Washington ( CNN ) -- Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel visited the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Tuesday to deliver a Veterans Day speech , but perhaps more interesting than what he had to say was just what had happened to his face . Hagel was sporting a large bandage on his left cheek -- which a Pentagon spokesman attributed to a minor kitchen accident . `` He simply scratched it on an open cabinet door . Nothing more than that . No stitches . No hospital , '' said Rear Adm. John Kirby , the Pentagon spokesman . Hagel used his speech to say that the United States needs to learn from its mistakes of the past before sending troops to war . His comments come as President Barack Obama sends an additional 1,500 troops to Iraq to combat ISIS .
Defense Secretary Hagel was wearing a patch on his left cheek at Veterans Day events . A Pentagon spokesman said he had cut his cheek on an open cabinet door . The spokesman said he did n't receive treatment or visit the hospital .