(NewsNation) — Americans are honoring those who served in the United States military with parades, wreath-laying and other commemorative ceremonies.
President Joe Biden spoke Monday from the Arlington National Cemetery, where he promised to expand access to health care under the PACT Act. The legislation, signed in August 2022, expands benefits for millions of veterans who were exposed to toxins during service. Its passage is one of Biden’s proudest achievements and he hopes to make it more impactful before his term ends in January.
“Today, I’m proud to announce that the VA will expand the number of cancers covered under the PACT Act,” Biden said. “And to all veterans who served at K2 Air Base in Uzbekistan — constantly surrounded by toxins — we want to honor you. We want to have your back, just like we did with Agent Orange. ”
“We’re going to make sure you don’t have to prove your illness is a consequence of your service, which is often too hard to do,” Biden continued. “God willing, we will make sure that any rare condition you develop is covered. We’re committed to getting this rule in place by the end of my term.”
Biden’s promise was one of several impassioned moments during his address Monday. Throughout the ceremony, he referenced his son Beau Biden’s service.
“I still remember the day he asked me to pin his bars on him,” Joe Biden said.
The eldest of the president’s three children, Beau Biden served in Delaware’s Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq. It’s there, the president says, his son was exposed to toxic gases from pits where the military burned waste. Joe Biden has linked his son’s cancer to his exposure to burn pits.
Beau Biden was 46 when he died of brain cancer in 2015. His father was vice president.
“Folks, this matters,” Joe Biden said. “Too many of our nation’s veterans have served, only to return home and suffer from permanent effects of poisonous chemicals.”
Biden also touted his widely criticized 2021 withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
“Four presidents faced a decision, after we’d gotten (Osama) bin Laden, whether to end our longest war in history in Afghanistan,” Joe Biden said. “I was determined not to leave it to the fifth.”
He still carries his schedule from that day, the president said.
The Veterans Day National Committee’s service also included a performance from the U.S. Marine Band and the U.S. Navy Band Sea Chanters, and an Armed Forces full honor wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The nation’s largest commemoration service will begin at 12:30 p.m. ET with the kickoff of the 105th Annual New York City Veterans Day Parade. It’s scheduled to feature veterans representing every military branch and generation of service since World War II.
The parade includes nearly 300 elements consisting of 20,000 marchers and more than 150 vehicles.
Before it begins, a group of parade and community representatives participate in a wreath procession to the Eternal Light Memorial.
This story is developing. Download our NewsNation app for 24/7 fact-based unbiased coverage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.