A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment places flags at the headstones of service members buried at Arlington National Cemetery, ahead of Memorial Day, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
FILE - President Clinton stands with his hand over his heart during the playing of “Taps” at the Tomb of the Unknowns during Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery Monday, May 25, 1998 in Arlington, Va. Standing next to the President is Major Gen. Robert Foley, the commanding general of the Military District of Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
FILE - President George W. Bush addresses veterans and others gathered at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, Monday, May 27, 2002. (AP Photo/Doug Mills, File)
FILE - President Barack Obama pays tribute to the nation’s war dead during the Memorial Day ceremony at in the amphitheater of Arlington National Cemetery, May 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
FILE - President Donald Trump speaks at the Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 28, 2018 in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
FILE - President Joe Biden speaks at the Memorial Amphitheater after laying a wreath at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 30, 2022, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
In their words: How recent presidents have honored America’s fallen on Memorial Day
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 From Arlington National Cemetery outside the nation’s capital to the American burial ground in Normandy, France, presidents customarily commemorate Memorial Day on hallowed ground.
A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment places flags at the headstones of service members buried at Arlington National Cemetery, ahead of Memorial Day, Thursday, May 22, 2025, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 From Arlington National Cemetery outside the nation’s capital to the American burial ground in Normandy, France, presidents customarily commemorate Memorial Day on hallowed ground.
In somber wreath-laying ceremonies and poignant speeches, presidents who died serving the country, even as many Americans associate the holiday with a three-day weekend and shopping sales.
Here’s a look at what recent presidents have said on Memorial Days past. All spoke at Arlington in Virginia, except for President George W. Bush:
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RONALD REAGAN
鈥淭he willingness of some to give their lives so that others might live never fails to evoke in us a sense of wonder and mystery. One gets that feeling here on this hallowed ground. And I have known that same poignant feeling as I looked out across the rows of white crosses and stars of David in Europe, in the Philippines and the military cemeteries here in our own land. Each one marks the resting place of an American hero.鈥 鈥 May 31, 1982.
BILL CLINTON
鈥淢y fellow Americans, on this Memorial Day, let us commit ourselves to a future worthy of their sacrifice.鈥 鈥 May 25, 1998.
GEORGE W. BUSH
鈥淭he day will come when no one is left who knew them. When no visitor to this cemetery can stand before a grave remembering a face and a voice. The day will never come when America forgets them. Our nation and the world will always remember what they did here, what they gave here, for the future of humanity.鈥 鈥 May 27, 2002; Colleville-sur-Mer, France.
BARACK OBAMA
鈥淥ur nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes that we can never fully repay, but we can honor their sacrifice, and we must.鈥 May 30, 2011.
DONALD TRUMP
鈥淭hey were generals and privates, captains and corporals, of every race, color, and of every creed. But they were all brothers and sisters in arms. And they were all united then, as they are united now forever, by their undying love of our great country.鈥 鈥 May 28, 2018.
JOE BIDEN
鈥淭his is the mission of our time. Our memorial to them must not be just the day when we pause and pray. It must be a daily commitment to act, to come together, to be worthy of the price that was paid.鈥 May 30, 2022.
