♪ host: it is the washington journal for memorial day 2024. that is video from arlington national cemetery where soldiers

are placing flags on those buried there on the lead up to memorial day, a holiday dedicating to remembering those who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces. to start the program, tell us what memorial day means to you. call us on one of three lines. if you're an active or former member of the military, (202) 748-8000 stop if you are a member of a military family, (202) 748-8001. all others, policy at (202) 748-8002 that if you want to share your thoughts on social media you can do that at facebook.com/c-span or @cspanwj. you can also send us a text at (202) 748-8003. pbs.org put data together from various sources.

wartime u.s. military deaths released in 2019. it was revolutionary war, 4400 plus, war of 1812, 2200. 498,000 during the civil war. world war i 116,000, world war ii 1 -- world war ii 405,000, korean war 50 4000, vietnam war 90,000, highlighting the most recent conflicts. persian gulf war, 1500, global war on terror, 68,000 plus ople. this was 2019, updated by -- global war on terror, 6800 plus. this was 2019. the purpose of this program is to hear from you concerning your thoughts on this memorial day. if you want to share your thoughts on if you are an active

performer military, (202) 748-8000. if you're a member of a military family, (202) 748-8001. anyone else can call in at (202) 748-8002 up some posting on social media -- saying when it comes to honor those who reserved and perished and it is a day to attend the gravesites of deceased family and friends. from vicki from facebook, she adds honoring those who gave their lives to preserve freedom, remembering loved ones who have passed. yesterday i took my 84-year-old bomb to visi the cemetery where where they honor my grandma's brother with ae plaque, saying this is farm country in the heartland where you see the women working.

then luis lopez adding thoughts on facebook. remember all of those killed and wounded in wars. we need to take care of them. you can share those sentiments. the phone lines or social media. text us at (202) 748-8003 stop for ripped -- text us at (202) 748-8003. . what does memorial day mean to you? caller: i am retired military. before i begin i would like you to thank me for my service. host: thank you for doing that. caller: i am retired military. i fought under general chad king. i am proud to say i have over 300 per perm kills in a purple heart i received effort oil drum fell on my foot. despite all of that the v.a. has

been giving me around deal when it comes to receiving benefits. the agency has refused to cover legal fees from incidents that stem from my ptsd. a few weeks ago i was in a grocery store and i saw young boy, cannot have been more than six or seven. he was wearing a camouflage jacket. i found this offensive because knowing that young has ever served their country so i began screaming the stolen valor -- then i beat the child. host: we will go to danny. what does memorial day mean to you? caller: good morning. i am in tears own a. -- i am in arizona. i went to let you know my daddy is a korean war veteran. he served in the marines. we are so proud of him and his service. he is 92 years old.

we could not have this country without our veterans. people that are saying bad things against this country, they need to look up history and no what these men and women sacrificed for people. host: what role did your dad serve during the korean war? caller: he was an airplane spotter. host: what did he tell you about that job? caller: obviously it was a nighttime job. my daddy, he said korea was not the most pleasant of places to be in, especially during wartime. very hot in the summer and cold in the winter. host: did he talk about his experience often? caller: not that much.

he was more happy to get out of that country. host: danny in arizona sharing the work of his father and remembering him. memorial day, for those who lost lives, that is the designated holiday for today. veterans day takes a look at all of those who have served in military service. if you want to share your thoughts on this memorial day and what it means to you, let's hear from rick in iowa. retired military. caller: good morning. i have some pictures from years ago, the best supervisor i ever had took me to the luxembourg cemetery. on memorial day i take a peek. i will tell you the rows -- over

5000 soldiers buried there. general patton is buried there as well. it just struck me, it was beautiful up the crosses -- it was beautiful. the crosses in marble. it was terrible at the same time. i went with him to see where the germans were buried. they have a cemetery not too far , looking at a picture of that as well. we did not have a lot -- they did not have a lot of money at the end of the war so they buried two soldiers to across. i just -- on this day i try to

set the political stuff apart and just remember their sacrifice. when they had to do their job, they all did it. like i said, there was nothing political involved in that. i remember standing there feeling a lot of anger, sadness, and honor. today, when i set out flags and whatnot, that is what i try to remember. the honor in which they served in what they must have been going through that last day. i was thankful they could be laid to rest in a place that was so beautiful. you know what i mean? host: rick in iowa sharing her thoughts. this is carol on facebook on this idea of what does memorial

day mean to you, saying "very heartfelt because my vietnam veteran made it home." ricky is up next. a veteran in philadelphia. caller: good morning and happy memorial day. this memorial day means a lot for me. being a veteran serving in desert storm. a lot of brothers and sisters laid their life on the line for this country. fortunately for me i can come home to my family. i always had on my mind the ones that did not make it home to their families.

like another thing, it disturbs me to see homeless veterans that served their country. they are out on the street homeless without getting government help. that kind of disturbed me growing up on memorial day. host: you find that last part, is that a common thing you are seeing in philadelphia? are you hearing about it in other places? caller: is a common thing in philadelphia. i used to work for an organization that helped displaced veterans. we tried to help veterans get their benefit.

