skylar henry has some of the events happening across the nation today. ♪ >> reporter: president biden presides over a solemn ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier. as america honored the men and women who died while serving in the u.s. military. >> today as nation, we undertake a sacred ritual. to reflect and remember. >> reporter: at the world war 2 memorial in washington, veterans gathered to remember 400,000 americ americans who died in europe and the pacific. >> it is vital that we realize the sacrificed made and the opportunities they created for us. >> reporter: former service members gathered here at the memorial to remember friends who didn't make it home. tony served as a sergeant in vietnam. >> i got people that is on the vietnam wall that was personal to me. >> he were 17, 18 years old there and everything. and i still remember the conversations that we had. >> reporter: in minnesota, where 200,000 flags paid tribute to fallen veterans at ft. stehly national cemetery, they recognize the sacrifices for freedom. >> the people who lie here stood in the face of tyranny ag

skylar henry, cbs mus, washington. >>> memorial day was first known as decoration day. it started in the years after the civil war. memorial day became an official-federal holiday in 1971. musicians got together for a new tradition. a nationwide performance of taps. reporter steve hartman came up with the idea three years ago, and it keeps on growing and growing. he will give us a look on the cbs evening news, right after this newscast. >>> and our bay area sports teams are also paying tribute to our veterans. 49ers, warriors, and the giants all sent out a tweet today to honor and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. >>> new at 3:00. giants' manager gabe kep ler was present for the national anthem today. >> that's right. he wrote in his blog post that he would not protest the anthem for the day to honor the country's service members who died for this country. last week, he made headlines when he said he will not come out of the clubhouse for the anthem moving forward because he was disappointed with the direction of the u.s., in the wake of the uvalde, texas,