Biden praises military as ‘solid spine’ of US at Memorial Day service

President Biden on Sunday delivered remarks in Delaware to commemorate Memorial Day, commending the military members he said make up the “solid spine of this country.”

“As a nation, we must always remember, always remember. We must remember the price that was paid for our liberties. We must remember the debt we owe those who have paid it and the families left behind,” Biden said. “As many of you know, this is a hard day for us. Six years ago today, Hunter lost his dad, and I lost my son.”

The president’s eldest son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, died in 2015 due to an aggressive form of brain cancer.

The president touched on the “black hole” of grief that many people who have lost military family members feel, adding his oft-repeated saying that “the day will come when the mention of the name of your son or daughter, husband, wife will in fact bring not a tear to your eye but a smile to your lips.”

“I know the pride you feel in the loved one that you lost and those who are still serving, the pride and the bravery and the service to our great American experiment. Our military community is the solid spine of this country. It’s literally the spine of the nation,” he said.

“And on my first Memorial Day as commander in chief, I want to reaffirm my long-standing belief: We may have many obligations as a nation, but we only one truly sacred obligation and that’s to equip those we send into harm’s way with all they need and care for them and their families when they return home and when they don’t,” he added.

The president also referred to a recent two-hour conversation he had with Chinese President Xi Jinping in which he stressed the importance of human rights.

“I’ll be meeting with [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin in a couple weeks in Geneva, making it clear that we will not stand by and let him abuse those rights,” Biden said.