Biden and Harris appear together for first time since she lost election to Trump
They laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as they marked Veterans Day together.
US President Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris have made their first joint appearance since her election loss.
They observed Veterans Day together by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Mr Biden honoured the service and sacrifice of America’s military veterans, including those who paid the ultimate price, and their families, during what was his final time speaking at the cemetery’s memorial amphitheatre in his capacity as commander in chief of the US military.
“It’s been the greatest honour of my life, to lead you, to serve you, to care for you, to defend you, just as you defended us, generation after generation after generation,” Mr Biden said.
“You are the greatest fighting force, and this is not hyperbole, the finest fighting force in the history of the world.”
He reminisced about trips to US military installations around the world, and to such historic military sites as Valley Forge and Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.
The president opened his brief remarks by stating that America’s “truly sacred obligation” is to prepare those it sends into harm’s way and care for them when they come home, or do not.
“To all the military families, to all those with a loved one still missing or unaccounted for, to all Americans grieving the loss of a loved one who wore the uniform, Jill and I want you to know we see you, we thank you and we’ll never stop working to meet our sacred obligation to you and your family,” he said.
Mr Biden’s son, Beau, who Jill Biden helped raise, served in the Delaware Army National Guard and deployed to Iraq in 2008 for about a year. He died of brain cancer in 2015 at the age of 46.
Mr Biden and Ms Harris, accompanied by veterans affairs secretary Denis McDonough, wore solemn expressions as they approached the tomb. They placed their hands over their hearts as the national anthem played before the wreath-laying.
The president and first lady had hosted veterans and members of the military community at the White House before they and Ms Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, departed for the hallowed burial ground on the other side of the Potomac River from Washington.
It was the first time that Mr Biden and MS Harris had been seen together in public since the vice president lost last week’s election to former president Donald Trump.
After the observance, Mr Biden was travelling home to Wilmington, Delaware, for reasons the White House had yet to disclose.
