As a light rain ceased, giving way to silence, President Donald Trump approached the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Monday and solemnly laid a wreath in remembrance of America’s service members who made the ultimate sacrifice. Trump — who was joined by Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — then stood in salute as “Taps” echoed across the hallowed grounds.
In his Memorial Day remarks at Arlington National Cemetery, the Commander in Chief lauded “our guardian angels,” describing them as the vital line of defense between “liberty and tyranny… civilization and barbarism… good and evil.”
“We honor those who fell so that our Republic might stand, those who died so that our nation could live, those who gave up their sacred light on earth so that the sublime light of American freedom would shine forever and ever,” Trump told the crowd, which included many Gold Star families. “This Memorial Day we salute them, we exalt them, and we thank them for all that we have, for all that they gave. They gave everything.”
More than 400,000 veterans and their dependents rest within the cemetery’s 639 acres, representing generations of military service from the Revolutionary War to the present day.
Trump paid an emphatic tribute to the 13 service members killed in the ongoing conflict with Iran. Prior to reaffirming his pledge that “the number one state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon,” he offered a special acknowledgement to the family of Maj. Ariana G. Savino, 31, of Covington, Washington, who died in a KC-135 crash in western Iraq in March.
“Ariana’s selfless gift will not be in vain. Our debt to you is everlasting. And it’s always going to end in victory,” Trump declared, drawing a surge of applause.
Washington and Tehran remain locked in high-stakes peace negotiations to end the fighting that began on Feb. 28. But tensions rose on Monday when the United States conducted “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran. The Islamic Republic’s Foreign Ministry later accused the U.S. of violating the fragile ceasefire, warning that the latest round of strikes risked undermining diplomatic efforts between the two sides.
Trump, at Arlington, also recounted the service of Lt. Col. Keith Ware, a Medal of Honor recipient who served in both World War II and Vietnam and “led from the front”; Maj. Charles Kelly, an Army helicopter pilot who “refused to withdraw” until he had loaded the wounded aboard in Vietnam; and Sgt. 1st Class Matthew McClintock, “a very special Green Beret” awarded the Silver Star for his final act of valor in Afghanistan.
Senior Master Sgt. Harry Miller, a WWII veteran, was in attendance and received a standing ovation during the observance. He lost 42 men from his unit during the Battle of the Bulge.
“At 15, Harry Miller lied about his age to enlist and was soon fighting to stop the SS Panzer Divisions as part of the famed 740th tank battalion — the daredevils, they were called — of which he is among the last surviving members at 97 years old,” the president said, waving and pumping his fist toward Miller. “Sgt. Miller, it is a true honor to have you with us.”
The president’s Memorial Day address was preceded by remarks from Vance, a Marine Corps veteran, who delivered a twofold appeal to the American public.
“The first is that we be the very best version of ourselves in honor of those who gave everything that this nation might be worthy,” Vance said. “Second, we always remember that every moment that we’re able to enjoy with our loved ones — everything that gives our life and our nation meaning and purpose — was given to us often by total strangers who laid down their lives that this might be the best nation in the history of the world.”
He concluded: “To our Gold Star families, I hope you know that I will never forget. I’ll never forget your loved ones; that the good life that I have and that my family have is fundamentally because you paid a debt that I can never repay.”
Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.