'America's best and bravest': Trump pays tribute to soldiers on Memorial Day

India Today

26-05-2025

In a symbolic Memorial Day ceremony, President Donald Trump honored fallen US service members at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, hailing them as 'great, great warriors' and pledging to uphold the values they died defending.Standing before the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier — one of America's most sacred military sites — Trump laid a wreath in quiet reflection, then stepped back and saluted as the haunting notes of taps echoed across the cemetery grounds. Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accompanied the president.advertisement'We just revere their incredible legacy,' Trump said. 'We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory. And we continue our relentless pursuit of America's destiny as we make our nation stronger, prouder, freer, and greater than ever before.'
'We just revere their incredible legacy,' Trump said in his speech following the tribute. 'We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory. And we continue our relentless pursuit of America's destiny as we make our nation stronger, prouder, freer, and greater than ever before.'The president struck a largely reverent tone, dedicating most of his remarks to the sacrifices of the men and women who died in service to the United States. 'These were America's best and bravest,' Trump said. 'They are not forgotten, and they never will be.'However, Trump briefly dipped into politics, referring to the republic 'that I am fixing after a long and hard four years.' He said that on this commemorative day, his fixes were not for today to discuss.advertisementTrump told the story of Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, killed along with three other Americans by a suicide bomber in 2019 in Syria, leaving behind her husband, 3-year-old son, and 18-month-old son. She was on her fifth combat deployment, he said, embedded with a team hunting Islamic State group militants in Syria, serving as linguist, translator, and cryptology technician working alongside special forces. 'She was among the first women ever to do it, and she did it better than anyone,' Trump said.The crowd also heard of Senior Master Sergeant Elroy Harworth, who went down in enemy territory during the Vietnam War, dying while his wife was seven months pregnant. His son followed his father's path and has been in the Army for 20 years.Vance said the lesson of these stories and all the gravestones is: 'We must be cautious in sending our people to war.'Earlier, Trump began the day with a decidedly different tone. In a social media message in all capital letters, Trump ranted at former President Joe Biden, calling him the 'scum' who spent the last four years trying to destroy the country with radical leftism and who, he said, left behind an open border.advertisementTrump also went after federal judges who have blocked efforts to enact his mass deportation agenda, calling them 'monsters who want our country to go to hell.'That was after he posted a separate message proclaiming, 'HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!' Wishing people a happy Memorial Day is regarded as verboten because the day is considered a solemn day to honor soldiers killed in service.(With inputs from Associated Press)ALSO READ: Sacramento broadcast icon Stan Atkinson dies at 92Must Watch