Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Trump honors the deeds, sacrifice of U.S. war dead
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump paid trib- ute to and mourned the loss of fallen soldiers on Monday with a traditional Memorial Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, vowing that “we will never forget our heroes.”
After laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns on a gray and unseasonably remembrance themes of ceremony. Page 1B
cool day, Trump addressed a cheering crowd that included Gold Star families, honoring “the men and women who laid down their lives for our freedom.”
He said he came to “sacred soil” to “honor the lives and deeds of America’s greatest heroes.”
The commander in chief, speaking before an audience of Cabinet members, military leaders, veterans and families assembled in the marble amphitheater near the tomb, said, “We mourn alongside their families and we strive to be worthy of their sacrifice.”
Trump said the heroes who died for America “rest in these hallowed fields, in cemeteries, battlefields and
burial grounds near and far, and are drawn from the full tapestry of American life.”
He said they came from “every generation, from towering cities and wind-swept prairies, from privilege and from poverty. They were generals and privates, captains and corporals of every race, color and of every creed, but they were all brothers and sisters in arms. And they were all united then, as they are united now, forever, by their undying love of our great country.”
And he singled out several of them for praise. He recognized former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., a World War II veteran who was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in January, and Ray Chavez, a Navy veteran and the oldest living survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Trump also eulogized Marine Lt. Col. David Greene and Army Capt. Mark Stubenhofer, who were killed in Iraq in 2004, and Marine Sgt. Christopher Jacobs, who died in a training exercise in 2011.
“As he covered his troops, he was shot by ground fire, giving up his life for his comrades and for his country,” Trump said of Greene, giving a thumbs-up and congratulations to the officer’s son for planning to join the military.
Stubenhofer was killed by sniper fire just months after his wife gave birth to a daughter they named Hope, Trump said.
The president said he had met Jacobs’ son, 7-yearold Christian, at last year’s wreath-laying ceremony: “Christian walked over to me, with great confidence, shook my hand, looked me straight in the eye and asked if I would like to meet his dad. He loved his dad.” The president called it “a moment I will always remember.”
Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke before Trump.
Dunford honored the more than a million Americans he said “gave their last full measure so we could live in freedom and raise our children in peace.” He also honored the families “they left behind and for whom every day is Memorial Day.”
Those who fought and died for America, he said, “shared a commitment to something greater than themselves and they were people who understand what we have in this country is worth fighting for.”
Those who attended the Memorial Day tribute included Trump’s chief of staff, John Kelly, whose son, Marine 2nd Lt. Robert M. Kelly, was killed in November 2010 after he stepped on a land mine while on patrol in southern Afghanistan. He is buried at Arlington.
Other members of Trump’s Cabinet and White House aides — including Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary; Donald McGahn, the White House counsel; Defense Secretary James Mattis; and John Bolton, the national security adviser — were also in attendance.
Trump’s somber tone contrasted with a self-promotional tweet earlier Monday in which he said fallen soldiers would be “very proud and happy at how well our country is doing today,” citing the economy and low unemployment. He wished Americans a happy Memorial Day in the same tweet.
He was criticized for his tone by a number of people, including a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Obama administration, retired Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, who wrote, “This day, of all days of the year, should not be about any one of us.”
Memorial Day messages from first lady Melania Trump and Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, struck to a theme of remembrance and thanks.
“As we remember our fallen servicemen and women, our hearts are filled with gratitude for their sacrifice and awe of their courage,” Ivanka Trump tweeted.
And Melania Trump thanked service members and their families for helping safeguard the country. “We honor the many Americans who laid down their lives for our great country. As one nation under God, we come together to remember that freedom isn’t free,” she tweeted.
Trump’s Twitter posts earlier Monday morning also continued to criticize the Russia investigation — again referring to his unsubstantiated claim that the FBI spied on his campaign.