Obama Hosts Breakfast, Lays Wreath to Mark Veterans Day - East Idaho News
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Obama Hosts Breakfast, Lays Wreath to Mark Veterans Day

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GETTY 111113 ObamaWreath?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1384186478024Mark Wilson/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — President Obama marked Veterans Day by holding a private breakfast for veterans and their families at the White House and then paying a visit to Arlington National Cemetery.

Among the guests at the White House Monday morning was the nation’s oldest known World War II veteran: 107-year-old Richard Overton of Austin, Texas, who served with the Army’s 188th Aviation Engineer Battalion in the Pacific, according to USA Today.  Overton was in his 30s when he volunteered in 1942.

USA Today’s Greg Toppo notes that when Overton was visiting Washington last summer as part of a Honor Flight group, he wondered aloud what it would take to meet Obama and the Honor Flight organizers laid the groundwork.

Following the breakfast, Obama headed to Arlington National Cemetery, where he participated in a wreath-laying ceremony.  The president was joined by first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden, along with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

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