Veterans organizations from across the nation joined President Barack Obama for the Presidential Armed Forces wreath-laying ceremony and Department of Veterans Affairs National Veterans Day Observance Nov. 11 at Arlington National Cemetery.

A 21-gun salute signaled the president’s arrival, followed by the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Obama was then joined by Maj. Gen. Bradley A. Becker, Commanding General, U.S. Army Military District of Washington, and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald in the Memorial Amphitheater, where thousands gathered to hear the president’s final Veterans Day address as Commander in Chief.

“You who once wore the uniform of our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard,” Obama said. “We owe you our thanks, we owe you our respect and we owe you our freedom.”