"Today we honor the thousands and thousands of men and women whose sacrifice has paid for our freedom and safety. Every day America thrives is a silent tribute to them; but today above all, we pause our lives, bow our heads, and remember that all we hold dear is founded on their blood.

"We are a nation at war, and our celebration comes, also, with fresh grief and undried tears. Our children and their children will hear the story of the brave Americans who died in their country’s service in Iraq and Afghanistan; but today the wounds to their families are still new. Above all, today is for them; today, more than any other, they are in our prayers.

"My heart is especially with the families of the 30 men and women from Connecticut who have lost their lives in the ongoing war in Iraq. Words and memories cannot fill the place they held in the lives of those who loved them. But today we remember their courage and selfless dedication, as the best tribute we have to give. Their true memorials, as it has been said, “are graven not in stone, but in our hearts.”

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