Vice President Mike Pence, accompanied by Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, took part in the annual wreath-laying ceremony and delivered remarks at Arlington National Cemetery to mark Memorial Day.
“On behalf of a grateful nation, it is my profound privilege to be here,” Pence said.
“To all of you here, and those looking on from afar, especially to the families of our fallen, we extend our deepest sympathies. And we also bring the deepest respect and gratitude of the 45th president of the United States of America, President Donald Trump,” Pence added.
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Pence also brought up North Korea’s pledge to return the remains of fallen soldiers back to the U.S. But Pence did not mention that efforts to recover those remains have come to a halt, with U.S. officials citing a lack of cooperation from North Korea after an unsuccessful summit between Kim Jong Un and President Trump in Vietnam earlier this year.
“We will never rest until every soldier is accounted for and resting on American soil,” the vice president declared Monday.
Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump visited the cemetery last week, before he left for Japan.
Pence marked the somber occasion by visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Arlington National Cemetery, the grave site of thousands of late soldiers, is running up against space concerns, as the cemetery runs out of room to bury more dead.
Memorial Day comes as the Trump administration is preparing to send 1,500 new troops to the Middle East to counter Iran. Mr. Trump confirmed the expected troop deployment last week, after a week earlier saying reports of possible troop deployment were “fake news.”
“We want to have protection the Middle East,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, adding he is sending a “relatively small number” of “very talented” people to the region.
