Joe Biden and his son brings the crowd to tears.

In what was probably his most memorable speech to date, Joe Biden honored his mom last night as he accepted the vice presidential nomination.

"I thank God and I'm grateful that my mom, Catherine Eugenia Finnegan Biden, is here tonight.

Mom, I love you.

You know, my mom taught her children -- all the children who flocked to our house -- that you're defined by your sense of honor and you're redeemed by your loyalty. She believes that bravery lives in every heart, and her expectation is that it will be summoned. Failure at some point in your life is inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable."

"As a child, I stuttered, and she lovingly would look at me and tell me, 'Joey, it's because you're so bright you can't get the thoughts out quickly enough.'

When I was not as well-dressed as the other kids, she'd look at me and say, 'Joey, oh, you're so handsome, honey, you're so handsome.'

And when I got knocked down by guys bigger than me -- and this is the God's truth -- she sent me back out and said, "Bloody their nose so you can walk down the street the next day." And that's what I did.

You know -- and after the accident, she told me, she said, 'Joey, God sends no cross that you cannot bear.' And when I triumphed, my mother was quick to remind me it was because of others.

My mother's creed is the American creed: No one is better than you. Everyone is your equal, and everyone is equal to you.

My parents taught us to live our faith and to treasure our families. We learned the dignity of work, and we were told that anyone can make it if they just try hard enough. That was America's promise." 

The night was truly a family affair as Biden's son, Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, an Army National Guard Captain who leaves for Iraq before his father enters the fall election, introduced his dad.

Biden Jr. brought the crowd to tears when he recalled  the 1972 car crash that killed his mother and sister as the returned home from buying a Christmas tree, right before his dad was sworn in as senator.

"He was sworn in, in the hospital, at my bedside," Beau Biden said. "As a single parent, he decided to be there to put us to bed, to be there when we woke from a bad dream, to make us breakfast, so he traveled to and from Washington, four hours a day."

"It won't be possible for me to be here this fall to stand by him the way he stood by me," he said. "So I have something to ask of you: Be there for my dad like he was for me."