President Biden marked his first Memorial Day as commander-in-chief by speaking about his personal experience of overcoming the loss of his son Beau Biden and the importance of upholding democratic values at home and abroad.
“Democracy thrives, and the infrastructure of democracy is strong, when people have the right to vote freely and fairly and conveniently, on a free and independent press to pursue the truth, followed on facts, not propaganda, on the rule of law applied equally and fairly to every citizen, regardless of where they come from, what they look like,” Biden said.
At one point, Biden took out a card from his pocket that he said he carries with him each day with the number of soldiers who have lost their lives in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which stood at 7,036 on this Memorial Day. Biden has reflected a number of times during his remarks over the Memorial Day weekend about his son Beau's service and how he was affected by his death at the age of 46. Biden and other family members marked the anniversary of Beau’s death with a memorial on Sunday at their church in Delaware and afterwards walked to his grave and left flowers.
“Yesterday marked the anniversary of his death and it's a hard time, a hard time here for me and my family just like it is for so many of you,” Biden said. “It can hurt to remember, but the hurt is how we feel and how we heal. I alway feel Beau close to me on Memorial Day, I always know where I need to be, right here honoring our fallen heroes.”
As Biden’s motorcade was rolling out of Arlington Cemetery he made an unscheduled stop among the headstones to meet with several families paying their respects.
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