President Obama delivered his final Veterans Day address at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday, during which he reflected on the tumultuous election that came to an end this week and emphasized the need for unity once more.
“Last time I stood on these hallowed grounds on Memorial Day, our country came together to honor those who have fought and died for our flag,” Obama, flanked by Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald, honor guards and retired service members, told a crowd of veterans gathered for the somber occasion.
“Veterans day often follows a hard-fought political campaign, an exercise in the free speech and self-government that you fought for,” said the president.
“It often lays bare disagreements across our nation. But the American instinct has never been to find isolation in opposite corners. It is to find strength in our common creed, to forge unity in our great diversity [and] to sustain that strength and unity even when it is hard.”
He continued, “When the election is over, as we search for ways to come together, to reconnect with one another and with the principles that are more enduring than transitory politics, some of our best examples are the men and women we salute on Veterans Day.
“You who once wore the uniform of our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard — we owe you our thanks, we owe you our respect, we owe you our freedom,” Obama said.
Earlier Friday, the president participated in his final wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
