President Barack Obama participates in a full honor wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate Veterans Day in Arlington, Virginia. The tomb contains the remains of an unidentified soldier from World War I and crypts of unknowns from World War II, Korea and Vietnam are set next to the tomb
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Today, we honor the incredible men and women who have served our country. Their sacrifice and selflessness is second to none.
— President Obama (@POTUS) November 11, 2025
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Of our many commitments, we have one sacred obligation—to prepare those we send to war and care for them when they come home. #VeteransDay
— Vice President Biden (@VP) November 11, 2025
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President Barack Obama is saluted by retired Navy Vice Adm. Norbert Ryan Jr. as he arrives to speak at the Memorial Amphitheater of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington
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"We ask so much of our service members and their families. Your resilience and grit should be celebrated." -Dr. Biden #VeteransDay
— Dr. Jill Biden (@DrBiden) November 11, 2025
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First Lady Michelle Obama applauds Capt. Capt. Rolana Brown of High Point, N.C., during a luncheon for military women, active-duty service members and veterans, spouses and caregivers, at the Vice President’s official residence at the Naval Observatory. Capt. Brown is commander of Echo Company, 266th Quartermaster Battalion at Fort Eustis
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Today and every day I am so incredibly thankful for the service and sacrifice of our veterans. -mo #JoiningForces https://t.co/xBbrX31Ryw
He hugged the grandmother,
and mom and dad,
tears in his eyes
that he couldn’t let them see.
Looked over his shoulder
to remember their faces
set in time.
This time in his life
he would only understand
was extraordinary,
looking back.
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Honor and bravery
and, yes, to be a man
were why he signed up early,
why he went off
why he missed a bit of his youth
and journeyed to a far-off
war-time destination
he had never
heard much about
when he was younger.
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The in-between years
are not forgot
They enter in dreams
and memories he sometimes wished
he didn’t have.
He knows he’s not alone
in the recollections
yet only a small amount of comfort
has come from that,
has ever come from that.
It is what it is,
his mantra.
It is what it is.
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But now in the prime
of his older years
he wears a ballcap with the
name of his service on it
and the name of his war.
He remembers the conflict
and when he
remembers the grandmother
remembers mom and dad
he feels the honor
he thinks he brought them.
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The sting of yesterday’s tears
in his crinkly eyes come from
the love of country
the esprit de corps ~
the brothers and comrades
he left behind or
still meets for coffee
on a Wednesday morning
in his hometown.
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And when he and his brothers
talk over coffee
about the “free lunch” for veterans
they’re serving at the
VFW, in a few hours,
he turns to them
(those who, like he,
paid ahead such a high price
for that “free lunch” years ago)
and says,
“We should support that
for the new vets
who might really need it.”
Straits Times: US First Lady Michelle Obama Visits Qatar; Makes Stop At United States Air Base In Qatar
First Lady Michelle Obama visited the largest US air force base outside the United States Tuesday on the first full day of a Middle East tour. “This isn’t an easy post; you guys are doing the tough work,” she told the assembled servicemen and women at Al-Udeid base, the forward headquarters for the US Central Command outside the Qatari capital. Obama is in Qatar as part of a seven-day regional tour during which she is expected to focus on the issue of “cultural beliefs” obstructing girls’ education.
She is set to make a keynote speech at the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha Wednesday, as part of her well-publicised efforts to promote girls’ education globally. In an email ahead of her trip, Obama wrote that 62 million girls across the globe are not going to school at all, urging support for the Let Girls Learn initiative that she launched with President Barack Obama earlier this year. Obama was accompanied by late-night talk show host Conan O’ Brien as part of the morale-boosting visit to troops. O’Brien, whose Conan programme airs on TBS cable television, put on a show for the troops, part of which will be broadcast later this year.
