US troops fighting in Afghanistan hold services across war-torn country to ...

President Obama today paid tribute to America's war dead as he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns during a Memorial Day service at the National Cemetery in Arlington.

He urged crowds at the ceremony to remember the 'enduring legacy' of generations of soldiers who have lost their lives in service, who he described as 'America's guardians'.

And across the country, Americans marked the public holiday with barbecues, parades and vigils to honour the country's veterans of war as the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks approaches.

They remembered, too, the thousands of troops still fighting in Afghanistan, as it was revealed the U.S. death toll has exceeded 1,500 during the decade-long war.

Speaking in front of an audience of military officials and their families, the president said: 'The grief that many of you carry in your hearts is a grief I cannot fully know.This day is about you and the fallen heroes that you loved, and it’s a day that has meaning for all Americans.'

He said: 'We remember that the blessings we enjoy as Americans came at a dear cost, that our very presence here today as a free people in a free society bears testimony to their enduring legacy.

'Our nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay. But we can honor their sacrifice, and we must.'

Mr Obama also issued a Memorial Day proclamation,ordering the U.S. flag to be flown at half-mast on government buildings until midday, and asking Americans to observe a moment of remembrance at 3pm local time.

In his speech, Mr Obama said he felt honoured to serve as the commander-in-chief of what he described as 'one of the finest fighting forces the world has ever known.'

Later the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks will be marked in Washington's National Memorial Day Parade, with special tributes planned for first responders, and for the relatives of the thousands killed.

Guests will include Gary Sinise, a veteran's advocate who played Lieutenant Dan in the film Forrest Gump, as well as former soldiers who won the Medal of Honor in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

Meanwhile Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachman joined veterans in New Hampshire for a series of Memorial Day events, the day after potential rival Sarah Palin met veteran bikers at the annual Rolling Thunder rally in Washington D.C.

Earlier today troops in Afghanistan paused from their duties to pay tribute to their fallen comrades, remembering more than 1,500 soldiers who have died in combat since the September 11 attacks triggered the war almost a decade ago.

Confederate flag generates hate - Unfettered Letters

Just a question which perplexes me - why are some people, 150 yrs after the Civil War, so invested in preserving some reverence for a set of symbols which represent the furious effort of one group of people to perpetuate and possibly expand the denigration and enslavement of an entire race of fellow humans. I can speculate on the motivation but it would be interesting to hear from some of the proponents.

Not even close LRC - that would get you a nice fat F at an Ivy League college. Here is something Obama actually did say about wearing the flag pin: "I decided I won't wear that pin on my chest." he said in the interview. "Instead, I'm going to try to tell the American people what I believe will make this country great, and hopefully that will be a testament to my patriotism."

Maybe it's because I wasn't brought up in the south, but I see the confederate flag issue as pretty darned black and white. The flag is only used to intimidate and inspire fear. People who display the flag must know that it hurts every African American, but they do it anyway because they are pigs. It is a symbol of oppression. It shouldn't be banned, as it is a form of speech, but never honorable speech, only hate speech.

Interesting conversation on this thread...I guess I can understand if one's relatives had fought on the confederate side during the Civil War remaining faithful to the flag...however I can also see why it can hurt people's feelings remembering the days when one's relatives lived as slaves....

BTW Uncommon...Were you surprised by Confederate Mike's claiming he's liberal? I wasn't!

I'm very proud of the Confederate flag. My direct ancestor died of hunger in a Yankee concentration camp in New York in 1864. Countless other civilian relatives died in Sherman's massacre and killings throughout the South. The Confederacy was a decentralized compact of states fighting for her own territory. Nazi Germany was a totalitarian unit fighting for world conquest. Now who's flag does that sound like? Hmm?

Sometimes you have to go to Unfettered Letters to find a defender of the Confederacy quoting Abraham Lincoln as part of his argument. From the quotation, I'm not completely sure what point our liberal friend Confederate Mike is trying to make nor can I tell if he is aware of the political and military situation when Lincoln wrote those words nor of the range of Lincoln's preserved remarks on slavery and secession.

Confederate veteran

Confederate veteran

Supplement to the Courant

Through blood & fire, selected Civil War papers of Major General Joshua Chamberlain

Puck