Please feel free to share your articles and stories in the comments.
The Guardian
President Barack Obama said Monday that Americans must honour the sacrifices of their fighting men and women, particularly at a time when the US combat role in Iraq has ended and the country's involvement in Afghanistan is winding down.Speaking at Memorial Day ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, Obama said he worries that the country's servicemen and women aren't being fully appreciated in an era in which "most Americans are not directly touched by war".
He said he couldn't explain that phenomenon but said it might have something to do with the all-volunteer military force and advanced technology that now permits the United States to accomplish some military missions with far fewer personnel.
But Obama did say that even as "we turn a page" away from Iraq, and Afghanistan by the end of 2014, "let us never forget that the nation is still at war".
He said that some troops and military families "mention to me their concern about whether the country fully appreciates" them.
NPR
Every Memorial Day weekend, a ceremony takes place just outside Paris to honor a group of Americans who fought in France. They're not D-Day veterans, but a little known group of pilots who fought for France in World War I, before the U.S. entered the war.This year's ceremony in the tiny town of Marnes-la-Coquette began with a flyover by two French air force Mirage fighter jets from the Escadrille Lafayette, or Lafayette Squadron, paying tribute to the men who founded the group nearly 100 years ago.
"In April of 1916, seven Americans enlisted in the French military to form the corps of the Lafayette Escadrille," said Major Gen. Mark Barrett, chief of staff of the U.S.-European command, who took part in the ceremony. "The squadron grew to include 38 American pilots, led by a French officer, who's also buried here. These pilots from America and France, who banded together to form the Lafayette Escadrille, were pioneers in a new form of warfare, as aviation brought the battlefield to the skies."
NPR
Sixteen million men and women served in uniform during World War II. Today, 1.2 million are still alive, but hundreds of those vets are dying every day. In honor of Memorial Day, NPR's All Things Considered is remembering some of the veterans who have died this year.The Dirty Dozen was a Hollywood hit, but it was based — loosely — on a true-to-life WWII paratrooper regiment. Jake McNiece led the group, whose exploits inspired the 1967 movie and earned the nickname "The Filthy Thirteen." McNiece died in February at the age of 93.
While the movie took liberties with The Filthy Thirteen, the real-life McNiece was no less colorful than Maj. John Reisman, the character played by actor Lee Marvin. As McNiece recalled in an interview a few years ago, he considered himself "the head troublemaker" of a group of troublemakers.
On the eve of the Normandy invasion in 1944, his men jumped behind German lines. Some called it a suicide mission. For the D-Day jump, McNiece shaved his head and painted his face — and the look caught on with his men.
NY Times (subscription may be required)
WASHINGTON — President Obama paid homage to the nation’s military — especially troops serving in Afghanistan — on Monday, using his traditional Memorial Day address at Arlington National Cemetery to exhort Americans to honor their “sacred obligation” to veterans, and to remind the country that “our nation is still at war.”Mr. Obama’s remarks, delivered under warm, sunny skies after he participated in a somber wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns, came on the heels of his address last week on counterterrorism policy, in which he said he hoped to move the nation off a war footing.
BBC
Americans have been marking Memorial Day, which commemorates US soldiers fallen in the Civil War and beyond.President Barack Obama laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington DC.
Mr Obama said America must remember its citizens are still serving, even though the war in Iraq is over and troops are withdrawing from Afghanistan.
Americans observe the day - which launches the summer season - with parades, family visits and barbecues.
As many as 35 million Americans were expected to travel this weekend, according to AAA, a motorists' association.
'Please don't forget'
Soldiers returning from war had written to the president to express their concerns that public awareness of the military's current operations were "fading from memory", Mr Obama said on Monday