Memorial Day 2012

A visitor to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial touches the name of a fallen soldier etched on the wall of the memorial in Washington, Friday, May 25, 2012. On Monday, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall will begin the national commemoration of the Vietnam War's 50th anniversary.

Members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment place American flags at the graves of U.S. soldiers buried in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery in preparation for Memorial Day, May 25, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia.

"Flags-In" has become an annual ceremony since the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) was designated to be an Army's official ceremonial unit in 1948. Every available soldier in the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment participates in these events.

AP Photo/The Flint Journal, Lathan Goumas

Tadsiu Kosiara, 13, of Davison, Mich., carries miniature American flags while others place them in front of headstones for the Memorial Day weekend at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Mich., on Friday, May 25, 2012.

Molly Killian, 7, of Fenton, Mich., carries flags as her brother and mother place them in front of headstones for the Memorial Day holiday at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Mich., on Friday, May 25, 2012.

A lone piper plays "Amazing Grace" during Memorial Day ceremonies at Brig. General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, N.J., Saturday, May 26, 2012.

AP Photo/The Commercial Appeal, Chris Desmond

Stevon Spears, 17, and members of Boy Scout Troop 445 salute the American flag during the Memorial Day observance ceremony at the Memphis National Cemetery in Memphis, Tenn. Saturday, May 26, 2012.

For 29 years members of the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and American Heritage Girls have placed flags on the 42,000 graves at the Memphis National Cemetery during a ceremony honoring veterans for the Memorial Day Celebration.

An honor guard stands near wreaths honoring the fallen during Memorial Day ceremonies at Brig. General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, N.J., Saturday, May 26, 2012.

Military veteran Gerald Williams, right, of Willingboro, N.J., salutes with others during Memorial day ceremonies at Brig. General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, N.J., Saturday, May 26, 2012.

AP Photo/The Sun News, Janet Blackmon Morgan

Children watch the United States Air Force Honor Guard march past during the annual Memorial Day Parade on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach, S.C., Saturday, May 26, 2012.

Colleen Cowlan embraces Larry Eastman after helping him fit into a U.S. Coast Guard uniform ahead of the Memorial Day parade in Coos Bay, Ore., Thursday, May 24, 2012. United States Coast Guardsman LTJG Ian Leonard, background, helped procure the uniform for Eastman.

At 101 years old, Eastman is the oldest USCG veteran in Oregon, and will be the grand marshal for the parade.

Eastman's first rescue was in 1936 on the Rogue River Reef, he said. Four pirates snuck out to a ship that ran aground in a skiff to see what they could pillage. Once they boarded the ship, "They lost their skiff!" Eastman said. "They were stranded and we had to put up a beach apparatus to rescue the pirates."

Air Force Major Terry Dutcher, of Hill Air Force Base, Utah, visits the grave of her son, Army Corporal Michael Avery Pursel, who died serving in Iraq in 2007 at age 19, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., on Thursday, May 24, 2012.

Donald Stewart, of Somerset, N.J., stands next to his wife, Betty Stewart, at the grave of her son, U.S. Navy veteran Twain S. Bryant, during Memorial Day ceremonies at Brig. General William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Wrightstown, N.J., Saturday, May 25, 2012.

South Korean honor guard march during the Memorial Day Honor Guard Ceremony at Knight Field, a U.S. military base in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, May 25, 2012.

AP Photo/The News & Observer, Chris Seward

Civil Air Patrol cadets Devyn Williams, left, Grey Hodson, center, and Katie Zobel hold an American flag before demonstrating the proper way to fold it during a Memorial Day assembly held at Holly Grove Elementary School in Holly Springs, N.C. on Friday, May 25, 2012.

The USCGC Eagle (WIX 327) passes the Statue of Liberty on the Hudson River during the Parade of Ships for the start of Fleet Week, May 23, 2012 in New York City.

Fleet Week, which has been held in New York City since 1984, celebrates the U.S. Navy and Marines Corps with a week of ship visitations and military demonstrations, concluding on Memorial Day with a military flyover honoring those killed while serving in the military.

The U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly in formation as they pass over the USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) on the Hudson River during the Parade of Ships for the start of Fleet Week May 23, 2012 in New York City.

Jessica Sanchez, a runner-up in this year's "American Idol" competition, rehearses at the U.S. Capitol's West Lawn on May 26, 2012 in Washington, D.C., in advance of the 2012 PBS National Memorial Day concert.

New York Army National Guard member Nicodeme Clovis Esmel of Troy, N.Y., listens to a speaker during a Memorial Day ceremony in Latham, N.Y., on Thursday, May 24, 2012. The Guard honored members who have died while serving on active duty overseas since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Volunteer Red Flegal of New London, Pa., helps a visitor with a rubbing of a name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, Friday, May 25, 2012.

People take a rubbing of a name as they visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, Friday, May 25, 2012.

Mac Snyder kisses the gravestone of his mother at National Cemetery, where both of his parents are buried, in Little Rock, Ark., Friday, May 25, 2012.

First Sgt. Christopher Pry reads the names on crypts at the Kentucky Veterans Cemetery West on Friday, May 25, 2012, in Hopkinsville, Ky.