i get proper housing. i used to work with that organization veterans coming in homeless for whatever reason is heartbreaking to me. host: that is ricky from philadelphia. he talked about the idea of homelessness or what he has seen when it comes to that topic. according to the data published december 15, 2023 by the v.a., this is just a headline to show you. you can look up the data when it comes to the website that homelessness amongst veterans is increasing 7.4% in 2023. that is one idea memorial day. what it means to you. military families, special line set aside for them. this is robert in massachusetts. hello. caller: i want to speak for my

father on this memorial day. he came into the army in 1948 and retired in 1968. he did 20 years and six months. they had the cuban missile crisis he was on the ship going to cuba. after that they sent him to korea. to train south korean soldiers. at that time he was in korea they assassinated john f. kennedy. my father said he thought we were being invaded by soldiers over there. 1965 they sent him to vietnam. he is a sergeant major. company a. it is the first time we contact

troops to step into vietnam. it was a brutal war. when they came back they told everybody you cannot beat these vietnamese, they are the best expert fighters in the world. that is what my father says. he had purple hearts and a bronze star. combat infantry badge. national defense service medal. eight days, 1966 to 1967. november 1965. gunshot wound in both arms. he served his country very well and i will go to the memorial today.

we have one of the greatest vietnam memorials you ever want to see. that is where i am spending my day. god bless all of the vietnam veterans. host: this is constance in las vegas texting us, saying today we remember those fallen. my father was killed in vietnam in 1968. i was dinethree younger sisters and a 26-year-old mother's. e war may end but the pain never does. i miss him as much today as i did when i was nine. his daughter giving us her thoughts on memorial day. you can share your thoughts on text. (202) 748-8003 is the number to do that. all at (202) 748-8000 for those who are active or former military and (202) 748-8001 for those military families who want to share your thoughts,

particularly on this veterans day. from one of the papers leading up to it, bit about the day itself, saying five things you may not know, adding it is not just an opportunity for a barbecue or a beach trip, it is a day honoring soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. it originally honored military personnel who died in the civil war. 620,000 americans died in the civil war, making it the deadliest war in american history. red poppies are known as the symbol of remembrance. it was not always memorial day. it used to be decoration day. president bill clinton signed the national monument of remembrance act on december 28, 2000, designated memorial day a national moment of remembrance, a moment of silence at 3:00 this afternoon across the country as far as observing memorial day itself. let's hear from natalie in

florida on our line for military families. >> good morning, pedro. thank you for taking my call. i am a widow of 70 years who is a veteran of utah beach on d-day. he served on that front from 1944 to 1945. he came home with ptsd but was able to function throughout his life and passed away when he was 80. i also want to say we were privileged to be able to attend 1994, from the dav, a group, the celebration that was done in france in normandy.

we had to stay with a french family because there were no hotels. it was the most wonderful experience to be able to honor the ones we left behind and could not bring them home. the french were wonderful to us. we stayed with an underground family that had fought alongside my husband and the group. i think america and i thank god that i am privileged to be a widow. thank you. host: natalie in florida. this is jim who identifies himself as part military, saying my great uncle and hi dog buried in france. my famy nnot afford to bring him home.

recognize the families that fought dearly. adding, let's not give up on this democracy. texting us is a way to put your thoughts out there concerning this memorial day. if you have a special one you want to remember, text us, talk about it on the phone lines, post on social media at facebook and on x. a veteran of the army, patrick in michigan is next. what does memorial day mean to you? you are next? caller: it makes me remember my father who fought in the battle of the bulge. my uncle who was a prisoner of the japanese. he was caught in the philippines . also my uncle who was severely wounded in battle. i think they are heroes because after all of the things they endured they came home and they raised families.

i am really proud. thank you. guest: -- host: our line for others. chris in florida. caller: good morning and happy memorial day. memorial day makes me think about all of the injustices that were meted out against blacks that have been veterans through the g.i. bill that at one time was unfair. the benefits that were owed to them were not received. i want to say that right now there is a bill in congress, i'm not sure about the language, but they are trying to offer veterans benefits to idf soldiers who are americans and fighting in israel. he is an unfair attack going on

where the international courts are involved. i believe this was another example of white supremacy and disparity in the military. host: that is chris in florida. it was on the sunday shows where two legislators appeared on newsnation. republican steve womack and colorado democrat jason crow. talked about aspects of memorial day and what bipartisan efforts can be done honoring those who died during military conflicts and what should be done to honor them. there is a part of that discussion. >> a society that honors the sacrifices of the people who gave so much. i will start with you. >> from the perspective of a member of congress, this country needs to come together again. it needs to respect the fact that that we have many differences among the various peoples of this wonderful nation

, at the end of the day we have a shared obligation. -- a shared obligation to set aside some of those differences and work for the common good, to inch forward the bubble, to try to change the status quo, if that is what we are purposed in doing. coming together as a country is how we can best honor the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country. >> so that's easy right? we just come together? >> it is not easy and the fact that it is not easy as the point for me. that quote distills what public service is about. public service is the highest calling any american can answer. public service implies sacrifice. it is not supposed to be about you, it is not supposed to be advancing for you, it is not supposed to be comfortable.

