Update with President Obama’s Memorial Day tributes to our fallen soliders. Here’s a schedule of today’s events:
May 28, 2012 11:00 AM EDT President Obama Participates in a Wreath Laying ceremony at Tomb of the Unknown May 28,
2012 11:20 AM EDT President Obama Speaks at the Memorial Amphitheater Arlington National Cemetary, Arlington, Virginia
May 28, 2012 1:50 PM EDT President Obama Speaks at the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration Ceremony:
WATCH THE CEREMONIES LIVE HERE:
What a powerfully poignant way to start our Memorial Day Weekend right here with Vice President Joe Biden’s delivering a heart to heart to families of Fallen Soldiers.
VP Biden shared the tragic deaths of his wife and daughter, and he recalled sympathizing with those who commit suicide, noting he felt the same after his daughter and first wife were killed in a car accident.
“I probably shouldn’t say this with the press here, but no, but it’s more important. You’re more important. For the first time in my life, I understood how someone could consciously decide to commit suicide,” he said.
“Not because they were deranged. Not because they were nuts. Because they had been to the top of the mountain, and they just knew in their heart they would never get there again,” Biden said. “That there was never going to get — never going to be that way again.
“That’s how an awful lot of you feel.”
Wiki: Memorial Day is a federal holiday observed annually in the United States on the last Monday of May.[1] Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War. (Southern ladies organizations and southern schoolchildren had decorated Confederate graves in Richmond and other cities during the Civil War, but each region had its own date. Most dates were in May.) By the 20th century Memorial Day had been extended to honor all Americans who have died in all wars. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces.[2] As a marker it typically marks the start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.
Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Many volunteers place an American flag on each grave in national cemeteries.[3]
By the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as people visited the graves of their deceased relatives in church cemeteries, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family gatherings, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.[4]
3 Chics invites our community to share news of your favorite, fondest memories and pay homage to loved who have fought and died in combat, and those who have passed on
Have a peaceful, safe, and loving weekend, Everyone!
President Obama will be laying the wreath at the Tomb of The Unknown shortly.
Turn to C-SPAN coverage, as MSNBC finds it hard to shut their traps and air the actual ceremony.
May 28, 2012 11:00 AM EDT
President Obama Participates in a Wreath Laying ceremony at Tomb of the Unknown May 28,
2012 11:20 AM EDT
President Obama Speaks at the Memorial Amphitheater
Arlington National Cemetary, Arlington, Virginia
May 28, 2012 1:50 PM EDT
President Obama Speaks at the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War Commemoration Ceremony:
WATCH THE CEREMONIES LIVE HERE: http://www.whitehouse.gov/live
Reblogged this on The Daniels Group Public Relations.
Biden shares tales of loss with families, friends of military casualties
By David A. Fahrenthold, Published: May 25
Vice President Biden, speaking Friday to families and friends of military personnel killed in action, gave a powerful retelling of the death of his wife and daughter 40 years ago — saying he’d realized then how grief might push a person to suicide.
“For the first time in my life, I understood how someone could consciously decide to commit suicide,” Biden told a meeting of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors at a hotel in Crystal City. The group offers counseling to relatives and friends of military personnel who have died. It was holding its 18th annual military survivor seminar.
SNIP
“I have to tell you, I used to resent — I knew people meant well. They’d come up to me and say, ‘Joe, I know how you feel,’ ” Biden said. The audience laughed.
“Right?” They clapped.
“You knew they meant well. You knew they were genuine. But you knew they didn’t have any damn idea how you felt,” Biden said to laughter. “Right? Isn’t that true?”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/biden-shares-tales-of-loss-with-families-friends-of-military-casualties/2012/05/25/gJQAdUMcqU_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines_Sat