Americans honored the nation’s troops Tuesday in commemoration of Veterans Day.

President Bush is expected in New York to formally rededicate the Intrepid museum in honor of Veterans Day, and thousands of visitors are expected to gather at the aircraft carrier’s newly rebuilt pier on Manhattan’s West Side.

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In Chicago, President-elect Barack Obama will place a wreath at a memorial to fallen U.S. soldiers alongside Illinois Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran who lost both legs in combat.

Across the nation, flags were placed on the gravesites of veterans by volunteers, including Anessah Tookes, a 15-year-old member of the of the Junior Girls of the VFW Post No. 379 in Yakima, Wash., who honored the fallen troops laid to rest at the city’s Tahoma Cemetery.

In New York, the president will mingle with some 2,500 veterans aboard the World War II carrier. The ship was recently returned to its Hudson River site after a 19-month, $120 million overhaul that added more planes to its aircraft collection and updated its museum displays.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said Bush will pay tribute to those who served on the Intrepid — and those he calls a “new generation of heroes” serving in the war on terror.

That new generation is increasingly looking to the Internet to stay connected, and the American Legion launched a social networking site Tuesday called CommunityofVeterans.org to reach out to younger vets of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In honor of the federal holiday, post offices and banks are closed.