Obama Lays Wreath at Tomb of Unknown Soldiers Video

BG: President Obama made an unscheduled stop today at Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns in honor of National Medal of Honor day.

Now presiding over two wars, he was accompanied by some recipients of the nation's highest honor for valor, and later issued a statement:

"We are grateful to all those who wear the uniform of our Armed Forces and serve and sacrifice on behalf of our great nation. Members of our Armed Forces hold themselves to the highest standards and set an example of responsibility to one another and to the country that should inspire all Americans to serve a purpose greater than themselves. Today we pay our respect to those who distinguished themselves conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty - the recipients of the Medal of Honor.

"Since it was first awarded during the Civil War to the current battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, Medal of Honor recipients have displayed tremendous courage, an unfailing determination to succeed, and a humbling willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice. It is telling that so many Medal of Honor recipients received the award posthumously. These soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsman embody the best of American values and ideals.