Obama Not the 1st President to Miss Memorial Day at Arlington

By: Peter Maer
Topics: Afghanistan ,; National Security ,; Obama Administration

President Barack Obama, second from left, and Gen. Karl Horst, right, stop to talk with visitors among the graves of soldiers from the Iraq and Afghan conflicts in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, Nov. 11, 2009. Mr. Obama spoke with Stephen and Matthew Barbieri at the grave of their brother, Army Spec. Thomas "T.J." Barbieri, who was killed in Iraq.

(Credit: White House)

Some conservative talk show hosts and pundits have mounted an effort to politicize Memorial Day by questioning President Obama's plan to visit a national cemetery in Illinois instead of attending the annual ceremony at Arlington.

RedState blogger and CNN contributor Erick Erickson tweeted, "Obama skipping the Tomb of the Unknowns this weekend for Chicago is offensive."

Radio and TV talker Glenn Beck (on May 25) said, "Obama is skipping out on a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington Cemetery because he'll be in Chicago on vacation." On his show, Beck incorrectly asserted that the president "has decided not to honor our troops on Memorial Day."

Beck said, "Maybe this has happened before. I don't recall it."

Let's set the record straight. Mr. Obama will participate today in a ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois, about 50 miles south of Chicago. He is not the first president to be away from Washington on a patriotic holiday.

The critics were either ignorant of the facts or they failed to mention the 2007 Veterans Day ceremony when Vice President Dick Cheney spoke while President George W. Bush observed the holiday in Texas.

Vice President Dan Quayle laid the wreath at Arlington on Memorial Day, 1992. I recall covering President George H.W. Bush, a distinguished World War II vet, as he marked the holiday that year at his favorite vacation spot, Kennebunkport, Maine, where he spoke to a veterans group.

Back in 1983, a Defense Department official laid the Memorial Day wreath at Arlington when Ronald Reagan was at a G-7 Summit meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia.

This is far from a complete list, but presidents have been at places other than Arlington on Memorial Day.

Some of Mr. Obama's conservative critics have also used his Memorial Day plan to question his commitment to the military.

Like his predecessors, Mr. Obama has expressed deep feelings about the troops in both words and deeds, often with as little fanfare as the presidency allows. Like other presidents, he meets privately with the families of the fallen. He watches developments in the buildup in Afghanistan and the planned drawdown in Iraq.

Unlike other presidents, he paid a middle of the night somber visit to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to witness the return of dead soldiers.

Perhaps the most eloquent statement on Mr. Obama's stand on the military comes from Gold Star Mother Carol Barbieri of Maryland. Her son, Army Specialist and paratrooper Thomas "TJ" Barbieri, was killed in Iraq in 2006.

TJ's brothers Stephen and Matthew were visiting his grave at Arlington on Veterans Day last year when Mr. Obama stopped to pay his respects. He asked about their loved one and expressed his appreciation for the sacrifice.

Responding to e-mailed questions last week, Mrs. Barbieri told me the family was grateful that the president "took the time to honor the memory and sacrifice of TJ, along with those of all of the others laid to rest alongside our son."

She noted it was apparently the first time that any president visited the graves in Arlington's Section 60, the burial place of many troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Asked about the president's decision to visit the Illinois cemetery on Memorial Day, Mrs. Barbieri said she and her husband Tom "both feel that there is no exclusivity for bravery and valor."

She noted, "Our heroes are interred all over the nation. The President of the United States should be remembering and honoring the men and women who have fought for this country. It doesn't matter where he does that as long as he never forgets them."

Poignant words to ponder for people on all points of the political spectrum, especially on this Memorial Day, 2010.

Peter Maer is a CBS News White House correspondent. You can read more of his posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow him on Twitter.

