United States President Joe Biden, following tradition, visited the Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day. He was accompanied by US First Lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Standing at attention under a cloudless sky in the late-May heat, Biden saluted as taps played, after laying the wreath of red and white roses wrapped in red, white and blue ribbon in front of the tomb.

“Memorial Day is always a day where pain and pride are mixed together”, Biden said in his address on Monday. “Our memorial to them must not be just a day when we pause and pray. It must be a daily commitment to act, to come together, to be worthy of the price that was paid,” he added.

At the White House, the first couple hosted a breakfast in the East Room with 130 or so members of veteran organizations, military family groups and senior Defense Department and other administration officials. Later, they would join families in the planting of a magnolia tree on the White House South Lawn in honor of the fallen.