{"id":121638,"date":"2021-05-31T11:40:01","date_gmt":"2021-05-31T18:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.46.6.243\/?p=121638"},"modified":"2021-05-31T11:40:01","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T18:40:01","slug":"president-biden-at-veterans-memorial-park-annual-memorial-day-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=121638","title":{"rendered":"President Biden at Veterans Memorial Park Annual Memorial Day Service"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>New Castle, Delaware&#8230;Thank you very much.  Good morning, everyone.  It\u2019s good to be here on this solemn occasion with so many friends \u2014 Governor Carney, Senator Carper, Attorney Keneral- [sic] \u2014 General Kathy Jennings.  General Berry, it\u2019s good to see you.  And thank you for everything you do for the Delaware National Guard. <\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/blFbAW6VX74\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>By the way, I saw General Vavala this morning.  He\u2019s become not only a general, but a great friend.  A great friend.  He was at Beau\u2019s memorial mass this morning.  Thank you for being there, General.  I appreciate it.  (Applause.)<\/p>\n<p>And, by the way, Hunter has had one shot \u2014 (laughter) \u2014 not two, and he\u2019s just making sure everybody is okay. <\/p>\n<p>Me and my family, we\u2019ve tried to participate in this event every year because it\u2019s an important tradition in the Delaware community.  Even last year, in those early dark days of the pandemic, Jill and I didn\u2019t want to let Memorial Day pass like every other day.  And there was no event here, but we came to lay a wreath at the plaza.  It was the first time we did any sort of event since the lockdown had begun in March because we were determined \u2014 determined \u2014 to honor the fallen, to pay tribute to the women and men who braved every danger, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. <\/p>\n<p>Because as a nation, we must always remember \u2014 always remember.  We must remember the price that was paid for our liberties.  We must remember the debt we owe those who have paid it, and the families left behind.  My heart is torn in half by the grief.  The communities were never whole again.<\/p>\n<p>Folks, it\u2019s also an important tradition in our family.  As many of you know, this is a hard day for us.  Six years ago today, Hunter lost his dad and I lost my son.  It\u2019s \u2014 the first year after his passing back in 2016, General Vavala did a great honor in inviting us to a ceremony renaming the Delaware National Guard headquarters in Beau\u2019s honor. <\/p>\n<p>By the way, I\u2019d note that when Beau made the grade of major in \u2014 in Iraq, I said \u2014 I had been in and out of Iraq over 25 times.  I said, \u201cBeau, you\u2019re now a field-grade officer.\u201d  He said, \u201cDad, I have no illusion who runs the United States Army.  It\u2019s the master sergeants.\u201d (Laughter.)  \u201cThey run the army.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Well, I woke up that morning hearing Beau in my ear saying, \u201cNot me, Dad.  Today is not about me.  It\u2019s Memorial Day.  You should be over at the bridge.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>And, you know, if he were here, he would be here as well, paying his respects to all those \u2014 all those who gave so much for our country, and particularly honoring the Gold Star families. <\/p>\n<p>You know, a lot of time passes, but you all know better than I do \u2014 or as well as I do \u2014 that the moment that we celebrate it is the toughest day of the year.  We\u2019re honored, but it\u2019s a tough day.  It brings back everything. <\/p>\n<p>And so I can\u2019t thank you enough for your continued service to the country.  And your \u2014 your sons, your daughters, they live on in your hearts and in their children as well.  And we have to carry on without them.  But I know how hard it is for you. <\/p>\n<p>Beau didn\u2019t die in the line of duty, but he was serving a Delaware National Guard unit in Iraq for a year.  That was one of the proudest things he did in his life. <\/p>\n<p>So, thank you for allowing us to grieve together today.  I know how much the loss hurts.  I know the black hole that it leaves in the middle of your chest, that feels like you may get sucked into it and not come out. <\/p>\n<p>Greetings like this and gatherings help.  And while I know nothing I can say to ease the pain, I just know that each year it gets a little bit \u2014 a little bit easier. <\/p>\n<p>And I promise you the day will come when the mention of the name of your son or daughter, husband, wife \u2014 they will, in fact, bring not a tear to your eye, but a smile to your lips. <\/p>\n<p>Folks \u2014 and I hope that day comes sooner than later. <\/p>\n<p>Folks, you know, despite all the pain, I know the pride you feel in the loved one and \u2014 that you lost and those who are still serving, the pride and the bravery in the service to our great American experiment. <\/p>\n<p>Our military community is the solid spine of this country.  