Veterans Day 2009

Washington — AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais

President Barack Obama and Army Gen. Karl Horst stand at attention during a Veteran's Day ceremony, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

President Barack Obama speaks during a Veteran's Day ceremony, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.

Vietnam veteran Dave Shanaman, of Royersford, Pa., holds memorial tags he had made with the names of friends who died while serving in Vietnam, during a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Veteran's Day, in Washington, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. "I've been coming here for a long time," says Shanaman, "and it just doesn't get any easier."

Vietnam veteran Dave Shanaman, of Royersford, Pa., visits the names of friends who died while serving in Vietnam, during a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall on Veteran's Day, in Washington, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

Soldiers Past — AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

The Korean War Memorial is seen in the rain on Veteran's Day in Washington, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

New York

American flags are displayed during the ceremonies on Veterans Day in New York, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

Bill Toledo, center, and other Navajo Code Talkers watch the ceremonies on Veterans Day in New York, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. The young Navajo Marines, using secret Navajo language-encrypted military terms, helped the U.S. prevail at Iwo Jima and other World War II Pacific battles.

Veterans and current military personnel watch the Veterans Day ceremonies in New York, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

Killeen, Texas

Tina Atkins, who is married to a soldier at Fort Hood, places flags at cemetery headstones for Veterans Day at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery outside of Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

Boy Scout John Myers, 7, places flags at cemetery headstones for Veterans Day at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery outside of Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Also in Killeen, Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan is suspected of opening fire on fellow soldiers during a rampage that left 13 people dead and 29 injured on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2009.

Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Birds fly by overhead as members of the Chagrin Falls fire department color guard stand with the flag during a Veterans Day ceremony in the triangle in downtown Chagrin Falls, Ohio, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

People stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance during a Veterans Day ceremony in the triangle in downtown Chagrin Falls, Ohio, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

Los Angeles

Patrick Bateman carries his son Bryan, 4, on his shoulders as he visits the grave of a war veteran friend on Veteran's Day at Los Angeles National Cemetery in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. Bateman said he has a few friends who were buried at Los Angeles National Cemetery after dying in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Lisa Smith, of Los Angeles, carries flowers through Los Angeles National Cemetery to lay on the grave of her fiance's father, Sgt Max Koffman Jr, on Veteran's Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

Detroit

Flags are seen on the graves of Civil War veterans at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit, Nov. 11, 2009. The 25th annual Veteran's Day program honors the memory of members of the 102nd U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment who are buried in the cemetery.

ROTC Cadet Pvt. Sierra Cabbil of Mumford High School in Detroit places a rose on the grave of a member of the 102nd United States Colored Troops Co. B buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit, Nov. 11, 2009. The 25th annual Veteran's Day program honors the memory of the Civil War veterans who are buried in the cemetery.

Kabul, Afghanistan

American soldiers pray during a ceremony marking Veterans Day at the U.S. Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

An American soldier wears a poppy emblem stuck to his uniform during a ceremony marking Veterans Day at the U.S. Camp Eggers in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009.

A Filipino soldier plays the trumpet beside walls engraved with names of missing U.S. and Philippine soldiers during ceremonies to commemorate Veterans Day at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in suburban Taguig, south of Manila, Philippines on Wednesday Nov. 11, 2009. The cemetery, which has more than 17,000 graves, is the largest in the Pacific for U.S. personnel killed during World War II.

American and Filipino soldiers carry their respective flags during ceremonies to commemorate Veterans Day at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in suburban Taguig, south of Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. The cemetery, which has more than 17,000 graves, is the largest in the Pacific for U.S. personnel killed during World War II.