Obama honors veterans at Arlington cemetery

ARLINGTON -- On a cold, rain-soaked Veterans Day, President Barack Obama walked slowly through the white stone markers at the section of Arlington National Cemetery reserved for troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the two wars he oversees as commander in chief.

Obama led the nation yesterday in observing Veterans Day with a traditional wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington before his unannounced visit to the section reserved for those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We gather here mindful that the generation serving today already deserves a place alongside previous generations for the courage they have shown and the sacrifices that they have made," Obama said in a brief speech after the wreath-laying. Obama pledged he will do right by all veterans and families, saying: "America will not let you down."

The president spoke a day after he honored the victims of a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas. He said he was struck by the determination of the soldiers there, a quality that unites generations of American service members.

"To all of them -- to our veterans, to the fallen and to their families -- there is no tribute, no commemoration, no praise that can truly match the magnitude of your service and your sacrifice," he said.

The Veterans Day observation comes as Obama is on the verge of announcing a revamped war strategy in Afghanistan that is expected to include sending thousands more troops into that war zone. The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McChrystal, has asked for up to 40,000 more forces.

Before returning to the White House to discuss Afghan strategy with his top military and national security advisers, Obama walked through Arlington's Section 60, where fallen troops from Iraq and Afghanistan are buried.

The president stopped at the grave of Spc. Ross McGinnis, a Medal of Honor recipient who was killed in Iraq, before he and first lady Michelle Obama walked through the rows of white headstones marking the fallen.

Under light rain, the Obamas shook hands and embraced surprised family members there to pay their respects, pausing to speak with them briefly beside their loved ones' graves.

In Paris, for the first time since World War I, the leaders of Germany and France held a joint ceremony yesterday to commemorate the end of the conflict, saying now is the time to celebrate their countries' reconciliation and friendship.

"French-German friendship is sealed with blood," French President Nicolas Sarkozy said under the shadow of the Arc de Triomphe, site of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his side.