US President George W. Bush marked the Memorial Day on Monday with a visit to the Arlington National Cemetery near Washington DC, declaring "America is safer" while acknowledging the "great costs" from the war on terror.

Speaking at the cemetery after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, Bush said that "through our history, America has gone to war reluctantly because we have known the costs of war."

"The war on terror we're fighting today has brought great costsof its own," he said.

"Those who have fought these battles and served this cause can be proud of all they have achieved. And these veterans of battle will carry with them, through all their days, the memory of the ones who did not live to be called veterans," he added.

In his speech, Bush singled out some of the dead from Iraq for special commendation, where Pentagon figures show over 800 US soldiers have died and more than 4,500 others have been wounded since the US-led war started in March last year.

Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, a veteran of the Vietnam War, marked the Memorial Day with a visit to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, a black granite wall which bearsthe names of more than 58,000 US servicemen killed during the conflict some three decades ago.

He laid a wreath with the family of a soldier who died in 1976 of injuries he suffered in combat in Vietnam in 1968.

In a statement issued on Monday, Kerry called on Americans to support US troops in Iraq. "No matter how we feel about our current conflict in Iraq, no matter how critical we are of our efforts to win the peace, this Memorial Day we must have one priority: supporting our troops so they can accomplish their mission and return home as soon as possible," he said.

Some World War II US veterans marched in the capital city on Monday, with high school and military bands, following Saturday's dedication of a memorial to the veterans of the war some 60 years ago. Enditem

Source: Xinhua