Storm washes out Obama's speech

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. — President Barack Obama said Monday that the meaning of Memorial Day is found in the story of ordinary Americans who become extraordinary for one simple reason: love of country.

Obama, speaking to dozens of troops at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington after his Land of Lincoln tribute in Illinois was washed out by a storm, said the nation's fallen heroes had such a deep love of country that they willingly sacrificed their own lives to protect it.

"In this time of war, we pay special tribute to the thousands of Americans who have given their lives during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and who have earned their place among the greatest of generations," Obama said in the Monday evening speech.

Vice President Joe Biden earlier made the more traditional appearance at Arlington National Cemetery on Obama's behalf, saying the country has "a sacred obligation" to make sure its servicemen and women are the best equipped and best-supported troops in the world.

"As a nation, we pause to remember them," Biden said. "They gave their lives fulfilling their oath to this nation and to us."

Obama had readied a similar message of gratitude for his appearance at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill., and actually had taken the podium to give the address when the skies opened up with a downpour and thunder, lightning and high winds.

Under the cover of a large umbrella, Obama told thousands gathered that "a little bit of rain doesn't hurt anybody, but we don't want anybody being struck by lightning." He asked people to return to their cars for their safety, and he retreated briefly to an administration building on the cemetery's grounds. A few minutes later Obama boarded a pair of buses to greet military families that came for the event.

Before the storm hit, and in advance of his appearance at the podium, Obama had visited a section of headstones where two Marines awaited him. After laying a wreath, he bowed his head in a moment of silence, his hands tightly clasped. Then a lone bugler played taps.

After leaving the cemetery, Obama met privately with families of veterans and service members currently living at the Fisher House in Hines, Ill. It serves as a home away from home for family members whose loved ones are getting treatment at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Hines, which is about 12 miles west of downtown Chicago.

At Arlington, Biden carried out the traditional wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns under a brilliant sunshine.