President Barack Obama plans to spend a long holiday weekend in Chicago.
The White House says Obama and his family will travel to their hometown on Thursday and stay through the weekend. It will be their first trip back home since a visit for Valentine’s Day weekend in February 2009.
On Monday, Obama is scheduled to participate in a Memorial Day ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Ill.
In Obama’s absence, Vice President Joe Biden will participate in the customary wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.org/ - link to the cemetary
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474978260431 - history on Memorial Day in USA
My Personal Thoughts .....
Tradition is a valued honor. It's just the start of many things to come in changes in society. Yes a promise made shouldn't be broken, but how many of those individuals would of understood waiting another week or day even month in honor of the tradition of the president laying the wreath on the unknown soilder and giving his speach in honor of the men and women that have given their lives so he can stand in the position he is is on the most sacred ground there is. I look back over the years at family traditions even traditions for the country that have been broken and changed and not always sure there is alot of good in them. Traditions is the foundation of many things and when you take that away soon things begin to crumble and a new is born in it's place. The honor of our men and women who died fighting for our freedom - for his freedom .... is this truely a tradition we which to break?