Peter Maer
Peter Maer is a CBS News White House Correspondent.
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by shomam May 22, 2011 3:54 PM EDT

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has a special significance and yes he should have been there. http://methoo.com

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by sharon1106 May 30, 2011 12:59 PM EDT: I agree. He always seems to ignore the troops on special days. Visiting a cemetery in Illinois is not the same as Arlington. He should have been there, but I expect nothing better from him. Let's hope people remember all his mistakes and faux pas' and vote him out.


by ptorlando May 15, 2011 8:36 PM EDT: Obama is an a s s h o l e.; Reply to this comment


by ptorlando May 15, 2011 8:35 PM EDT: Obama is an *******; Reply to this comment


by govtguy June 10, 2010 8:47 AM EDT: Makes no difference who the President is; he is the Commander in Chief of ALL the Armed Forces of the US. It is his moral, ethical, and honored duty to report to the Tomb of the Unknowns, and offer respects, on behalf of a grateful nation. You don't pass off this task, it goes with HIS JOB. Being in Chicago visiting friends or family, then going to a local cemetery as an after thought is wrong on many fronts, period!; Reply to this comment

by azrunner120 June 2, 2010 4:21 PM EDT

I try to research news articles to confirm what is being reported. I did search to see if it was correct that Bush missed the 2007 Memorial services at Arlington. It seems Mr. Maer may have made a mistake in his report. I found that Bush attended all the Memorial Day ceremonies except the one in 2002 where he spoke at the cemetery in Normandy, France.

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by USMCRepub June 2, 2010 8:56 PM EDT: You are right and wrong. While correct that Bush did attend the Memorial Day events you say, Maer didn't say he missed Memorial Day in 2007. Instead Maer consciously began discussing Presidents attending Arlington on Memorial Day. Then by using the term "patriotic holiday" (which god knows could include Washington's birthday, Independence Day, and a dozen others), he threw in Veteran's Day as if it's the same holiday. I would suggest Mr Maer learn the difference between the holidays and the traditions associated with them rather than grasp at an excuse to justify Obama's skipping out on Arlington and dishonoring the US Military men and women who have died giving us our freedoms.


by azrunner120 June 2, 2010 4:20 PM EDT: I try to research news articles to confirm what is being reported. I did search to see if it was correct that Bush missed the 2007 Memorial services at Arlington. It seems Mr. Maer may have made a mistake in his report. I found that Bush attended all the Memorial Day ceremonies except the one in 2002 where he spoke at the cemetery in Normandy, France.; Reply to this comment


by kansas1946 June 1, 2010 6:45 PM EDT: Some conservative talk show hosts and pundits have mounted an effort to politicize Memorial Day by questioning President Obama's plan to visit a national cemetery in Illinois instead of attending the annual ceremony at Arlington.
*************************

Oh, just the usual trash-mouthed Rush and O'reilly lying in order to bash Obama.; Reply to this comment

by aquaman1980 June 1, 2010 4:38 PM EDT

The chicago memorial service the president attended was in honor of the men and women who gave their lives for this great country. The chicago location was made in honor of Lincoln who was the president responsible in creating memorial burial sites for our soliders. With that knowledge hopefully known to you, why in the world would people be so ignorant to bash our president? Some people need to read the article again. Bush was in TX, Reagan was in VA, did they lay the wrath or for that matter give respect to the soliders?? No. Obama went to the place where the respect was first started...The beginning..Will you bash the next president if he or she doesnt go lay the traditional visit?

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by USMC-Mom June 1, 2010 5:32 PM EDT: Yes I will.

by USMC-Mom June 1, 2010 2:04 PM EDT

Jimborn, I will make the statement on his actions of ignoring not only the many who died in past wars but the many who died in the past few days.

Being president is a job and this holiday comes at the same time every year. The president should be on hand laying the wreath.

Thanks to those many fallen service men and women for my right to say my opinion.

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by jimbom121 June 1, 2010 2:07 PM EDT: First off, we was at a National Cemetary...the one created by Abraham Lincoln. There are many National Cemetaries.

Secon, you should be saying the same thing about Bush Jr, Bush Sr, and Reagan, who all missed the dedication at Arlington at least once.


by USMC-Mom June 1, 2010 3:16 PM EDT: I did say ALL Presidents in a earlier post and in this one I refer to president as in the job.

Yes he picked one closer to his vacation spot but not the main one.