President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will attend Sunday's memorial service for the 29 miners killed in the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster earlier this month.
Gov. Joe Manchin announced the service, scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center, earlier Monday.
Obama "will deliver a eulogy honoring the lives of those who perished and offering his deepest condolences to the loved ones they left behind," according to a statement from White House press secretary Robert Gibbs. Manchin and local clergy will also speak. The event will also feature musical performances.
Manchin says Sunday's memorial is a chance for the state to pay its respects to those who were killed and the two miners who were injured.
The April 5 explosion at the mine, owned by Massey Energy Co. subsidiary Performance Coal, was the worst mine disaster in the United States in 40 years.


