(Video) Reagan's remarks at Memorial Day ceremonies honoring an unknown serviceman of the Vietnam War

From 1984 until 1998 the remains of an unknown member of our military were buried at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. Advances in science made it possible to identify those remains as belonging to United States Air Force First Lieutenant Michael Joseph Blassie of St. Louis--who was later interred in his hometown.

On Memorial Day in 1984, President Ronald Reagan spoke at the interment ceremony for then-unknown serviceman from the Vietnam War.

"Many veterans of Vietnam still serve in the Armed Forces, work in our offices, on our farms, and in our factories," Reagan said on Memorial Day thirty-one years ago. "Most have kept their experiences private, but most have been strengthened by their call to duty. A grateful nation opens her heart today in gratitude for their sacrifice, for their courage, and for their noble service. Let us, if we must, debate the lessons learned at some other time. Today, we simply say with pride, 'Thank you, dear son. May God cradle you in His loving arms.'"

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