A Sour Veteran's Day

President Barack Obama spoke Tuesday afternoon at Fort Hood on the various lives that ended too soon, as families and friends remembered those slain last week as husbands, immigrants, scholars, patriots, an expectant mother, and a granddaughter of veterans.

“This is a time of war,” the President said. “Yet these Americans did not die on a foreign field of battle.  They were killed here, on American soil, in the heart of this great state and the heart of this great American community.  This is the fact that makes the tragedy even more painful, even more incomprehensible.”

Just below the podium set up for the President, before thousands of mourners, the slain were remembered in the traditional army way: 13 pairs of combat boots, each with an inverted rifle topped with a helmet. A photograph of each lay just below the boots.

“For those families who have lost a loved one, no words can fill the void that's been left,” Obama said. “We knew these men and women as soldiers and caregivers.  You knew them as mothers and fathers; sons and daughters; sisters and brothers.

“But here is what you must also know:  Your loved ones endure through the life of our nation.  Their memory will be honored in the places they lived and by the people they touched.  Their life's work is our security, and the freedom that we all too often take for granted.  Every evening that the sun sets on a tranquil town; every dawn that a flag is unfurled; every moment that an American enjoys life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- that is their legacy.”

The President’s words seemed forceful when the subject of the alleged shooter's motives was raised, yet Obama chose to not mention Maj. Nidal Hasan by name. "It may be hard to comprehend the twisted logic that led to this tragedy," Obama said. "But this much we do know: No faith justifies these murderous and craven acts.''

That portion of his speech was an apparent reference to late reports that Hasan had communicated with a radical Islamic imam. Army officials noted Tuesday that a probe is currently underway, including questions about what the government knew about Hasan and whether action should have been taken.

The most influential and touching part of President Obama’s speech came when he addressed how the victims lived rather than how they died. Obama spoke of Maj. Eduardo Caraveo's journey to America as a teenager, Pte. Francheska Velez's excitement about becoming a mother, and so on of the 10 men and three women lost to the senseless act.

Army officials say that 15 of 29 people wounded in last week's shooting rampage remain in hospital. A statement by Fort Hood noted that three people were in intensive care and 12 had been moved to recovery rooms.