Biden pays tribute to slain heroes and his son on Memorial Day: ‘A day of pain and pride’
President Biden paid tribute to American fallen soldiers on Memorial Day — and also marked the anniversary of his own son’s death from cancer.
On a somber day for the commander-in-chief and father, Biden laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
President Joe Biden arrives to lay a wreath at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2022, in Arlington, Va. (Andrew Harnik/)
Under a blazing late-spring sun, he told hundreds of families of soldiers who died in war that remembrance is always a mixed blessing.
“Memorial Day is always a day when pain and pride are mixed together,” Biden said. “We all know it sitting here.”
“It’s a bracing reminder of all that we ask of our service members and their families,” Biden said grimly.
President Joe Biden participates in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in honor of Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia on May 30, 2022. (SAUL LOEB/)
Along with the annual wrenching tributes, Biden called the Russian invasion of Ukraine a stark reminder of the need for soldiers willing to put their lives on the line in service of freedom and democracy.
“When a war of aggression is once more being waged by Russia ... we see so clearly all that this day means,” he said.
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden take part in a tree planting with Gold Star family members on the South Lawn at the White House on May 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Tasos Katopodis/)
Even though American boots are not on the ground in Ukraine, Biden said our values are put to the test every day.
“Ukraine and its people are on the frontlines fighting to save their nation,” he said. “Their fight is a fight for all people, a battle between democracy and autocracy, between liberty and repression.”
For Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, the Monday holiday was doubly bittersweet. It marks seven years to the day that Biden’s veteran son, Beau, died from a brain tumor in 2015 after serving tours of duty in Iraq and Kosovo.
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden arrive at Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware, on May 30, 2022. (MANDEL NGAN/)
“Today’s the day our son died,” Biden said at Arlington, telling families that he knows remembrances like Monday’s can “reopen that black hole” of pain.
“He didn’t die in the line of duty. ... but still, I always feel for him on Memorial Day,” Biden said. “The hurt can be overwhelming.”
At the White House, the first couple hosted a breakfast in the East Room with 130 or so members of veteran organizations, military family groups and senior Defense Department and other administration officials. Later, they would join families in the planting of a magnolia tree on the White House South Lawn in honor of the fallen.
