Trump honors Gold Star families at Arlington Cemetery

President Trump paid tribute to fallen service members at a somber Memorial Day ceremony Monday, honoring the nation’s war dead as “angels sent to us by God.”

“I believe that God has a special place in heaven for those who lay down their lives so others can live free of fear,” he said at Arlington National Cemetery. “We can never replace them. We can never repay them. But we can remember them.”

Following a 149-year-old tradition that dates back to President Ulysses Grant, Trump laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier — a silent tribute punctuated only by the buzzing of cicadas and the clatter of camera shutters.

He delivered a 20-minute address extolling not only those who died in battle, but also the Gold Star families left behind.

Trump singled out what he called “a new generation of American patriot” which has defended the USA “from an enemy that uses the murder of innocents to wage war on humanity itself.”

Trump told stories of three service members killed in Afghanistan. They were Marine 1st Lt. Robert Kelly, son of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, killed in 2010; Oklahoma National Guard Spc. Chris Horton, killed in 2011; and Army Capt. Andrew Byers, killed in 2011.

“Their stories are now woven into the soul of our nation, into the stars and strips of our flag, and into the beating hearts of our great, great people,” Trump said.