Bush lays wreath at Tomb of the Unknowns
Pays tribute to soldiers killed in Afghan, Iraq wars
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President Bush places a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington National Cemetary Monday.
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President George W. Bush marks Memorial Day by paying special tribute to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. (May 26)
The U.S. Library of Congress is collecting memories of veterans. CNN's Bruce Morton talks to several vets. (May 26)
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush led Memorial Day ceremonies Monday at Arlington National Cemetery, pledging that "this nation does not forget" those who died in its wars.
"All Americans and every free nation on Earth can trace their liberty to the white markers of places like Arlington National Cemetery, and may God keep us ever grateful," Bush said after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington.
"We come to this Memorial Day with deep awareness of recent loss and recent courage," Bush said. "Beyond the Tomb of the Unknowns in Section 60 of Arlington Cemetery, we have laid to rest Americans who fell in the battle of Iraq."
More than 160 U.S. troops and 34 British troops were killed in the March invasion of Iraq that ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, including a U.S. soldier killed Monday in an ambush northeast of Baghdad.
More than 140,000 U.S. troops are involved in the occupation of Iraq after Saddam's fall. Thousands of others are still in Afghanistan, battling remnants of the Taliban and the al Qaeda terrorist network that attacked New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.
Bush read letters from two soldiers killed in Iraq and recounted the recent interment of a bomber crew, killed in North Africa in 1942, whose bodies were found six decades later.
"Americans like these did not fight for glory, but to fulfill a duty," Bush said. "They did not yearn to be heroes. They yearned to see mom and dad again and hold their sweethearts and watch their sons and daughters grow.
"They wanted the daily miracle of freedom in America, but they gave all that up and gave life itself for the sake of others," he said.
Earlier, Bush held a private reception for nearly 175 veterans and their families, an administration official said. The event was meant to pay tribute to those who, in the words of the White House, have made "tremendous sacrifices for their country through their service."
-- CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux contributed to this report.
