President Barack Obama on Monday honored soldiers who died in Afghanistan, during his annual speech at Arlington national cemetery on Memorial Day. Though troops remain stationed in Afghanistan , it was the first time in 14 years that the US had celebrated the holiday while not engaged in a major ground war.
After laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Obama praised American soldiers for their “honor, courage, selflessness” in every war, from the Revolutionary war against Britain to the recently ended conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Ahead of the ceremony, the administration touted this as the first Memorial Day ceremony since the end of the ground war in Afghanistan, where more than 2,200 Americans died since 2001.
“This may be the first Memorial Day since the end of our war in Afghanistan, but we are acutely aware, as we speak, of our men and women in uniform, who still stand watch, still serve and still sacrifice, around the world,” Obama said.
Nearly 10,000 troops are set to remain in Afghanistan into 2016, fulfilling what the administration describes as “non-combat roles” – such as coordinating drone strikes and training Afghan security forces.
“We’ll continue to bring them home and reduce them to embassy presence by the end of next year, but Afghanistan remains a very dangerous place,” Obama said.
He honored the last two soldiers to die in the combat mission in Afghanistan, Wyatt Martin and Ramon Morris. They died when their military vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED) near Kabul in December.
Obama said Martin, 22, enlisted because he was grateful for his life in Arizona, and believed it “came with an obligation to give back, to serve”. Last summer, the president said, Martin told his sister that if he died , he would die happy.
http://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/president-obama-marks-first-memorial-day-in-14-years-without-major-us-war/
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