MAY 27, 2025 – The republic stands only because of those who did what had to be done when duty called, President Donald J. Trump said today as he honored fallen service members at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., and laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“The cost was everything to them and to their families. Our debt to them is eternal, and it does not diminish with time. It only grows and grows and grows with each passing year,” Trump said.
“Each of the service members who have made the supreme sacrifice for our nation have also left an unfillable void and an unbreakable silence in the lives of all who love them. For the families of the fallen, you feel the absence of your heroes every day,” he said.
This Memorial Day is especially significant as the United States commemorates 250 years since the first American patriots fell on the field of battle, the president said.
Vice President JD Vance said Americans honor the fallen and their families in their own way. He suggested two ways of honoring their sacrifice every day.
“First, we ought to commit ourselves and expect from our leaders to treat the lives of our troops as the most precious resource,” Vance said. “The very best way to honor the fallen is to only ask the next generation to make the ultimate sacrifice when they absolutely must. We must be cautious in sending our people to war.”
The second way to honor the fallen is to “commit ourselves to being worthy of their sacrifice,” whether that is being the best husband, mother or citizen that you can be, he said.
“Together, let us build a better country, a more perfect union and strive to be the kind of nation worthy of the sacrifice of the people who we honor today, on this Memorial Day,” Vance said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said, “the American soldier fights not because he hates what’s in front of him, but because he loves what’s behind him. We honor his selfless sacrifice, his courage, his duty and his love.”
“And because we strive for peace, we must prepare for war,” Hegseth said.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine said the legacy of the fallen is entrusted to the living.
“It is our responsibility to carry that weight and to live in a way worthy of their sacrifice and to never forget what they did for us,” Caine said.
By David Vergun, DOD News