Memorial Day 2015: 5 Quotes From President Obama

— -- President Obama honored the sacrifice of U.S. servicemen and women today at Arlington National Cemetery, the first Memorial Day observance where the country "is not engaged in a major ground war" and the 70th since the end of World War II, the president said.

Here are five powerful moments from the president's speech:

1. On meeting the families of fallen U.S. servicemembers

"Whenever I meet with our Gold Star families, like I did this morning, I hear their pride through their tears, as they flip through old photos and run their fingers over shiny medals. I see that their hearts are still broken, and yet still full of love. They do not ask for awards or honors. They do not ask for special treatment. They are unfailingly humble. In the face of unspeakable loss, they represent the best of who we are."

2. On serving in the military

"Most Americans don't fully see, don't fully understand the sacrifice made by the one percent who serve in this all-volunteer armed forces - a sacrifice that preserves the freedoms we too often take for granted. Few know that it's like to take a bullet for a buddy, or to live with the fact that he or she took one for you."

3. On sacrifice

"These sons and daughters, these brothers and sisters who lay down their lives for us - they belong to us all. They're our children, too. We benefit from their light, their positive influence on the world."

4. On honoring service in the U.S. military

"It's our duty, our eternal obligation, to be there for them too; to make sure our troops always have what they need to carry out the mission; to make sure we care for all those who have served; to make sure we honor all those whom we've lost."

5. On America's debt to fallen U.S. soldiers

"The Americans who rest beneath these beautiful hills and in sacred ground across our country and around the world, they are why our nation endures. Each simple stone marker arranged in perfect military precision, signifies the cost of our blessings. It is a debt we can never fully repay. But it is a debt well never stop trying to fully repay, by remaining a nation worthy of their sacrifice. By living our own lives the way the fallen lived theirs - a testament that greater love has no other than this than to lay down your life for your friends."

ABC's Jon Garcia contributed to this report.