Trump makes unannounced visit to Arlington cemetery

President Trump on Thursday made an unannounced visit to Arlington National Cemetery ahead of Memorial Day.

The presidential motorcade arrived at the burial ground just outside of Washington, D.C., at about 2:20 p.m.

{mosads}The president and first lady Melania Trump were ushered by military service members to place flags at headstones in Section 34, where famous soldiers such as Army Gen. John J. Pershing and Army Cpl. Frank Buckles, who was the oldest surviving World War I veteran, are buried.

Trump will be on a state visit to Japan when Memorial Day is observed on Monday.

He is expected to attend an event with U.S. troops at Yokosuka Naval Base to mark the holiday, but White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said he wanted to visit Arlington as well.

Trump expressed regret last year after facing criticism for not visiting the cemetery on Veterans Day.

The president told Fox News anchor Chris Wallace that he “should have done that” but he was “extremely busy on calls for the country.”

Trump had been in Paris on November 11 to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I but had no public events scheduled upon his return on November 12, when Veterans Day was observed.