America remembers its war heroes
President lays wreath at Tomb of the Unknowns
 |  President Bush lays wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery. |
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 Bush lays wreath at Tomb of the Unknowns.
 CNN's Ed Lavandera talks to Vietnam and Iraq war vets.
 CNN's Jim Bittermann on French war veterans at Normandy.
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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Saying "America acknowledges a debt that is beyond our power to repay," President Bush honored America's veterans in ceremonies Monday.
Bush spoke after he laid a wreath at Arlington Cemetery's Tomb of the Unknowns in Washington.
"As we reflect on the men and women who have died in the defense of America, all of us count it a privilege to be citizens of the country they served," Bush said.
Bush told the families of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan that their loved ones "served the cause of freedom." (Full story)
Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry honored Memorial Day by visiting the Vietnam War Memorial with the family of a Marine whose 1976 death was being marked by his addition to the monument. (Full story)
Elsewhere across the United States, parades, concerts and memorials were planned to mark Memorial Day.
Bush's comments came as Americans planned a somber remembrance of Memorial Day as U.S. military forces continued to fight battles in Iraq and Afghanistan.
With polls showing American public support for the war in Iraq beginning to drop, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq told American troops earlier Monday that Americans have "faithfully answered our nation's call to arms" for more than 200 years.
Speaking at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said U.S. soldiers have defended the United States "to free other people and to let them enjoy the freedoms that we have become accustomed to since the founding of our nation."
American forces in Afghanistan, once the front line of the U.S. war on terrorism, also marked the solemn day, as did forces in other outposts of American presence.
In Washington, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Richard Myers compared the Iraq war with World War II's fight to stop Nazism.
"If we think about it for a minute, if we had not done what was done in World War II, then we'd a be living in a much different world today," Myers said. "I think can you take that and fast forward to today. We have a great threat out from there terrorism. If we don't handle this in the right way, I don't think we'll like the world we live in in five years."
Myers said the politicians and the military brass were all solidly committed to providing the future veterans of the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan with whatever they need to do the job.
Despite that commitment, a rising death toll in Iraq has shaken some of the public's confidence in the administration's plans.
"When we return to our home stations, we must ensure that we never forget those fallen comrades that deployed with us that will not return to their loved ones," he said. "They must not have died in vain. We must not walk away from this mission. Otherwise, their sacrifices will in fact be in vain."
"This mission is too important for America, for the world, and for us as warriors."
