‘God bless our fallen heroes’: Trump lays wreath at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, honors slain American troops

The president, as well as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, were in attendance to lay the wreath.

The National Anthem was played as Trump, Vance, and Hegseth stood saluting.

After laying the wreath, Trump spoke, honoring those soldiers who had fallen and made the ultimate sacrifice in defending their country. "These ... warriors picked up their mantle of duty and service, knowing that, to live for others, meant always that they might die for others."

He then honored the Gold Star families in the audience and in America, saying that each family "fights a battle long after the victory is won" of dealing with the loss of their son or daughter. He then recounted the sacrifice of the soldiers at Lexington and Concord as well as at Bunker Hill. "Brave Minute Men and humble farm boys became the first to give their lives for a nation that did not yet have a name with their deaths," Trump added.

Trump then spoke about other soldiers who have died in American history in wars, from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam and beyond, detailing Senior Master Sergeant Elroy Harworth, who died in Vietnam in a plane crash, leaving behind a wife who was seven months pregnant. His son, who Elroy never met, Sergeant First Class Troy Harworth, was in attendance, whom Trump recognized along with his wife.

He went on to recognize several other Gold Star families and their family members who gave the ultimate sacrifice in war. He named Senior Chief Petty Officer Shannon Kent, who was killed in 2019 by a suicide bomber. He recognized her family as well as the family of Ryan McGee. McGee was inspired to serve after 9/11 and was killed at 21 years old by a suicide bomber in Baghdad.

"May God bless our fallen heroes, may God bless our Gold Star families, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you very much, everybody," the president concluded.

Vice President JD Vance spoke in addition to the words from Trump, telling the story of President Woodrow Wilson laying the cornerstone to the amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery.

"Buried within it was a copper box which contained mementos of profound significance to the amphitheaters designers and to our entire country, there were four things, an American flag, a Bible, a copy of our Declaration of Independence and a copy of the US Constitution," Vance said of the cornerstone that was laid.

He then commented on the sacrifices that fallen soldiers have given before, "Consider the sum of all the moments that make a good life, and now appreciate that countless strangers, people most of you never met, they gave up those moments in their own life, so that we could enjoy them in ours. And that is what Memorial Day is all about."

Vance then addressed the Gold Star families that were in attendance, saying, "Know that your loved one to us is a hero, and though we cannot know your pain, please know that I speak for the entire nation when I say that we are grateful to them and to you for a debt none of us can possibly repay," and added that Americans must commit to treat the lives of servicemembers as the "most precious resource" of the nation.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also spoke about the importance and honor dedicated to the story of the Unknown Soldier, "It's a uniquely American tradition that we honor anonymous sacrifice above worldly greatness, while we don't know the unknowns, identity, race or creed, we know his story. It's the story of every soldier, every warrior. It's a simple story as old as war, a young man with hopes and dreams and loves who's called by his country, leaves behind his hometown, his parents, his siblings, his sweetheart, all that he knows, to go fight a war that he may or may not understand. He's called to go through hell and back, to sleep in a trench, to eat out of a tin cup or on the hood of a Humvee, to pray as bullets and bombs thunder around him, to fear for the bullet or the mortar or the IED or the RPG with his name on it."

He later added, "The duty we owe these men is peace which only can be achieved through strength and because we strive for peace, we must prepare for war," and closed his speech honoring God as well as those soldiers who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

The tradition of laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is considered to be one of the most solemn ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery. The wreath is laid by the president "at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to mark the national observance of Memorial Day," but can also be done on other occasions.