Obama on the Memorial Day of Storm cancels speech

Reporting from Elwood, Ill. —
A violent thunderstorm forced President Obama to cancel his Memorial Day address Monday at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Illinois, where he took to a rain-soaked stage and urged the thousands of spectators to seek shelter.

"We are a little bit concerned about lightning," he told the crowd. "This may not be safe. I know that all of you are here to commemorate the fallen. ... What we'd like to do is, if

audio listening devices up to 3km mp3 sunglasses 4gb manual possible, have people move back to their cars, and if this passes in the next 15 to 20 minutes, I'll stick around."

The White House said Obama made the decision to halt the event.

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Army Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Burleson, an Illinois National Guardsman, was sitting to Obama's left in a tent with other dignitaries.

"He was just really worried for the people sitting out there in an open field," Burleson said. "He had reason to be."

The event was soon canceled, and the president climbed aboard two buses filled with relatives of fallen troops and thanked them for their sacrifice.

The president's choice to commemorate the holiday in Illinois instead of at Arlington National Cemetery had angered some veterans groups, who saw the decision as a sign of disrespect. Vice President Joe Biden participated in ceremonies at Arlington.

Obama eventually delivered his Memorial Day remarks Monday evening after returning to Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.