May 26 (UPI) — President Donald Trump will mark his first Memorial Day as commander-in-chief in his second term with ceremonies in Arlington National Cemetery.
“I will be making a Memorial Day Speech today at Arlington National Cemetery,” the president announced Monday morning on his social media platform, adding to “enjoy!!!”
Trump, who will take part in a wreath-laying ceremony per tradition at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, says the speech at the nation’s cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington in Virginia will be at 11 a.m. EDT.
“Happy Memorial Day to all, including the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical left minds,” Trump wrote in all caps in part in an earlier post Monday morning.
In a separate statement, the White House said on “this solemn day” as the country honors the sacrifice of its fallen soldiers, Trump and first lady Melania Trump “ask all citizens to join us in prayer that Almighty God may comfort those who mourn, grant protection to all who serve, and bring blessed peace to the world.”
America’s first observance of Memorial Day on May 30, 1890, previously known as Decoration Day, was proclaimed by Union Commander John A. Logan to honor fallen soldiers who died fighting to preserve the Union during the Civil War.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the government estimates more than 650,000 Americans have died in battle since the Revolutionary War began in 1775.
On Monday, the VA will partner with nonprofits to honor veterans interred in national cemeteries where more than 5.4 million people are buried.
VA officials announced Thursday that through partnerships with Carry The Load, the Travis Manion Foundation and Victory for Veterans, at least 70,000 volunteers visit 54 national veterans cemeteries on Memorial Day.
It arrives on top of Trump’s revelation earlier this month that he plans to name November 11 — which is Veterans Day — a “national holiday” to celebrate past world war victories.
