WASHINGTON — Americans from Washington to California have been marking Memorial Day with parades, barbecues and somber moments of reflection as the 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks approaches.

The National Memorial Day Parade in Washington paid tribute to the first responders to the attacks and to the relatives of the thousands killed.

President Barack Obama has paid tribute to the nation's war dead in a Memorial Day service at Arlington National Cemetery.

Speaking in front of a flag-draped wall in the cemetery's amphitheater, the
president said the nation owes a debt to its fallen heroes "that we cannot ever fully repay."

After his remarks, Obama visited a section of the cemetery that is the final resting place for many veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Earlier, the president and the first lady hosted a White House breakfast for families of troops killed in combat.