President Donald Trump observed Memorial Day on Monday by visiting Arlington National Cemetery. During the visit, he honored the 13 U.S. servicemembers who lost their lives in the conflict with Iran.
This year’s Memorial Day marks the first since President Trump initiated military operations in Venezuela and launched a significant offensive against Iran, following the bombings of three Iranian nuclear facilities last June.
In a statement on Saturday, Trump revealed that the United States is approaching a potential agreement with Iran that could bring an end to the ongoing conflict.
The war with Iran began in late February, initiated by coordinated U.S.-Israeli military strikes. At the time, the President had assured that the conflict would be brief, lasting only a few weeks.
Addressing the crowd, Trump noted, “In two recent wars, we’ve lost a total of 13 service members.”
Referring to the situation in Venezuela, he stated, “It was a complete and total victory. We’re now collaborating closely with the Venezuelan government. We took control in a single day and suffered no losses,” he added.
‘In Operation Epic Fury, we lost 13 wonderful souls,’ he noted. ‘These incredible men and women gave their lives to ensure that the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon.’
‘Oh, and they won’t,’ Trump added. ‘I assure you.’
President Donald Trump paid tribute to the 13 servicemembers who have been killed during Operation Epic Fury as he marked Memorial Day at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday
President Donald Trump participates in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday to mark Memorial Day
The family of one of the war dead, Major Ariana Savino, was in the crowd.
Trump called her death a ‘selfless gift’ that will ‘not be in vain.’
‘Our debt to you is everlasting, and it’s always going to end in victory,’ Trump pledged.
‘We’re having victories all over the place, more than we’ve had in many, many decades,’ the President added.
Trump also linked Memorial Day, a somber occasion, to the upcoming July 4 holiday.
‘Less than six weeks from now, our nation will reach a historic milestone, 250 years of majestic independence,’ Trump said.
‘Before we hail the founding, we honor the fallen. Before we celebrate the triumph, we pay the tribute,’ he said.
Trump was introduced by both Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance.
Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (third from right), attends Memorial Day services at Arlington National Cemetery. Also attending (from left) Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and FBI Director Kash Patel
Outgoing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (left) departs the Memorial Day commemoration Monday at Arlingtion National Cemetery
President Donald Trump (left) gives a fist bump alongside Vice President JD Vance (right) during Monday’s Memorial Day programming at Arlington National Cemetery
It likely marked one of Trump’s final official appearances alongside departing Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who informed the President on Friday that she would leave the job at the end of June.
Gabbard said she was exiting the administration due to her husband’s cancer diagnosis.
A former Democratic congresswoman who backed progressive Senator Bernie Sanders during the 2016 race, Gabbard was welcomed into Trump’s MAGA fold during the 2024 race.
She helped the President build a bipartisan coalition that also included former Democrat, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, now Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary.
Gabbard’s a US Army reservist who served in the Iraq war.
She stood alongside Cabinet members, including Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Trump first participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery alongside Vance and Hegseth, before delivering remarks.
En route to Arlington, Trump’s motorcade passed the site where the President wants to build his triumphal arch, to mark the country’s 250th birthday.
Protesters set up a demonstration against President Donald Trump’s proposed arch, which he passed by in his motorcade en route to Arlington National Cemetery Monday
On Monday, a group of anti-arch protesters had gathered at the site, heckling the President as he drove by with large signs that read ‘arch insanity’ and one that labeled Trump a ‘rapist.’
A group of Vietnam War veterans is suing the administration over the ‘Arc de Trump,’ arguing it blocks the view of Arlington National Cemetery from the Lincoln Memorial.
The project could also be derailed by a Federal Aviation Administration review that will determine whether the arch poses a flight hazard.