Pry, based at nearby Fort Campbell, came to the cemetery to help place flags at headstones for Memorial Day.

AP Photo/Boston Herald, Patrick Whittemore

Color guard members Army Spc. Tristan Bard, left, and Army Spc. Christopher Graham honor the memory of the 33,000 Massachusetts residents who died from the Civil War to the present day, as they snapped a salute at the end of the Remembering & Honoring Massachusetts ceremony, Thursday, May 24, 2012.

AP Photo/The Bellingham Herald, Philip A. Dwyer

Volunteer Vietnam veteran Gary Newell puts up one of 120 flags Friday morning, May 25, 2012, at Enterprise Cemetery north of Ferndale, Wash., in preparation of Memorial Day services. Each flag pole has a plaque with the name of a deceased veteran.

AP Photo/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Julia Rendleman

St. Raphael School seventh-grader Michael Kovacic, 13, holds a clod of dirt he pulled from an overgrown grave headstone at Alleghany Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Friday, May 25, 2012. Kovacic and his classmates spent the morning placing flags on veterans' graves in preparation for Memorial Day.

From left: U.S. military veterans Carlos Hollifield, of Knoxville, Tenn.; Tom Bender, of Clinton, N.J.; and Billy Riley of Union County, N.J., salute during a wreath-laying ceremony at the grave of an unknown Union soldier who died during the Civil War, at the Congressional Cemetery, May 25, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

The ceremony is part of weekend events marking the 25th anniversary of the Rolling Thunder Ride for Freedom, a motorcycle rally in the nation's capital. Started in 1988 as a protest to bring more awareness to issues involving POW/MIA service members, Rolling Thunder now has 90 chapters across the United States, and expects more than 900,000 veterans and their supporters to participate in this year's ride.

A group of U.S. military veterans ride their motorcycles through the Congressional Cemetery, May 25, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

A camp mentor holds a military child during a "Rolling Thunder" veterans' visit to the TAPS "Good Grief Camp" on May 26, 2012 in Arlington, Va.

Five hundred military children and teens, most of whom lost a parent or sibling in the Afghan and Iraq wars, are attending the annual four-day camp in Arlington and Washington, D.C., which is run by TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors). The camp helps them learn coping skills and build relationships so they know they are not alone in the grief of their loved one. They meet others of their own age group, learn together and share their feelings, both through group activities and one-on-one mentors, who are all active duty or former military service members.

Some 1,200 adults, most of whom are grieving parents and spouses, also attend the National Military Survival Seminar held concurrently with the children's camp. The TAPS slogan is "Remember the Love. Celebrate the Life. Share the Journey."

A Marine salutes as motorcycles drive past during the annual Rolling Thunder parade ahead of Memorial Day in Washington, Sunday, May 27, 2012.

Motorcyclists ride across the Memorial Bridge during Rolling Thunder 2012 in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2012. The 25th Annual Rolling Thunder rumbled into town to show support for veterans past and present - those who have fallen in war and those who are missing in action. Nearly one million riders were expected to participate through Memorial Day.

Motorcycles drive across Memorial Bridge during the annual Rolling Thunder parade ahead of Memorial Day in Washington, Sunday, May 27, 2012.

People watch as motorcyclists ride down Constitution Avenue during Rolling Thunder May 27, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

A man representing a prisoner of war sits inside a bamboo cage, as he is pulled on a trailer during Rolling Thunder 2012 in Washington, D.C., on May 27, 2012. The 25th Annual Rolling Thunder rumbled into town to show support for veterans past and present - those who have fallen in war and those who are missing in action.

Civil War re-enactors of the 49th Virginia Infantry Brad Waldron, right, and his wife Kim Waldron, of Ashburn, Va., wave flags as motorcycles drive past during the annual Rolling Thunder parade ahead of Memorial Day in Washington, Sunday, May 27, 2012.

The image of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl of Hailey, Idaho, who is being held captive in Afghanistan, is worn by an audience member as his father, Bob (not pictured), speaks at the the annual Rolling Thunder rally for POW/MIA awareness, in Washington, Sunday, May 27, 2012.

AP Photo/The Free Lance-Star, Peter Cihelka

In this Saturday, May 26, 2012 photo, 9-year-old Annika Giese runs through the Fredericksburg National Cemetery before the 2012 Fredericksburg National Cemetery Lumnaria, in Fredericksburg, Va.

In this Saturday, May 26, 2012 photo, scouts light up more than 17,000 candles before the 2012 Fredericksburg National Cemetery Lumnaria at the Fredericksburg National Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Va. (AP Photo/The Free Lance-Star, Peter Cihelka)

Evalynn Israel, 9, of Palmdale, Calif., walks through the Arlington West Iraq War memorial in Santa Monica, Calif., Saturday, May 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Members of Boy Scout Troop 450 and 278 lead the parade carrying a large American flag during the Memorial Day observance ceremony at the Memphis National Cemetery in Memphis, Tenn. Saturday, May 26, 2012.