It\u2019s literally the spine of the nation. <\/p>\n<p>And on my first Memorial Day as Commander-in-Chief, I want to reaffirm my longstanding belief: We may have many obligations as a nation, but we only have one truly sacred obligation, and that\u2019s to equip those we send into harm\u2019s way with all they need, and care for them and their families when they re-ho- \u2014 when they return home, and when they don\u2019t. <\/p>\n<p>And all of us who remain have a duty to renew our commitment to the fundamental values to our nation in their honor \u2014 the values that have inspired generation after generation to service and that so many have died to defend. <\/p>\n<p>Every day since I was Vice President, I\u2019ve carried with me a card with the exact number of troops killed in our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq \u2014 not an approximation or a rounded number; an accounting of every life laid down for our country over the 20 years of war. <\/p>\n<p>Today, it\u2019s 7,036 military members \u2014 fallen angels \u2014 have given the \u201clast full measure of devotion,\u201d as Lincoln termed it, in those modern conflicts. <\/p>\n<p>And we will never forget.  They\u2019re the guardians and we\u2019re the guardians.  They\u2019re the guardians of us, and we\u2019re the guardians of their legacy, inheritors of their mission, and the living testament to their sacrifice that is not going to be in vain.  Because every American democracy endures.  We have been tested, and we still will be surely tested further.  But I know that we as a people are up to the task. <\/p>\n<p>Each generation of Americans receives the precious gift of liberty.  And we work to share it with more people; to make our country more open, more free, more fair; to bring us closer \u2014 closer to making our American creed a reality for all Americans: that all women and men are created equal; that all women and men equally deserve to be treated with dignity; that all men and women deserve equal rights, equal protection to build up futures for their families, and hope and opportunity. <\/p>\n<p>The American creed is the connective tissue that binds us.  It\u2019s a long chain of patriots that come before us and those who will follow us in turn.  That creed holds that the ideals that inspire people to service and that us \u2014 fill us with pride when we see our loved ones put on that uniform.  And our progress toward that creed together, as one nation united and preserved through their sacrifices, is the best and strongest memorial to their lives. <\/p>\n<p>Ladies and gentlemen, America is unique.  It\u2019s an idea.  Unlike any other country in the world, it is formed based on an idea.  Almost every other country is based on a creed, a religion, a geography, an ethnicity, but not us. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re based on an idea: that we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal.  We\u2019re unique in the world. <\/p>\n<p>I had a long conversation \u2014 for two hours \u2014 recently with President Xi, making it clear to him that we could do nothing but speak out for human rights around the world because that\u2019s who we are. <\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ll be meeting with President Putin in a couple of weeks in Geneva, making it clear that we will not \u2014 we will not stand by and let him abuse those rights. <\/p>\n<p>Folks, we\u2019re unique in all of history.  We really are.  But those names that\u2019s on that wall, and every other wall and tombstone in America of veterans, is the reason why we\u2019re able to stand here.  We can\u2019t kid ourselves about that. <\/p>\n<p>And so I hope \u2014 I hope that the nation comes together.  We\u2019re not Democrats or Republicans today.  We\u2019re Americans.  We\u2019re Americans \u2014 (applause) \u2014 who have given their lives.  And it\u2019s time we remind everybody who we are.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you all for being here.  May God bless you all, particularly the Gold Star families and survivors.  And may God protect our troops, because they\u2019re still out there.  Thank you.  (Applause.) <\/p>\n<p>11:03 A.M. EDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Castle, Delaware&#8230;Thank you very much. Good morning, everyone. It\u2019s good to be here on this solemn occasion with so many friends \u2014 Governor Carney, Senator Carper, Attorney Keneral- [sic] \u2014 General Kathy Jennings. General Berry, it\u2019s good to see you. And thank you for everything you do for the Delaware National Guard. By the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Fullscreen-capture-5312021-113150-AM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=121638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/121639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=121638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=121638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=121638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}