FORT LEE, Va. - Combined Arms Support Command personnel paid tribute to President John Tyler, the nation's 10th president, in a traditional wreath-laying ceremony held at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Va., on March 29. Family members of President Tyler were in attendance and listened as Brig. Gen. Stephen E. Farmen, Chief of Transportation and Transportation School commandant, delivered remarks on behalf of President Barrack Obama.
"President Tyler's contributions to his country were notable," Farmen said. "He ascended the ladder to the presidency with a calm and self assured attitude, always careful to be a responsible president and Virginian."
In addition to the recognition by the president, Virginia Governor Robert F. McDonnell issued a proclamation that March 29, 2013, is John Tyler Day. This year marks Tyler's 223rd birthday.
To pay homage to the nation's leaders, ceremonies like this are held annually at the gravesite of each of the former presidents on their birthday. Tyler was born March 29, 1790, in Charles City County, Va. He served as governor of Virginia twice and was the first vice president to succeed as president upon the death of William Henry Harrison in 1841.
"A historian once said, greatness is won by an individual with courage, with knowledge of his duty and with a sense of honor in action," Farmen said. "This, I suggest, is a perfect description of President John Tyler."
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