President Obama Walks Among Gravesites at Arlington on Veterans Day
EmailABC News' Ann Compton, Sunlen Miller and Jake Tapper report:
The rain was cold and steady during the president’s traditional Veterans Day address saluting all who have served in uniform, but after President Obama left the amphitheatre at Arlington National Cemetary, his car came to an unexpected stop by the gravesites of casualties from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The president and Mrs. Obama got out and wandered amid the headstones, reaching out with a handshake to families they encountered, pausing at the marker for Army Specialist Ross McGinnis of Pennsylvania. They stood there for several minutes. McGinnis died in Iraq in 2006, heroically. His headstone notes McGinnis was awarded the highest tribute, the Medal of Honor. He threw himself on a grenade, saving four others riding in his Humvee. Ross McGinnis was 19 years old.
The poignant stop came two weeks after the president saluted casualties arriving at Dover Air Force Base, and one day after he placed a symbolic Commander in Chief’s coin by the empty boots of the 13 who died in the shooting at Fort Hood, Texas. President Obama returned to the White House where his generals and national security advisors were assembling for another strategy discussion on a new way forward in Afghanistan.
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Has everyone notice that Greedy Wall Street is open today. Yes, that’s right. The Greedy people are working for their taxpayer bonuses on Veteran’s Day.
Posted by: mark Trexler | November 11, 2009, 2:40 pm 2:40 pm
listen i’d be working too if i had a job!
don’t begrudge people for working hard. if they’re doing something illegal or unethical that’s something to get angry about.
Posted by: wow | November 11, 2009, 3:00 pm 3:00 pm
god bless our servicemen and women who have given so much for our country. we have come along way since vietnam when our young servicemen were treated like the enemy when they returned home. i hope they realize how much we appreciate their service and their bravery. i still have my pow bracelet that i wore everyday in junior high. i hope for peace everyday and am in awe of this generation of soldiers who are so selfless in protecting our country.
Posted by: wow | November 11, 2009, 3:13 pm 3:13 pm
President Obama walks among gravesites…making sure there will be room for the billions, trillions, and quadrillions…who DIE SO SOON FROM HAVING NO HEALTH CARE! hahaha whatever
Posted by: Vikram Pandit | November 11, 2009, 3:21 pm 3:21 pm
Boy, this guy is starting to hit all the right notes and make all the right gestures. From perhaps his greatest speech yesterday to today’s moving tribute, I think we may have greatness in the making before our own eyes. Now, I’d be crazy to call him great. But I very much like what’s being developed. Hooray, Mr. President!
Posted by: David | November 11, 2009, 3:23 pm 3:23 pm
Obama: “It’s never too late to say thank you”, sounds like he’s talking about himself and the cold shoulder he’s been giving to the military and our country since he rose from obscurity.
Posted by: EPU | November 11, 2009, 3:32 pm 3:32 pm
A president that is cut from the cloth of real Commanders in Chiefs….He truly cares about sending our families in harm’s way…..take your time, Mr. President, and continue to compensate our brave ones a “living wage”….something the pass administration Didn’t Do.
Posted by: sara | November 11, 2009, 3:44 pm 3:44 pm
We Shall Remember
Heroes of might and honor
Protecting both young and old
Selfless courage for all to see
Knights both brave and bold
Of power and strength they be
To fight for the weak and affirmed
Defending this land for all of us
With valor forever confirmed
Yes one day we shall follow
You that have gone away
Always we shall remember
The Lord has given this day
Till heaven and earth do meet
Rejoice that we are still free
Constantly you are in our hearts
Never forgotten are thee
Thomas W. Lawhead
Copyright ©2008 LMS Consultants
Posted by: US8th_Hit | November 11, 2009, 3:45 pm 3:45 pm
Wow…there were no mental health or healthcare for my brother who served in Viet Nam for 10 years….he died from it. I am currently married to a Viet Vet….and they were never honored by this country until approx. 10 years ago…and the ones who want to politicize this solemn moment in our history by “chattering child-like” comments about OUR President, you know no better.
Posted by: sara | November 11, 2009, 3:50 pm 3:50 pm
Sara, I’m so sorry about your brother and please tell your husband how much we appreciate his service. I never could understand how this country could treat our military in that way. I knew it was shameful and I was really still a child then.
God bless you and your family!
Linda
Posted by: wow | November 11, 2009, 4:26 pm 4:26 pm
Thanks Ryan that’s very thoughtful of you.
Posted by: wow | November 11, 2009, 4:40 pm 4:40 pm