NEW CASTLE, Del. -- President Joe Biden marked his first Memorial Day weekend as commander in chief by honoring the nation's sacrifices in a deeply personal manner as he paid tribute Sunday to those lost while remembering his late son Beau, a veteran who died six years ago to the day.
As a cold rain fell, Biden made his annual appearance at the commemoration in New Castle, Del., not far from his Wilmington home, a day before he planned to do the same at Arlington National Cemetery on the official observance.
The death of his son from brain cancer at age 46 is ever-present for Biden, with the loss dotting his speeches and guiding his expressions of empathy for others in pain.
Long an important moment for Biden, the holiday observance took on added poignancy this year as the president spoke frequently and emotionally of his own loss while expressing the gratitude of a nation for the sacrifices of others.
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"I can't thank you enough for the continued service for the country," said Biden, addressing a crowd of Gold Star military families and other veterans in a ceremony at War Memorial Plaza in the shadow of the Delaware Memorial Bridge. "I know how much the loss hurts."
"They're the guardians of us and we're the guardians of their legacy," Biden said of those who served in the armed forces. "Despite all the pain, I know the pride you feel in the loved one you have lost."
Though a tent was overhead, the cold wind whipped the rain onto the guests as they watched a lone military trumpeter play taps at a memorial to Delaware's fallen troops. Biden appeared to pay the chill no mind, remaining for the entirety of the 75-minute ceremony and mouthing the words to the closing rendition of "God Bless America." He snapped a salute to the wreath laid at the memorial.
Biden has attended the ceremony nearly every year for decades, and it was at last year's event when he emerged for the first time since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, spotted with a mask while laying a wreath.
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Hours before Sunday's ceremony, the president, first lady Jill Biden and other family members attended a memorial Mass for Beau Biden at their local church. After the service, the Bidens greeted well-wishers outside and, for the first time in more than a year, were able to receive hugs and handshakes at their home parish.
The Bidens walked to Beau's grave, which is on the property of St. Joseph on the Brandywine, and left flowers amid several American flags placed on the lawn next to the marker.
Beau Biden served two terms as Delaware's attorney general before declaring a run for governor, and many saw in him the same aspirations that brought his father to the White House. He also served in Delaware's National Guard and, when sent to Iraq, received permission to wear a uniform emblazoned with a different last name so as not to receive special treatment.
That story, which Biden told Friday at an Air Force base in Virginia, was one of the many moments in which Biden's son defined the Memorial Day weekend. After beginning with an emotional remembrance of his son, Biden acknowledged the unheralded sacrifices made by the service members and their families.
"You are the very best of what America has to offer," Biden said.
The president also underscored his recent decision to pull U.S. troops out of Afghanistan this year, expressing gratitude to service members who served multiple tours of duty in America's longest war.
He largely avoided the particulars of international affairs Sunday, though he pledged to press Russian President Vladimir Putin on human rights during their summit in Geneva next month and said the moment was right to show the world, and namely China, that the United States was ready to lead again.
"It's time to remind everybody who we are," he said.
CLOSER TO OLD TIMES
This holiday weekend will feel something closer to Memorial Days of old, as covid-19 restrictions are fully lifted in many places.
"This Memorial Day almost has a different, better feeling to it," said Craig DeOld, a 50-year-old retired captain in the Army Reserve, as he took a breather from his flag duties at the historic Fairview Cemetery in Boston last week. "We're breathing a sigh of relief that we've overcome another struggle, but we're also now able to return to what this holiday is all about -- remembering our fallen comrades."
Around the nation, Americans will be able to pay tribute to fallen troops in ways that were impossible last year, when virus restrictions were in effect in many places. It will also be a time to remember the tens of thousands of veterans who died from covid-19 and recommit to vaccinating those who remain reluctant.
Art delaCruz, a 53-year-old retired Navy commander in Los Angeles who leads the Veterans Coalition for Vaccination, said his group has been encouraging inoculated veterans to volunteer at vaccine sites to dispel myths and help assuage concerns shared by many current service members.
"We understand it's a personal choice, so we try to meet people where they are," said delaCruz, who is also president of Team Rubicon, a disaster-response nonprofit made up of veterans.
There's no definitive tally for coronavirus deaths or vaccinations among American vets, but Department of Veterans Affairs data show more than 12,000 have died and more than 2.5 million have been inoculated out of the roughly 9 million veterans enrolled in the agency's programs.
The isolation of the pandemic has also been particularly hard on veterans, many of whom depend on kinship with fellow service members to cope with wartime trauma, said Jeremy Butler, a 47-year-old Navy Reserve officer in New York who heads the advocacy group Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.
"We're reuniting now, but it's been an extremely challenging year," he said. "To have those connections cut off -- the counseling sessions, the VA appointments, social events with other vets -- those are so important to maintaining mental health."
But for the families of veterans who survived the horrors of war, only to be felled by covid-19, Memorial Day can reopen barely healed wounds.
In Massachusetts, Susan Kenney said her 78-year-old father's death from the virus in April 2020 remains raw.
