom' motorcycle rally in Washington, Sunday, May 25, 2014. |
NEW YORK (AP)
-- The U.S. Marine Corps' chaplain, speaking Sunday to a congregation
that has tied gold ribbons on the church's fence in honor of fallen
soldiers since the Iraq War began, lauded the sacrifice of veterans
around the world as President Barack Obama made a surprise visit to
Afghanistan for Memorial Day.
"What they have
done has allowed us to be here," Rear Admiral Margaret Kibben told the
roughly 200 worshippers at the Marble Collegiate Church in Manhattan,
including active duty servicemen and women in town for the annual Fleet
Week celebration.
Memorial Day, she said, was a
time to remind ourselves of the meaning of sacrifice and to put
personal struggles and difficulties in perspective.
Across
the nation, citizens were marking Memorial Day with somber ceremonies,
flag pl5nting at cemeteries, parades and even barbecues - an American
pastime that Petty Officer 1st Class Brian McNeal said should be enjoyed
this weekend.
"I'm in the service so that
they can enjoy that," said McNeal, 39, who is stationed in Suffolk,
Virginia, and is in town for Fleet Week. "They made the sacrifice so
everyday citizens don't have to worry about the evils of the world."
Thousands
of memorial ribbons are tied on the storied church's fence. There are
gold ribbons for service members killed in Afghanistan, green ribbons
representing prayers for peace and blue ribbons for the people of
Afghanistan.
Obama arrived at Bagram Air Field
in Afghanistan to speak with troops and visit soldiers being treated at
a base hospital. At least 2,181 members of the U.S. military have died
during the nearly 13-year Afghan war and thousands more have been
wounded.
On Saturday, Democratic congresswoman
Tammy Duckworth served as grand marshal of Chicago's Memorial Day
Parade and struggled to hold back tears during a wreath-laying ceremony
to honor fallen soldiers. She lost her legs and partial use of an arm
when a rocket-propelled grenade hit the Black Hawk helicopter she was
piloting in Iraq in 2004.
More than 300 Junior
ROTC students from Chicago Military Academy at Bronzeville marched in
the city's parade. Afterward, still dressed in their uniforms, they
chatted, bantered and ordered ice cream from a vendor's truck while
waiting for a bus that would take them back home.
Their instructor, 1st Sgt. Stephen Roberts, an Army veteran, said the students practice all year to march in the parade.
"They
enjoy it a lot," Roberts said. "We tell them about it at the beginning
of the year. Our rifle, our drum teams, our flags, they practice every
day. They come in on their own accord. They do their own practices. It
means a lot to them. They're very proud to do this."
In
Massachusetts, Boston Marathon survivor Jeff Bauman and his rescuer,
Carlos Arredondo, helped plant tens of thousands of flags Saturday at a
cemetery to honor soldiers.
Obama directed all
government agencies in the United States to fly their flags at
half-staff on Monday in observance of Memorial Day.
