Obama vows to protect benefits for veterans

AAA??May. 29, 2012?1:16 AM ET
Obama vows to protect benefits for veterans
By KEN THOMASBy KEN THOMAS, Associated Press??

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the Vietnam Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, Monday, May 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama at the Vietnam Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, Monday, May 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama speaks at the Memorial Day Observance at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 28, 2012, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama points to the audience as he and first lady Michelle Obama leave the stage after a Memorial Day ceremony at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, Monday, May 28, 2012, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

President Barack Obama speaks at the Memorial Day Observance at the Memorial Amphitheater at Arlington National Cemetery, Monday, May 28, 2012, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

President Barack Obama, center, with Maj. Gen. Michael S. Linnington, left, Commander of the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, during a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28, 2012, in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama honored the nation's military heroes in a pair of Memorial Day ceremonies, vowing to protect veterans' benefits in an election year marked by the nation's transition from war.

The president celebrated Memorial Day at the Vietnam War Memorial and at Arlington National Cemetery on Monday. He noted that for the first time in nine years, "Americans are not fighting and dying in Iraq," and the U.S. effort in Afghanistan was winding down.

The president paid special tribute to Vietnam veterans, saying many "came home and were sometimes denigrated." He called it a "national shame, a disgrace that should have never happened."

Both Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appeared at events with military families. They avoided overt political talk but tried to appeal to veterans.

Associated PressNews Topics: Veterans, Memorial Day, Veterans benefits, Veterans affairs, Holidays, Occasions, Lifestyle, Military affairs, Military and defense, Government and politics, Military benefits

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