弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿-总统乔·拜登11月16日，在阿灵顿国家公墓纪念美国战争死难者阵亡将士纪念日向神圣的墓地敬献花圈，颂扬为追求民主而牺牲的人们，“美国的灵魂”

拜登援引了历史上标志性的战斗，并把它们加入到了现在，他恳求美国人超越使联邦紧张的分歧，他用赤裸裸的语言描述了这一点。

周一，第一夫人加入了总统的行列吉尔·拜登副总统卡玛拉•哈里斯和第二位绅士道格·埃姆霍夫在弗吉尼亚公墓的无名战士墓举行了一个阴沉的仪式，这是为了纪念那些遗体未被确认的已故军人。

拜登激动得紧绷着脸，走到花环前，双手捧起花环，静静地沉思，然后画了个十字。他的眼睛湿了。聚集的达官贵人和军属们安静而庄严;蝉的叫声很大。

在随后的讲话中，拜登呼吁美国人通过纪念他们为国家理想而战来纪念他们倒下的英雄。

“这个国家是建立在一个理念之上的，”拜登说。“我们是建立在一个理念之上的，这个理念就是所有人都享有自由和机会。我们从未完全实现我们创始人的这一愿望，但每一代人都把大门打开了一点。”

他的演讲主要集中在民主的重要性上，他说，当公民可以投票时，当新闻自由时，当所有人都享有平等权利时，民主就会蓬勃发展。

拜登说:“一代又一代的美国英雄报名参加战斗，因为他们明白每个美国人心中的真理:解放、机会和正义更有可能在民主国家而不是独裁国家实现。”“这些美国人不是为独裁者而战，他们是为民主而战。他们不是为了排斥或奴役而战，而是为了建设、扩张和解放而战。”

但他暗示这些理想岌岌可危。

“美国的灵魂被我们最近看到的最糟糕的本能和我们更好的天使之间的长期斗争所激励，”他说。“在我和我们人民之间。在贪婪与慷慨，残忍与善良，囚禁与自由之间。”

仪式结束后，拜登夫妇在一个墓地的一排墓碑前停下来，那里大约有40万人被埋在平缓的山丘和山谷中。

拜登一家手牵着手，沿着第12区的一排排街道漫步。第12区是二战和朝鲜战争后在海外阵亡并被遣返回美国的军人的主要埋葬地之一。他们停下来和几个正在参观他们亲人的坟墓或寻找他们的家庭聊天——一个家庭来找一个在二战中失踪的叔公。

国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀和参谋长联席会议主席马克·米利与拜登和哈里斯一起出席了仪式。

周日，拜登在特拉华州新城市战争纪念广场的仪式上向一群金星军人家庭和其他退伍军人发表了讲话。当天早些时候，他和其他家庭成员参加了纪念他儿子博·拜登的弥撒，他是一名退伍军人，六年前的今天死于脑癌。

Biden honors war dead at Arlington, implores nation to heal

ARLINGTON, Va. -- PresidentJoe Bidenhonored America’s war dead at Arlington National Cemetery onMemorial Dayby laying a wreath at the hallowed burial ground and extolling the sacrifices of the fallen for the pursuit of democracy, “the soul of America.”

Biden invoked the iconic battles of history and joined them to the present as he implored Americans to rise above the divisions straining the union, which he described in stark terms.

The president was joined Monday by first ladyJill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff in a somber ceremony at the Virginia cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is dedicated to deceased service members whose remains have not been identified.

His face tight with emotion, Biden walked up to the wreath, cupping it in his hands in silent reflection, then making the sign of the cross. His eyes were wet. The gathered dignitaries and military families were hushed and solemn; the chattering of cicadas loud.

In remarks that followed, Biden called on Americans to commemorate their fallen heroes by remembering their fight for the nation’s ideals.

"This nation was built on an idea,” Biden said. “We were built on an idea, the idea of liberty and opportunity for all. We’ve never fully realized that aspiration of our founders, but every generation has opened the door a little wider.”

He focused much of his speech on the importance of democracy, saying it thrives when citizens can vote, when there is a free press and when there are equal rights for all.

“Generation after generation of American heroes are signed up to be part of the fight because they understand the truth that lives in every American heart: that liberation, opportunity, justice are far more likely to come to pass in a democracy than in an autocracy,” Biden said. “These Americans weren’t fighting for dictators, they were fighting for democracy. They weren’t fighting to exclude or to enslave, they were fighting to build and broaden and liberate."

But he suggested these ideals are imperiled.

“The soul of America is animated by the perennial battle between our worst instincts, which we’ve seen of late, and our better angels,” he said. "Between Me First and We the People. Between greed and generosity, cruelty and kindness, captivity and freedom.”

After the ceremony, the Bidens stopped by a row of gravestones in a cemetery where some 400,000 are buried in the gentle hills and hollows.

The Bidens held hands and strolled along the rows of Section 12, one of the primary burial locations of service members killed overseas and repatriated to the United States after World War II and the Korean War. They stopped to chat with several families visiting the graves of their loved ones or searching for them — one family came to find a great-uncle missing in action from the world war.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, joined Biden and Harris in the ceremony.

On Sunday, Biden addressed a crowd of Gold Star military families and other veterans in a ceremony at War Memorial Plaza in New Castle, Delaware. Earlier in the day, he and other family members attended a memorial Mass for his son Beau Biden, a veteran who died of brain cancer six years ago to the day.