President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance salute during the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
The president said Memorial Day 2025 "is especially significant as we commemorate 250 years since the first American Patriots fell on the field of battle two and a half centuries ago."
"At Lexington Green, Concord Bridge, Bunker Hill, brave minutemen and humble farm boys became the first to give their lives for a nation that did not yet have a name," Trump said. "Those young men could never have known what their sacrifice would mean to us, but we certainly know what we owe to them. Their valor gave us the freest, greatest and most noble republic ever to exist on the face of the earth."
He added: "A republic that I am fixing after a long and hard four years. That was a hard four years we went through. Who would let that happen? People pouring through our borders unchecked. People doing things that are indescribable and not for today to discuss, but the republic, that is now doing so very well. We're doing so very well right now, considering the circumstances, and we'll do record-setting better with time.
"We will do better than we've ever done as a nation, better than ever before. I promise you that."
Trump recognized the surviving family members in attendance of several fallen soldiers who he mentioned by name, including veterans who died in the line of duty in Vietnam, Iraq and Syria.
President Donald Trump at the 157th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
"God did that. I believe that too. He did that," Trump said, crediting divine intervention after he lost re-election in 2020 and later was reelected in 2024.
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"In any corner of this cemetery, at any resting place for our war dead, anywhere on Earth, you'll find untold stories of equal heroism, heroism and heartbreak, unmatched patriotism and devotion, and acts of selflessness and courage so enormous they defy comprehension," Trump said. "We salute them in their eternal and everlasting glory. And we continue our relentless pursuit of America's destiny as we make our nation stronger, prouder, freer and greater than ever before.
"May God bless our fallen heroes. May God bless our Gold Star families, and may God bless the United States of America."
Danielle Wallace is a breaking news and politics reporter at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on X: @danimwallace.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-honors-fallen-american-heroes-praises-god-memorial-day-address-great-great-warriors