hut. color. halt. freeze. halt. freeze. [the star spangled banner plays] halt. present. halt. [ taps plays] halt. ladies and gentlemen, remain standing for the president s invocation and the national anthem. [inaudible] [inaudible] chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. the secretary of the defense. ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. please join me for the invocation. [inaudible] from our earliest beginnings you have guided us through times of adversity and prosperity, through periods of war and feast, by your own hand and on our behalf, you have shown yourself strong to save us. among all the nations of the earth, america has been richly blessed in extraordinary ways. we turn to you today to remember with honor and respect our fellow citizens who have fought in america s wars as members of her armed forces. many of these gallant americans died before our enemy s guns, many of them died alone, many died in the fruit of th