More here
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First Lady Michelle Obama meeting with Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development in Doha
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US First Lady #MichelleObama visits #Qatar; makes stop at United States air base str.sg/ZEog https://t.co/Bpczx4URQX
— The Straits Times (@STcom) November 03, 2025
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First Lady Michelle Obama shakes hands with Qatar Emir Sheik Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani
First Lady Michelle Obama is introduced by Conan O’Brien to speak to U.S troops stationed at Al Udeid air base
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Michelle Obama and Conan O’Brien visit troops in Qatar. nyti.ms/1WuCaw3 via @EricSchmittNYT https://t.co/dzQdZOKIA7
— NYT Politics (@nytpolitics) November 03, 2025
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First Lady Michelle Obama greets members of the military at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar. Photo by Amanda Lucidon
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When you're on a base and @FLOTUS asks you to drop and give her fifty, you give her fifty of your @TeamCoco best instagram.com/p/9o3clKvZGk/
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) November 03, 2025
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Instagram: When you’re on a base and #FLOTUS asks you to drop and give her fifty, you give her fifty of your @TeamCoco best. -Conan #MissionConan #JoiningForces
President Barack Obama waves to staff and journalists as he departs the White House
President Barack Obama speaks at the 116th National Convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) at the David Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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President Barack Obama arrives at John. F. Kennedy airport in New York. President Obama is in New York for a taping of “The Daily Show” and a private fundraiser
Pete Souza: President Obama talks with Jon Stewart between segments of The Daily Show.
President Barack Obama smiles with Emma Didlake, the oldest known World War II veteran at 110 years old, in the the Oval Office of the White House. Didlake was a Private during the course of her service and her decorations include the Women’s Army Corps Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal
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CBS News: Obama Meets With Oldest U.S. Veteran
President Obama met with a 110-year-old woman believed to be the nation’s oldest veteran at the White House Friday. The president said it was a “great honor” to speak with Emma Didlake, a longtime Detroit resident and veteran of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps during World War II. “It’s a great reminder of not only the sacrifices that the greatest generation made on our behalf but also the kind of trailblazing that our women veterans made,” Mr. Obama told reporters. “We are so grateful that she is here with us today.”
President Obama meets with 110-year-old Emma Didlake, the nation's oldest living veteran cbsn.ws/1HWePWR http://t.co/SaBhGQGf34
— CBS News Politics (@CBSPolitics) July 17, 2025
Known to family as “Big Mama,” Didlake was a 38-year-old wife and mother of five when she “wanted to do something different” and signed up for the WAAC in 1943, said her granddaughter, Marilyn Horne. She served stateside for about seven months during the war, as a private and driver. After she was discharged, she and her family moved to Detroit in 1944 - and she quickly joined the local NAACP chapter. She marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, and received a lifetime achievement award two years ago from the chapter.
More here
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Had a great visit today with Emma Didlake - our oldest living veteran at 110-years-young! She's a true American hero. http://t.co/EeeIC3AK4A
President Barack Obama speaks from the Oval Office on the shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee, vowing to conduct a prompt and thorough probe of the shooting
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President Barack Obama speaks after touring the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma. President Obama is the first sitting US President to visit a federal prison, in a push to reform one of the most expensive and crowded prison systems in the world
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As part of a weeklong focus on inequities in the criminal justice system, President Barack Obama will meet separately Thursday with law enforcement officials and nonviolent drug offenders who are paying their debt to society at the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution, a medium-security prison for male offenders near Oklahoma City
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Today, @POTUS became the first sitting President to visit a federal prison → go.wh.gov/ViceElReno http://t.co/eQRqxusZoh
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 16, 2025
.@VICE joined President Obama on the first presidential visit to a US federal prison: news.vice.com/article/presid… http://t.co/L87O7usEyJ
— VICE News (@vicenews) July 16, 2025
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Pres Obama tours the Residential Drug Abuse Prevention Unit at El Reno federal prison in Oklahoma http://t.co/Z26JQU1BPU
— (@petesouza) July 16, 2025
Another view from El Reno federal prison today. http://t.co/LWZvynnIis
Colleen Barry: Michelle Obama Meets US Troops In Italy; Recalls Charleston
Michelle Obama’s thoughts turned to those grieving for nine people killed in a U.S. church as she visited Friday with American soldiers and their families stationed in northern Italy. “We have seen too many tragedies like this,” Mrs. Obama said of the attack in a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina. “There is something particularly horrifying about something that happens so senseless in a house of worship.” She added: “I pray for a community that I know is in pain with the hope that tragedies like these will one day come to an end.” The U.S. first lady was visiting at the U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza, thanking hundreds of the troops and their families for their service.
U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday had expressed anger and sadness over the slayings at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. “As my husband said yesterday, simply saying our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and community of Charleston does not convey the heartache,” Mrs. Obama said. Her time with the troops and their families included reading a book to children, and visiting with about 30 expectant mothers to discuss the challenges faced by military families overseas. The families live in an area that includes housing units and an elementary and middle school. She spent a good half hour giving hugs and shaking hands. Her daughters Malia and Sasha helped her scoop out ice cream. About 500 people were attending a barbecue on the middle school’s athletic fields.
