LIVE: Biden to give Memorial Day address after wreath-laying

(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is set to deliver a Memorial Day address after participating in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Monday morning.

This marks the nation’s 155th National Memorial Day Wreath Laying and Observance Program, meant to honor America’s fallen soldiers, according to a press release from Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

The events start at 11 a.m. ET. The president and first lady Jill Biden will be joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Douglas Emhoff.

Maj. Gen. Allan M. Pepin, commanding general of Joint Task Force-National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, will host the wreath-laying ceremony. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to host the department’s observance program in Memorial Amphitheater.

According to the amphitheater’s website, many consider the services held there to be the nation’s official Memorial Day ceremony, although many are held throughout the United States. About 5,000 visitors come to each of the three major annual memorial services in the Amphitheater for Easter, Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

Last year, Biden called Memorial Day a time that is “mixed with pain and pride.”

Speaking after the ceremony, he said members of the military “chose a life of purpose.”

“They had a mission, and above all they believed in duty, they believed in honor, they believed in their country, and still today we are free because they were brave,” he said.