Generations of men and women have fought and given their lives to maintain the country's noblest ideals, and as a result, the "very soul of America," as Vice President Biden put it, still persists today.
The president stated, "Together, we're not just the fortunate inheritors of their legacy," at an Arlington National Cemetery memorial service on Memorial Day.
"We must uphold their purpose and be the torchbearers of the freedom that has endured for almost 247 years.
"Our actions every day to ensure that our democracy endures, our constitution endures, and the soul of our nation, our decency endures," he continued, "is the truest memorial to their lives."
During the 155th Memorial Day wreath-laying ceremony, Biden was joined by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Army Gen. Mark A. Milley in remembering the dead soldiers.
On Memorial Day, the president said, Americans must consider what they can do to support the ideals that service members gave their lives to defend.
Today, it's up to all of us, he continued, to make sure that sacrifice wasn't in vain.