American Legion National Commander Brett Reistad lays a wreath at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
American Legion National Commander Brett Reistad attended a Veterans Day ceremony Nov. 11 at Arlington National Cemetery’s amphitheater, where Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie delivered the keynote address. Reistad presented a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier following the ceremony.
“This day reminds all Americans that they sleep soundly at night because of the sacrifices of millions of ordinary men and women,” Wilkie said during his address. “It is for all who have served at all the lonely outposts, and the military at home and in distant lands, who left families and loved ones and who overcame challenges that many of us would find unimaginable.
“This day is about great men and women, whom we can never forsake."
Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick M. Shanahan and Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen were also in attendance at the ceremony.
The burial of an unidentified American soldier from World War I in the plaza of the new Memorial Amphitheater was approved by Congress on March 4, 1921.
- Veterans Day