Obama marks Veterans Day with wreath-laying

[unhappycamper]

President-elect Barack Obama and Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, director of the Illinois Department ofVeterans Affairs, take part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Bronze Soldiers Memorial in Chicago in honor of Veterans Day.


Obama marks Veterans Day with wreath-laying
By Liz Sidoti - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Nov 11, 2008 17:55:02 EST

CHICAGO — President-elect Obama honored fallen troops Tuesday by placing a wreath at a memorial and making a Veterans Day pledge to the many Americans who have served in the military.

“Let us rededicate ourselves to keep a sacred trust with all who have worn the uniform of the United States of America: that America will serve you as well as you have served your country,” Obama said in a statement. “As your next commander in chief, I promise to work every single day to keep that sacred trust with all who have served.”

One week after winning the presidential election, Obama took a brief break from his primary tasks of mapping out his administration and monitoring the economic crisis to mark Veterans Day at the bronze soldiers memorial between the Field Museum and Soldier Field in Chicago.

The Illinois senator, who will inherit wars in Iraq and Afghanistan from President Bush, was accompanied by Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran who lost her legs in combat. She later ran unsuccessfully for Congress and now is the Illinois governor’s veterans affairs director.

On a brisk autumn day, Obama moved a pre-positioned wreath a few feet closer to the front of the memorial that bore the phrase “dedicated to the defenders of our liberty.” He and Duckworth bowed their heads briefly and then each saluted.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/11/ap_obama_veterans_111108/%2e