奧巴馬將與老兵共度陣亡將士紀念日

U.S. President Barack Obama plans to honor the country's war dead by spending the Memorial Day holiday Monday with veterans and their families, as communities across the nation host their own festivities.

The president will visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, as well as Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, where soldiers have placed American flags on nearly 260,000 graves.

The first large-scale observance took place at the cemetery in 1868, three years after the bloody Civil War that killed more than 600,000 people.

The Memorial Day long weekend is seen as the start of the summer vacation season in U.S.美國總統奧巴馬計劃星期一與退伍老人及其家屬共度陣亡將士紀念日，以此向陣亡將士致敬。在這一天，美國各地的人們都舉行紀念活動。

奧巴馬將到越南陣亡將士紀念碑以及華盛頓郊外的阿靈頓國家公墓參加紀念活動，軍人向在那裏安葬着將近26萬名將士的墓地插放美國國旗。

美國首次大規模紀念陣亡將士是在1868年，也就是在血腥的內戰結束的三年之後。60多萬人死於美國內戰。

在美國，陣亡將士紀念日所在的長週末被看做夏季假期的開端。