John Mitzak, with the Northampton County Detachment of the Marine Corps, fires a rifle during a Memorial Day ceremony Sunday, May 27, 2012, at the Williams Township Veterans Memorial in Williams Township, Pa.

Medals worn by Thomas Strempka of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., are seen during the 7th annual Memorial Day ceremony at the Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Mich., on Sunday, May 27, 2012. Strempka served as a sergeant in the United States Army in 1971 during the Vietnam War.

A man pushes an elderly man in a wheelchair as they visit the halls displaying engraved names of soldiers who fell during World War II, at a service to mark U.S. Memorial Day at the Manila American Cemetery, at Fort Bonifacio in the Philippine capital Manila, May 27, 2012.

At least 17,000 graves are in the park that pays tribute to American and Philippines soldiers who fought side-by-side during World War II.

World War II veteran Mickey Merola holds a flag while participating in the annual Memorial Day Parade on May 28, 2012 in Fairfield, Conn.

Across America, towns and cities celebrated veterans of the United States Armed Forces and the sacrifices they have made. Memorial Day is a federal holiday in America and has been celebrated since the end of the Civil War.

Members of the 102nd Infantry National Guard from Norwalk, Conn. participate in the annual Memorial Day Parade on May 28, 2012 in Fairfield, Conn. Across America towns and cities will be celebrating veterans of the United States Armed Forces and the sacrifices they have made.

World War II Navy veteran Edward Sabo rides on a float in the annual Memorial Day Parade on May 28, 2012 in Fairfield, Conn.

Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, observes Memorial Day by reading a letter written by an American soldier to his family before he died earlier this year, at the ISAF headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday, May 28, 2012.

Honor Guard members line up for the Memorial Day Observance at the Memorial Amphitheater ahead of President Barack Obama's arrival at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 28, 2012.

A U.S. military color guard advances the colors as a U.S. Park Ranger salutes during a wreath-laying ceremony at the World War II Memorial on May 28, 2012 in Washington, D.C.

President Barack Obama observes a moment of silence before placing a commemorative wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, during a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012 in Arlington, Virginia. For Memorial Day President Obama is paying tribute to military veterans past and present who have served and sacrificed their lives for their country.

President Barack Obama positions a commemorative wreath during a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012, in Arlington, Virginia. For Memorial Day President Obama is paying tribute to military veterans past and present who have served and sacrificed their lives for their country.

Honor Guard members depart after President Barack Obama speaks at the Memorial Day Observance at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 28, 2012.

Two people site by a grave in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, May 28, 2012 in Arlington, Va. Section 60 is reserved for veterans of the Iraq War.

John Ryan, of Oriskady, N.Y., places roses at the grave of a soldier he did not know in Section 60 on Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Va., Monday, May 28, 2012.

Cathy Ridge, of West Cobb, Ga., lays flowers at the grave of her husband, retired U.S. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Charles Edward Ridge, Monday, May 28, 2012, at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Ga.

A woman visits the Korean War Memorial on the National Mall May 28, 2012 in Washington, D.C. People around the United States celebrate Memorial Day to honor veterans and those members of the U.S. military who have fallen in past and present wars.

A man visits the Vietnam Memorial Wall May 28, 2012 in Washington, D.C. People around the United States celebrate Memorial Day to honor veterans and those members of the U.S. military who have fallen in past and present wars.

A man visits the Vietnam Memorial Wall May 28, 2012 in Washington, D/C.

Thania Sayne, of Effingham, Ill., left, is comforted by Marine Corps Capt. Aaron Burciaga, of Fairfax, Va., after Sayne visited the grave of her husband, Army Sgt. Timothy Sayne, 31, in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday, May 28, 2012. Sayne died September 18, 2011, while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Stephanie Montgomery, of Atlanta, Ga., lays on the ground while visiting her brother's grave, Army Staff Sgt. Thaddeus Montgomery, 29, in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday, May 28, 2012. Sgt. Montgomery died Jan. 20 at Korengal Outpost, Afghanistan.

Brittany Jacobs, of Hereford, N.C., watches as her 17 month-old son Christian places a stone on top of the grave marker of his father, Marine Corps Sgt Christopher Jacobs, in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday, May 28, 2012.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, center right, visits the grave of Air Force Staff Sgt. Brandon Butler, 29, and his family in Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday, May 28, 2012. Butler was a veteran of the war in Afghanistan and died August 26, 2011.

AP Photo/The Free Lance-Star, Dave Ellis

The Sons of Confederate Veterans amass the colors prior to the start of the 146th Memorial Day observance at the Fredericksburg Confederate Cemetery in Fredericksburg, Va., Monday, May 28, 2012.

Two women do a rubbing of an inscription on New York City's Vietnam Veterans Memorial Plaza on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, 2012.

Retired Gunnery Sgt. Randall Thornton is framed by American flags as he participates Monday morning, May 28, 2012, with the Tri Rivers Marine Corps League Honor Guard during a Memorial Day ceremony in Salina, Kan.

A U.S. Marine carry team moves the transfer case of U.S. Marine Cpl. Keaton G. Coffey during a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, on May 26, 2012 in Dover, Delaware. Cpl. Coffey, who was from Boring, Oregon, was killed May 24 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

CBS News 24/7