LIVE VIDEO — President Barack Obama observes Memorial Day by attending ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.
By NBC News and wire services
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is paying tribute to the nation's fallen warriors on Memorial Day, attending a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery and honoring those who died during the Vietnam War.
The president participated in a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, and then was on his way to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
More than 2,000 Vietnam veterans and family members of soldiers who died were invited to Monday's ceremony. The event will include a wreath-laying and a moment of silence as well as a fly-over by military aircraft.
The president and first lady Michelle Obama started the day with a breakfast at the White House for families who have lost loved ones in combat.
The White House said the gathering at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial War would mark the beginning of a 13-year program to honor those who served during the Vietnam War.
Republican Mitt Romney was scheduled to appear Monday with Arizona Sen. John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee, in San Diego, home to a large number of military personnel and veterans. Romney has made the case that too many veterans are returning home to poor job prospects, casting blame on Obama's economic policies.
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Thousands of people are expected to be at the San Diego event on Monday morning, according to NBCSanDiego.com.
Romney's executive director says the GOP presidential hopeful's appearance was not campaign related.
A Bureau of Labor Statistics report in March found that 12.1 percent of U.S. Armed Forces veterans who served on active duty after September 2001 were unemployed in 2011. The unemployment rate for all veterans was 8.3 percent.
Veterans could play a significant role in the 2012 election. Exit polls in 2008 showed that Obama was supported by about 44 percent of voters who said they served in the military, while 54 percent voted for McCain, a former Navy pilot who was a prisoner of war for more than five years during the Vietnam War.
A poll released Monday by Gallup found that 58 percent of veterans support Romney and 34 percent back Obama. The results were based on a sample of 3,327 veterans who are registered voters and had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
Several closely watched states in the election have large blocs of military voters. Florida, home to several military installations, has more than 1.6 million veterans, according to the Veterans Administration. Pennsylvania has nearly 1 million veterans, while Virginia and North Carolina each have about 800,000 veterans living in their states.
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