Biden marks son Beau's death with grave visit, remarks to military
families
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[June 01, 2021]
By Jeff Mason
WILMINGTON, Del. (Reuters) - President Joe
Biden marked the sixth anniversary on Sunday of his son Beau's death
with a visit to his grave site and a speech about grief to military
families and veterans, on the eve of the Memorial Day holiday
commemorating the country's military dead.
Biden and his wife, Jill, visited Beau Biden's grave in Delaware and
attended church at the cemetery in the president's home state on a cold,
overcast day.
The president spoke later to military families and veterans at Veterans
Memorial Park about his loss, and theirs.
"We must remember the price that was paid for our liberties. We must
remember the debt we owe those who have paid it, and the families left
behind. My heart is torn in half by the grief," Biden said.

Beau Biden, a former Delaware attorney general, died of brain cancer in
2015 at age 46.
"As many of you know, this is a hard day for us. Six years ago today,
Hunter lost his dad and I lost my son," Biden said, referring to his
grandson Hunter, who was also in attendance.
"The moment that we celebrate it is the toughest day of the year. We're
honored, but it's a tough day. It brings back everything," he said.
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President Joe Biden attends an annual Memorial Day Service at
Veterans Memorial Park, Delaware Memorial Bridge, Wilmington,
Delaware, U.S., May 30, 2021. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

Beau Biden had served a year-long tour in Iraq as a
member of the Delaware Army National Guard, and the president has
speculated that toxins from military "burn pits" used to dispose
waste there may have caused the cancer.
"Thank you for allowing us to grieve together today," Biden told the
crowd, which included people who lost an immediate relative in
military action, and veterans.
"I know how much the loss hurts," Biden said. "I know nothing I can
say to ease the pain. I just know that each year it gets a little
bit - a little bit easier."
Memorial Day, established after the U.S. Civil War in the 1860s, is
marked by laying flowers and American flags on the graves of the
military dead.
Biden plans to return to Washington on Monday to lay a wreath at the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in
Virginia.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason; Editing by Heather Timmons and Peter
Cooney)
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