Bush pays tribute to troops at Arlington

President Bush is accompanied by Army Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe Jr., commander of the Military District of Washington, left, as he lays a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns during a Memorial Day ceremony, Monday, May 26, 2008, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.


Bush pays tribute to troops at Arlington
By Deb Riechmann - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday May 27, 2008 6:32:38 EDT

ARLINGTON, Va. — President Bush paid tribute Monday to America’s fighting men and women who died in battle, saying national leaders must have “the courage and character to follow their lead” in preserving peace and freedom.

“On this Memorial Day, I stand before you as the commander in chief and try to tell you how proud I am,” Bush told an audience of military figures, veterans and their families at Arlington National Cemetery. Of the men and women buried in this hallowed cemetery, he said, “They’re an awesome bunch of people and the United States is blessed to have such citizens.”

Bush and his wife, Laura, traveled from the White House across the Potomac River to the rolling hillsides of Arlington National Cemetery, where he first placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and then went to an amphitheater to speak of those who “made the ultimate sacrifice to allow a free civilization to endure and flourish.”

The people who wear the U.S. uniform, the president said, represent “the last best hope for mankind.”

His Memorial Day outing came with the war in Iraq now in its sixth year and a day after Bush welcomed to the White House members of the Rolling Thunder motorcycling group, who gave him a cowhide vest jacket and made him an honorary member of their organization.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/05/ap_Bush_MemorialDay_052608/



uhc comment: He shoulda worn his new leathers -->

for all the death and pain he has caused.

His presence dishonors real veterans.