President Barack Obama delivered his Veterans Day 2012 address at Arlington National Cemetery on Sunday, paying tribute to "the heroes over the generations" who served in the U.S. military.

Obama laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, adding that "no ceremony or parade, no hug or handshake is enough to truly honor that service." He noted the end of the Iraq War, adding that this was the first Veterans Day without U.S. military members embroiled in that conflict.

"This is the first Veterans Day in a decade in which there are no American troops fighting and dying in Iraq," the president said.

The formal end of the Iraq War came in December 2011, marked by the packing up of a U.S. military flag during a special ceremony.

"After a lot of blood spilled by Iraqis and Americans, the mission of an Iraq that could govern and secure itself has become real," Secretary Of Defense Leon Panetta said at that event.

Full transcript of the President's remarks after the jump.

Continue reading »