Arlington, Va. – President Bush paid a Memorial Day tribute on Monday to generations of Americans who have given their lives for our nation, saying that while the United States has always been a “reluctant warrior,” its soldiers have been willing to give all to rid the world of oppressors and spread the ideals of freedom.
Speaking at Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, Bush saluted all those who have died in uniform, singling out the more than 400,000 Americans who died in World War II, saying the country “will always honor the character and the achievements of your brave generation.”
He then turned to the wars fought under his command, focusing on Iraq, where nearly 1,650 American military personnel have died, according to Pentagon statistics. An additional 12,630 have been wounded, about half of them seriously enough that they did not return to duty. There are now about 139,000 American troops in Iraq.
As he often does, Bush tied the military operation in Afghanistan, undertaken to root out al-Qaeda and the Taliban, to the war in Iraq, characterizing them as components of a struggle to protect the nation from the threat of terrorism.
“Across the globe, our military is standing directly between our people and the worst dangers in the world, and Americans are grateful to have such brave defenders,” Bush said, speaking under brilliant sunshine with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at his side.
“The war on terror has brought great costs,” Bush said. “For those who have lost loved ones in Afghanistan and Iraq, today is a day of last letters and fresh tears. Because of the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, two terror regimes are gone forever, freedom is on the march, and America is more secure.”
Bush quoted from letters written by soldiers for their families in case of their deaths.
“My death will mean nothing if you stop now,” Army Sgt. Michael Evans, 22, who was killed in Baghdad in January, wrote. “I know it will be hard, but I gave my life so you could live. Not just live, but live free.”
Bush invoked that spirit to suggest that he would not give up on his belief that Iraq can be made stable.
“As we look across these acres, we begin to tally the cost of our freedom, and we count it a privilege to be citizens of the country served by so many brave men and women,” he said, speaking in an amphitheater amid the graves of more than 260,000 military personnel and their families. “And we must honor them by completing the mission for which they gave their lives, by defeating the terrorists, advancing the cause of liberty, and building a safer world.”
Reading from another letter that Marine Capt. Ryan Beaupre had instructed was to be opened only in the event of his death, Bush quoted: “Realize that I died doing something that I truly love, and for a purpose greater than myself.”
Beaupre, from St. Anne, Ill., was killed in the first hours of the Iraq war, Bush said.
The third letter cited by the president was by Marine Lance Cpl. Darrell Schumann of Hampton, Va., who wrote to his family in the last letter before his death, “I do wish America could see how awesome a job we’re doing.”
Bush said Schumann died in a helicopter crash in Fallujah.
Elsewhere n the U.S.:
In Santa Monica, Calif., the anti-war group Veterans for Peace set up a temporary “Arlington West” display of more than 1,600 white crosses in memory of American soldiers killed in Iraq. Some crosses were decorated with flowers along with pictures and names of the dead.
In Boston, about 70 musicians gathered on City Hall Plaza for a Memorial Day tribute to civilians killed in Iraq. Performers with wind, percussion or string instruments formed a circle and sounded notes for each of the war’s civilian casualties – a high note for a child, a medium note for a woman and a low note for a man, up to 25,000 notes in all. A memorial for American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan was dedicated in a courtyard behind the Old North Church.
The Washington Post and The Associated Press contributed to this report.