The president praised the country's miners, who risked their lives to go to work everyday.

"All the hard work; all the hardship; all the time spent underground; it was all for their families. For a car in the driveway. For a roof overhead. For a chance to give their kids opportunities they never knew; and enjoy retirement with their wives. It was all in the hopes of something better," he noted.

U.S. President Barack Obama makes a speech during a memorial service for the 29 men, killed on April 5 in the worst US mining disaster in decades, at the Beckley-Raleigh Country Convention Center in Backley, West Virginia, April 25,2010.

After the deadly accident, Obama has ordered reviews of mines with poor safety records, and vowed to use every tool in the federal government to conduct investigation. He directed Labor Secretary Hilda Solis to work with Congress to strengthen enforcement of existing laws and close loopholes that permit companies to "shirk their responsibilities."

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