Obama observes Memorial Day at Arlington cemetery

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama marked his first Memorial Day as president on Monday, saluting the men and women of America's fighting forces, both living and dead, as "the best of America."

The president spoke after participating in a solemn holiday tradition, laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery, the burial ground for American veterans dating to the Revolutionary War.

In brief remarks after laying the wreath and observing a moment of silence, Obama said he wondered why the country's fallen warriors felt a sense of duty and answered the call to serve, knowing they might have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

"Why in an age when so many have acted only in pursuit of narrowest self-interest have the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of this generation volunteered all that they have on behalf of others," he said. "Why have they been willing to bear the heaviest burden?"

"Whatever it is, they felt some tug. They answered a call. They said 'I'll go.' That is why they are the best of America," Obama said. "That is what separates them from those who have not served in uniform, their extraordinary willingness to risk their lives for people they never met."

The president also sought to dodge a racial controversy the holiday, sending wreaths to a monument for Confederate soldiers and a memorial honoring more than 200,000 blacks who fought for the Union during the Civil War.

The nation's first black president continued tradition and had wreaths delivered to the Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, the 600-acre site across the Potomac River in Virginia that once was Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's estate. The White House also sent a wreath to the African American Civil War Memorial in Washington's historically black U Street neighborhood.

Presidents traditionally visit Arlington to personally leave a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, a marble structure with the remains of unidentified U.S. military members who died during war. Presidents then have aides deliver wreaths to other memorials or monuments, generally including the Confederate memorial.

A group of about 60 professors last week sent a petition to the White House asking Obama to avoid a memorial for Confederate military members who died during the war between the North and the South.

The White House ignored the plea. Wreaths also were left at the mast of the USS Maine and at the Spanish American War Memorial, a White House aide said.