South Bend, Indiana (CNN) Calling Memorial Day "a day beyond politics," Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg on Monday reflected on the holiday's meaning and paid tribute to the members of the military he served with in Afghanistan.

"I'm thinking of folks I've served with who were killed or injured and the sacrifice that they made and that the fact that there's no real way to justify the fact that I came back and they didn't, other than that I can do everything in my power to live a life that's worthy of what it took in order to make it possible to be here at home," Buttigieg, who deployed to Afghanistan as an intelligence officer with the US Navy Reserve, told CNN.

The South Bend, Indiana, mayor struck a similar contemplative tone as he delivered remarks at a wreath-laying at a baseball park in downtown South Bend.

"This is a day that is beyond politics as Americans of every persuasion, of every background, of every generation pause to remember the sacrifice needed in order to keep America secure," he told the crowd. "It is something in common for Americans who may have very little in common, other than the fact of being American, and it serves us well to come together at a time like this."

He reflected on the sacrifices made by service members and what that means on Memorial Day.

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