At St. Anthony of Padua R.C. Church in Wilmington, Delaware on June 6th, President Barack Obama delivered a compassionate eulogy honoring Beau Biden, the eldest son of Vice President Joe Biden.
“To know Beau Biden is to know which choice he made in his life. To know Joe and the rest of the Biden family is to understand why Beau lived the life he did,” said Obama to an audience of family members, friends and political heavyweights.
At just 46 years old, the life of the Iraq veteran and former Attorney General of Delaware was tragically cut short by brain cancer. As he mulled over a 2016 campaign for Governor, the cancer was in remission – but on May 20, he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he died 10 days later.
“Here was a scion of an incredible family who brushed away the possibility of privilege for the harder, better reward of earning his own way,” said Obama. “Here was a soldier who dodged glory and exuded true humility. A prosecutor who defended the defenseless. The rare politician who collected more fans than foes and the rarer public figure who prioritized his private life above all else.”
Hear and read more speeches that changed the nation here.
“To know Beau Biden is to know which choice he made in his life. To know Joe and the rest of the Biden family is to understand why Beau lived the life he did,” said Obama to an audience of family members, friends and political heavyweights.
At just 46 years old, the life of the Iraq veteran and former Attorney General of Delaware was tragically cut short by brain cancer. As he mulled over a 2016 campaign for Governor, the cancer was in remission – but on May 20, he was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center where he died 10 days later.
“Here was a scion of an incredible family who brushed away the possibility of privilege for the harder, better reward of earning his own way,” said Obama. “Here was a soldier who dodged glory and exuded true humility. A prosecutor who defended the defenseless. The rare politician who collected more fans than foes and the rarer public figure who prioritized his private life above all else.”
Obama: That’s what our country was built on—men like Beau.
Obama’s speech is a signal of how close the President and Vice President have become in the last seven years of this administration. Obama is unfortunately no stranger to delivering tragic tributes, honoring Senator Ted Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, and for the victims of the mass shooting in Sandy Hook Elementary School.Watch Coldplay’s Chris Martin’s tribute to Beau in the video below:
Hear and read more speeches that changed the nation here.