President Joe Biden honored fallen U.S. service members on Memorial Day by laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and delivering remarks. The Memorial Day Parade in Washington returns Monday to Constitution Avenue, after a two-year absence due to the pandemic.

The president was joined by first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris at the Virginia cemetery, which is dedicated to the fallen U.S. service members whose remains have not been identified. He has attended the Arlington ceremony nearly every year for decade.

“Memorial Day is always a day that is mixed with pain and pride,” Biden said.

President Joe Biden told military families at the ceremony that their loved one were “a part of something bigger than any of us” and that they lived a life of purpose.

“Above all, they believed in duty. They believed in honor,” he added. “We are free because they were brave. You live by the light flame of liberty they kept burning that’s still with us no matter how long ago we lost them.”

Memorial Day commemorates the women and men who have died while in military service, and it will be observed this year on May 30, 2022, the last Monday in May as designated by Federal law (36 U.S.C. 116).

“Remember those who gave their all in the service of America, in the service of freedom, in the service of justice. Remember their sacrifice, their valor, and their grace. Remember their smiles; their loves; their laughter; their essential, vibrant, and transcendent humanity. For while we stand amid monuments of stone, we must never forget that each of these markers, for those known and unknown, here at Arlington and far beyond represent a precious life: a son, a daughter, a mother, a spouse, a brother, a sister, a friend, a neighbor.”