Marking his fifth Veterans Day since the invasion of Iraq, US President George W. Bush honored US troops past and present at a tearful ceremony Sunday for four Texans who died there.
The White House had said Bush was going to use his Veterans Day speech to scold Congress for not sending him a veterans spending bill. But the president finished without any reference to the bill or Congress.
"In their sorrow, these families need to know - and families all across our nation of the fallen - need to know that your loved ones served a cause that is good and just and noble," Bush said. "And as their commander in chief, I make you this promise: Their sacrifice will not be in vain."