President Barack Obama observed the end of the war in Iraq last night before an audience of those who fought in it, telling a crowd of returning war veterans that the nearly nine years of conflict in Iraq, a war now indelibly imprinted on the national psyche, had come to a close.
"As your commander in chief, and on behalf of a grateful nation, I'm proud to finally say these two words," Mr Obama told a crowded hangar at this famed North Carolina army base that is home to the 82nd Airborne Division: "Welcome home."
Calling it a "historic moment," Mr Obama, who has over the years of his presidency had his ups and down with his own military leaders, if not the enlisted men and women, infused his remarks with far more accolades for the military than the usual few that he dispenses to local politicians at the beginning of most of his standard speeches.
This time, he thanked the "legendary" 82nd Airborne Division. He thanked senior enlisted leaders. And the Sky Dragons of the 18th Airborne Corps. And the Special Operations Forces. And military families.
In fact, the president wrapped himself in all of the storied patriotism and history of the country's armed forces, congratulating the assembled troops for the job they did in Iraq - a war which he himself, never approved.
It was a tough balance to strike; Mr Obama had to speak of legendary battles in places like Fallujah without referencing the weapons of mass destruction that were never found; he noted the sectarian violence without bringing up the years of fear that gripped the US and the rest of the world back in 2004, 2005, and 2006, when it looked as if the invasion of Iraq would engulf an already volatile region.
"We remember the early days - the American units that streaked across the sands and skies of Iraq," Obama said. "In battles from Nasiriyah to Karbala to Baghdad, American troops broke the back of a brutal dictator in less than a month.
"And yet,” Mr Obama said, "we know too well the heavy costs" of the Iraq War: "Nearly 4,500 Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice, including 202 fallen heroes from here at Fort Bragg. 202.”
"The speech was the latest in a series of public appearances orchestrated by the White House to signal the end of the conflict and to drive home the point that Mr Obama fulfilled one of his 2008 presidential campaign promises.
At times sombre, at times ebullient - there were plenty of "Hooahs" during his speech - the president tried to project an understanding of what the people who have seen their family members go off to fight a war that most Americans came to oppose, have been through.
"There have been missed birthday parties and graduations," Mr Obama said. "There are bills to pay and jobs that have to be juggled with picking up the kids. For every soldier that goes on patrol, there are the husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, sons and daughters praying that they come back."
Mr Obama made the trip to Fort Bragg, his first since taking office, as both the commander in chief who has brought soldiers home and as a presidential candidate.
He brought his wife, Michelle, who works with veterans' families. At times, the visit seemed like a campaign swing.
While he eschewed any of the usual criticism of Republicans and never even mentioned the names of either of the front-runners in the Republican primaries, Newt Gingrich or Mitt Romney, Mr Obama spent 20 minutes after his speech pressing the flesh.
He plunged deep into the crowd of army fatigues and burgundy berets - signifying active-duty service members - seeming determined to shake hands with everyone there.
Mr Obama's campaign advisers see North Carolina, a traditionally red state that he unexpectedly won in 2008, as a potential key to the president's re-election path.
But Fort Bragg and neighbouring Fayetteville, with its large African-American population full of veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, will need to join urban areas like Charlotte, Greensboro and Raleigh-Durham in turning out for Mr Obama if the president is to have a chance of repeating that unlikely victory.
On Tuesday, Jim Messina, Mr Obama's campaign manager, presented reporters with a slide show mapping out several pathways for Mr Obama to claim victory next year.
One crucial path, he said, included winning North Carolina and Virginia - both states that John Kerry lost in 2004, but that Obama won in 2008.
Already, the Obama campaign has opened operations in North Carolina and it is banking on the state's changed demographics, including an influx of young, college-educated people.
The Obama campaign is also hoping for high turnout among African-Americans, who make up 22 per cent of the state's population and 41 per cent of Fayetteville's population.
Charlotte will host the Democratic National Convention in September. Meanwhile, Romney has already taken out television advertisements in North Carolina, targeting Mr Obama's economic policies.
Mr Obama has been working hard to get credit for ending the war, a promise that was a centrepiece of his 2008 campaign.
Fort Bragg is home to a variety of troops, including the Army Special Operations, the 18th Airborne Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division.
New York Times