The 29 miners killed in the Upper Big Branch mine, 35 miles from Asheville, North Carolina, were remembered Sunday in a service with a eulogy from U.S. President Barack Obama.
USA Today reports Obama spoke broadly of the miners, with the executive of the mine company they worked for sitting in the rear of the venue with the miners' families.
"How can we let anyone in this country put their lives at risk by simply showing up to work, by simply pursuing the American Dream?" Obama said in his eulogy. Nearly 2,800 mourners joined in the memorial.
"The men we remember here today went into the darkness so we could have light," Biden said. "It was dangerous work and they knew it. But they never flinched," the president said.
The 29 miners died in an explosion twenty days ago. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation. Senate will hold a hearing on the investigation Thursday.
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