More here
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First Lady on #Charlestonshooting: "I pray ... with the hope that tragedies like these will one day come to an end."
amp.twimg.com/v/42e72c22-20c…
— ABC News (@ABC) June 19, 2025
#MichelleObama @MichelleObama speaking about #CharlestonShooting in #Vicenza http://t.co/LpN8FZh4A5
— CC-LovesOnikaQueen (@CCS_IAmAwesome) June 19, 2025
Lesley Jane Seymour: Michelle Obama Guest-Edits More!
A little over a year ago, we started tossing around ideas about how we could collaborate with Mrs. Obama. At the time, having her serve as the first-ever guest editor of More seemed like a crazy dream, but it was at the top of my list. We knew that partnering on an issue would be a lot of work—I’m not sure the White House understood exactly how much!—but we were thrilled when they said yes.
This is truly the First Lady’s issue. From the beginning, she said she didn’t want the whole magazine to be about her. It was hard to take off my editor’s hat and not focus all of my attention on the person on the cover. Instead, we shifted our focus to the people, causes and opportunities she cares about.The First Lady always asks how her initiatives—Let’s Move, Joining Forces, Reach Higher and Let Girls Learn—are moving the needle and having more impact on the world. We hope this issue will empower readers to create positive change, whether by supporting one of the First Lady’s programs or another cause.
More here
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Darlene Superville: Michelle Obama Will Be ‘Guest Editor’ Of More Magazine
She’s a wife, mother and lawyer, an advocate for children and military families, and first lady of the United States. Now Michelle Obama has added a new gig: magazine editor. The first lady is “guest editor” of the July-August issue of More, which bills itself as the magazine for “women of style and substance.” It was a first for both the White House and the magazine industry, said Lesley Jane Seymour, More’s editor-in-chief. “There’s never been a first lady who’s ever guest-edited a magazine and certainly not a sitting first lady,” Seymour told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “She’s really the editor,” Seymour said. She said the edition focuses on Mrs. Obama’s “point of view on the world and it’s from her eyes.” “Guest editor” wasn’t just a fancy title. The first lady had to pitch story ideas and write and approve copy for the 148-page issue, Seymour said.
She “was reading every page and asking for changes up until the last minute,” Seymour said. “She had to approve absolutely everything. She had to suggest various things, too.” Staff handled stories about fashion and beauty, along with basic functions of the magazine. The theme of the issue is having “More Impact.” Mrs. Obama said she welcomed the opportunity to share some of her White House experiences with like-minded readers. “What I want readers to understand is that impact comes in all forms, shapes and sizes. And hopefully through this issue, what people will see is that you can have impact as a military mom changing careers, or you can be a young person starting a business or you can be the first lady and start a whole initiative,” Mrs. Obama said in a written statement released by More. The issue highlights the first lady’s four priorities: helping children live healthier lives, supporting military families, encouraging young people to pursue education past high school and helping girls around the world attend and stay in school. It also includes pieces on her long-serving chief of staff and senior adviser, two women who have influenced the first lady’s work.
More here
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Wonderful links within the tweets
Surprise! @FLOTUS is guest-editing our July/August #MoreImpact issue. Here's a sneak peek: more.com/michelleobama http://t.co/ZbGPj6XVal
— MORE Magazine (@MoreMag) June 11, 2025
Video preview-our historic July/Aug #MoreImpact issue, guest-edited by Michelle Obama more.com/behindthescenes @FLOTUS http://t.co/r5girfaoOg
— MORE Magazine (@MoreMag) June 11, 2025
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Michelle Obama: What Women Owe One Another
When Barack was first running for President back in 2008, I made what I thought was an innocuous comment about how, if he were elected, my most important job would be “mom-in-chief.” The response was swift and passionate. Some people thought this was great, a sign that I had my priorities in order and was doing what was right for my family. Some were less positive, concerned that I was devaluing my professional achievements and ambitions.
As for me, I was just confused. The way I saw it, embracing my role as mom-in-chief didn’t mean dismissing what I’d accomplished in my career or shortchanging the important work of being First Lady—on the contrary, I planned to pour myself into the job and do everything I could to have a real impact on people’s lives. I was just stating a simple truth: The most important thing in my life is raising my two daughters.
