Many Americans marked Veterans' Day Friday to honor the men and women who have served in the U.S. military, as people in many countries honored their military veterans. President Bush honored veterans at an event in Pennsylvania, and Vice President Dick Cheney laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
On a day to honor veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, Vice President Dick Cheney spoke at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, saying America owes them its liberty. Mr. Cheney says it is because of these veterans, the United States has lived in freedom. "Each year on the 11th of November, the American people pause to recognize the veterans who served across the years, and we offer special thanks to those who still walk among us. We know them as our neighbors, friends, colleagues and family members. They make us proud to be Americans," he said.
Mr. Cheney says, in each generation, there have been men and women who have served, in World War One and Two, the Vietnam, Korean and Cold Wars, and other operations, and they continue to make a contribution in the war on terror.
"Difficult missions are still to come, and we cannot know every turn that lies ahead. Yet we can be certain that, by the resolve of our country, by the rightness of our cause and by the character of our fighting forces, we will prevail," he said.
In Washington, large numbers of people visited the Vietnam and World War Two Memorials to honor their fallen comrades, family members and friends.
Joseph Shiel, from the eastern state of New Jersey who served in the Navy during World War II, recalled comrades lost. "It brings back the thought of how futile war is. I hate to think of the boys who are being killed today over in Iraq. It's just unfortunate that this had to happen for them. I had hoped that World War Two would have ended all wars, but that wasn't to be. We had Vietnam, we had Korea, we had Desert Storm. So, it looks as though World War Two did not do what it was supposed to do," he said.
Mr. Shiel says his message to troops in Iraq now would be to "come home safe."