Charles Lowell, an Air Force veteran who served during the Vietnam War, was among 76 residents of the Holyoke Soldiers' Home who died in one of America's deadliest outbreaks last year in a long-term care facility. A memorial service was held at the home last week, and the names of residents who died over the past year were read aloud.
Kenney, who has been a vocal advocate for reforming the troubled home, says there are still lingering questions about who else should be held accountable, even as top officials at the state-run facility face criminal negligence and abuse charges and federal and state agencies launch investigations.
"I've been reliving this for a whole year," she said. "At every milestone. Veterans Day. His birthday. His death anniversary. Everything is a constant reminder of what happened. It's so painful to think about."
For other families, Memorial Day will be as it ever was, a day to remember loved ones killed in war.
In Virginia, Willie Ransom, a 74-year-old Vietnam War vet, said his family will hold a modest service at the grave of his youngest son.
Air Force Maj. Charles Ransom was among eight U.S. airmen killed in Afghanistan when an Afghan military pilot opened fire at the Kabul airport in 2011. The American Legion post in Midlothian, Va., that the elder Ransom once helped lead is now named in Charles Ransom's honor.
Willie Ransom, a Powhatan resident, said a silver lining this year is that the country is poised to end the war that claimed his 31-year-old son and the lives of more than 2,200 other American fighters.
"It's the best decision we could make," Ransom said. "It's become like Vietnam. They don't want us there. We should have been out of there years ago."
Back in Boston, DeOld will be thinking about his father, an Army vet wounded in a grenade attack in Vietnam.
Louis DeOld returned home with a Purple Heart and went on to become a police officer in New Jersey, but the physical and mental scars of war persisted long after, his son said. He died in 2017 at age 70.
Today, DeOld will gather with fellow vets at the VFW post in the city's Dorchester neighborhood that he commands.
They will lay a wreath by the American flag out front and then grill burgers out back. It will be the first large social event hosted by the post since the pandemic virtually shuttered the hall more than a year ago.
"I hope it's nice," DeOld said. "I hope folks linger. Families and friends gather. Good camaraderie. The way it should be."
'REVENGE TRAVEL'
With half of American adults fully vaccinated, millions are celebrating Memorial Day by taking to the skies, with authorities reporting a surge in air travel as many embark on their first maskless holiday since the pandemic began.
Nearly 2 million people passed through airport security checkpoints Friday, a pandemic record, according to the Transportation Security Administration. About 6 million people were expected to go through airports over the holiday weekend, CBS News reported.
More than 37 million Americans are projected to travel 50 miles or more this weekend, an increase of 60% compared with this time last year, which registered the lowest number of Memorial Day travelers on record, according to AAA. Just 23 million people traveled for the holiday last year, the company said.
Paula Twidale, senior vice president for AAA Travel, said in a news release that "Americans are demonstrating a strong desire to travel this Memorial Day." Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla., are two of the more popular spots, according to the company.
"This pent-up demand will result in a significant increase in Memorial Day travel, which is a strong indicator for summer, though we must all remember to continue taking important safety precautions," Twidale said.
Robert Sinclair, a AAA spokesman, described the uptick as "revenge travel" -- after a year or more of not going anywhere.
The U.S. will indeed have a busy vacation season this summer, said Stephen Kaufer, chief executive officer of TripAdvisor Inc.
"Now we have a lot more activities all around the country, and it's not just outdoors. The cities are making a very real comeback," Kaufer said Sunday. Hotel searches on TripAdvisor have gone up and bookings of experiences are going strong, he said, adding that people also plan to take longer vacations and spend more money on their trips.
International travel is still lagging, and the U.S. State Department's "Do Not Travel" advisories for most countries have affected the business "massively," Kaufer said.
"They are still not going internationally as much as they might have been in 2019. They're just not sure yet how much is open, especially in Europe. But we expect that to increase over the course of the summer," he said.
Kaufer urges travelers to be patient with waiting times at airports and fully packed flights. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines both postponed plans to resume serving alcohol on flights amid a surge of in-flight violence, The New York Times reported.
The return of American travel, and whether the industry can readjust to pre-pandemic levels, comes as daily infection numbers in the country are at their lowest since March 25, 2020, according to a Washington Post database. More than 14,000 new cases were reported Saturday. Covid deaths also are significantly down, with average fatality rates not seen since last summer, the database shows.
For many, the holiday weekend marks not just the official start of summer but also the first time in the pandemic that they are gathering with friends and family in faraway destinations -- and without masks -- for barbecues, beaches, baseball and maybe a beer or two.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently relaxed recommendations on traveling and gathering with groups indoors and outdoors or with other fully vaccinated people, which coincided with more states lifting or easing restrictions. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky urged those who are vaccinated to "go enjoy your Memorial Day weekend."
Information for this article was contributed by Jonathan Lemire and Philip Marcelo of The Associated Press; by Yueqi Yang of Bloomberg News (TNS); and by Timothy Bella of The Washington Post.
