President Barack Obama at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery before the rain hit Monday. (Chris Walker/Chicago Tribune)
President Barack Obama's Memorial Day address at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood was just getting started today when lightning and heavy, gusting rains forced the cancellation of the proceedings.
The president, umbrella in hand, encouraged spectators to get to a safe place to ride out the storm and said he would hold off the ceremony because he didn't want anyone to get hurt.
"Excuse me, everybody listen up," he said before the event was officially called off. "We are a little bit concerned about lightning. This may not be safe. I know that all of you are here to commemorate the fallen. ... What we'd like to do is if possible have people move back to their cars and if this passes in the next 15 to 20 minutes, I'll stick around."
He said he hoped the ceremony could resume later, "but we don't want to endanger anyone, particularly the children, in the audience. A little bit of rain doesn't hurt anybody but we don't want anybody struck by lightning."
After a delay of about 30 minutes, the event was officially canceled.
U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Burleson, who was sitting to Obama's left under a tent with other dignitaries, said the president personally decided to call off the event after he saw lightning nearby and heard a loud clap of thunder. Burleson said Obama turned around and told his aides that he was worried about thousands of people being in an open field during a storm.
"He was the one who called it," Burleson, a Waukegan firefighter, said. "He was just really worried."
In lieu of the ceremony, the president planned to visit the service members' families on their buses, according to the White House press office.
Radar shows that the rain hitting the Chicago-area is still making its way through southwestern Will County and likely will be for several hours.
The President arrived in the area by helicopter about 11 a.m. He was taken by motorcade to the cemetery, where he stopped at the edge of a small burial section to lay a large wreath of red and white flowers. A bugler played Taps.
Obama, escorted by Sgt. Robert Crawford and Specialists Kenneth Brown and Christopher Pratl, stood, eyes shut, hands clasped, in front of the wreath. Then he turned and walked back to the motorcade.
Less than an hour before Obama was scheduled to pay his Memorial Day respects at the cemetery, spectators were flowing in to the sound of patriotic John Philip Sousa marches. Among those seated in a VIP section are families of troops who died during the Iraq and Afghanistan conflict.
Judi Sutter of Tinley Park sits among the first rows, wearing a T-shirt with her son's picture on it. His dog tags hung around her neck. Staff Sgt. Michael Sutter died in Iraq in December 2003. His mother worries his sacrifice is only remembered once each May.
"My son and other veterans should be honored more than one day a year," she said. "They should be honored 365."
The president's choice to commemorate the holiday in Illinois instead of Arlington National Cemetery has rankled some veterans groups, who see the decision as a sign of disrespect from a commander-in-chief who has sent tens of thousands of troops into an escalating war in Afghanistan.
Tom Pahnke of Manhattan considers such criticism an insult to his son, who was buried in Elwood after being killed in Iraq in 2003. He sees no difference between his son's sacrifice and those who are buried in Arlington.
"Our veterans and my son are just as important as those at Arlington," he said. "To have the president here to honor them is very special."
U.S. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) also defended Obama's decision to honor fallen troops in Illinois.
"His message will be heard in all corners of the world," Durbin said. "As important as Arlington is, there are many families who consider this the most important cemetery because their loved ones are buried here."
The president was joined today at the cemetery by Burleson, a decorated Illinois National Guardsman who has earned a Bronze Star and an Army Achievement Medal, and by Paul Abeyta of Midlothian, father of Army Sgt. Christopher P. Abeyta.
The younger Abeyta was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on March 15, 2009. He was a three-sport athlete in school, excelling in track, football and wrestling. He graduated from high school in 2003, having already enlisted in the National Guard, according to the White House press office.
Abeyta was sent to Iraq for a yearlong tour that ended in 2005. Between tours, Abeyta graduated from Harold Washington College in 2007 with an associate's degree. He was a self-described writer, who had kept a journal since he was 11. He enjoyed reading, listening to music and cheering up his friends with a goofy sense of humor.
Also in attendance at the event at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery were Gov. Pat Quinn, U.S. Senator Roland Burris, U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias and Elwood Village President Bill Offerman.
Tanya Price of Plainfield worked the overnight shift at her job before heading to the cemetery this morning.
As she sought shelter in the downpour that cancelled the event, she checked her camera to see if she caught an image of the president. It was a little blurry, but she could make him out at the podium, standing with a black umbrella. It offered her a bit of solace.
"I'm disappointed," she said, "but I'm still very exicted to be here and be a part of it."
The White House said Obama talked by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday after the deadly Israeli commando raid on ships bringing aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip. It also said Obama has agreed to reschedule a White House meeting with Netanyahu and that the president "understood the prime minister's decision to return immediately to Israel to deal with today's events."
The statement issued by administration officials accompanying Obama on his visit to Illinois said the pair agreed to reschedule their meeting "at the first opportunity." It also said Obama expressed "deep regret" over the loss of life and cited "the importance of learning all the facts and circumstances" behind the incident. Nine pro-Palestinians were killed and dozens of people were injured.
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/05/obama-pays-memorial-day-respects-to-war-dead.html
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