Obama travels to base to receive fallen soldiers

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. – President Barack Obama made an overnight dash to Dover Air Force Base on Wednesday to honor the return of fallen soldiers, absorbing the ultimate cost of war as the United States endures its deadliest month of the Afghanistan campaign.

On a clear fall night, Obama flew by Marine One helicopter directly to Delaware to greet the flag-draped caskets of 18 Americans killed in action this week.

Upon arrival, the president got into a motorcade to a base chapel, where he was to meet privately with families of the fallen Americans.

The unannounced trip began around midnight and was expected to have the president back at the White House before dawn today.

A wartime president of two inherited conflicts, Obama is winding down U.S. involvement in Iraq, but the troubled war in Afghanistan is only widening. His dramatic visit to witness remains of the fallen comes as he weighs whether to send more troops into the Afghan war zone.

The White House kept Obama’s plans off his schedule, informing a small group of traveling reporters in advance on condition of secrecy.

Obama was expected to observe a somber moment on the tarmac of the base without public comment.

The Dover base, about 100 miles from the White House, is the entry point for service personnel killed overseas.