it is about sacrifice. as veterans we know there are people who've made tremendous sacrifice, bigger sacrifices than we made in our services, and we stand on the shoulders of those folks. that is the spirit we have to get back to. that is america does great things and we are at our best when people put aside their self-interest and make sacrifice. host: that is part of a discussion that took place. you can find more online. from our facebook page, "my brother michael died in vietnam and am named after my uncle who died on d-day. i know they fought and died for our personal freedom and liberties, but with all of the racial profiling and our government chipping away at our constitutional rights, i wonder." johnson sayswhen i think ofial day i think of the words president lincoln spoke when he said to always member

the sacrifice of those made at the battlefield. you do not have to agree with the motivations for award to recognize and honor those who died in service to our nation and it is altogether fitting and proper we should do this." on this memorial day, thoughts what it means to you. we have divided the lines to those who are former or current military. (202) 748-8000 is how you can call and let your thoughts be known. if you are part of a military family, do that at (202) 748-8001. all others, (202) 748-8002. other ways of reaching out on social media or text. the line for others in iowa, nancy, hello. caller: i blew it. my son is in the military in the navy and my dad served in the military in world war ii and korea. i will say it anyway.

real day means to me, giving remembrance -- memorial day means giving respect to a deceased veteran or their loved ones. not thinking a veteran or active military service for their service or partying for the sake of partying. resenting the flag means doing so with proper flag etiquette. that is it. thank you. host: from bed --ro bob, this is "the only day we officially honor those who protect our freedom. it is not a day for political speech, its t a day for days off work, it is not a day for picnics and barbecues, it is a day for remembrance." facebook is where he posted

that. let's hear from a veteran in colorado springs. caller: running. -- good morning. wanted to sayhat today besides remembering my fallen brothers and sisters i contemplate on the kind of words use and phrase today we celebrate patriots. that word habeen turned around. some people i do not think are acting like patots lately or have in the recent past. also, when people are rowing around the word civil war willy-nill that is a scary thing. we are americans. we need to work out our political differences. host: when it comes to the day itself, do you do anything out

of the ordinary as far as visiting a gravesite or do any of that activity? caller: i tried to reach out to the people i served with. i go to our local cemetery the field the overwhelming number of headstones gets to me but i think it is important gets to me and it should get to everybody, the sacrifice these people made for our country. let's stop throwing around crazy words. i love america and i love c-span. host: that is darren in colorado springs. during the course of the morning you will see video taken by c-span crew at arlington national cemetery during several events taking place during the lead up to today. one of those, soldiers currently serving, putting flags and memorials there at the cemetery. we want to thank the cemetery

for letting us out there to film that. you will see that during the course of the morning. all of the lead up for the activity today. events scheduled later on today. 11:00 the president will rail wreath at the tomb of the nones, traditional attitude -- the president will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns. a traditional activity for the president. up until then, your thoughts on memorial day. in tampa, florida, this is maryellen, a member of a military family. hello. caller: i lost my husband due to a service connection. memorial day, i am the chaplain for the hillsboro veterans council. yesterday a medal of honor family. it is very important to know we care and support. we do not remember them every memorial day. we remember them every day.

every day is a loss to these families, their children, grandchildren, relatives, everyone. it is not a happy day for us, it is a day of remembrance. it is a day for an hour or two hours to go to a memorial service is so important. this morning i will be going up to kings point where we have over 500 veterans. we have five veterans that are world war ii that are still alive. we honor their service and we remember what they went through. i grew up in battle and i will probably die in battle for america to keep strong and keep freedom. if it was not for these people who step up and do their patriotic duty and remember, america is not -- america has not forgotten them and i hope everyone remembers them. it is nice to have picnics but it is also nice today at 3:00 to the sacrifices of these families when they lost their loved ones. it is not only me, it is many

americans that remember. the active-duty remembers every time they go into battle they sign up, they get a paycheck. this is what -- they all sign up if they die. freedom is not free. host: you talked about your role as a chaplain. on days like today, what is it like for you when you're talking to families? give us a little bit of that work that you do? caller: i am at the va hospital. i am also with the gold star families. they have many tears and many remembrances. i was active duty -- many were active-duty and hurt on the battlefield. they lost their battle bodies. they cry and i sit and hold them. i tell them, yet remember you did not die and you have to live

so you can let people remember your buddies and tell the story of what happened. it is not easy but it is work that i love and it is american veterans, women and men, that gave up their lives and their bodies so i could speak my voice and tell freedom and what it is about. the vietnam records, world war ii records are not just history, they are living history. remember all soldiers, even the young guys now and young women now, that they gave everything they could and people don't want to hear it. they have got to hear it. they have to know with the american flag stands for. my husband is in arlington and i am waiting to go up there but i am not in a hurry. it is a hurry to let young people know that men and women serve so they can enjoy memorial

day. host: maryellen giving her perspective on this moral day. it was at the most recent house session last week where the house chaplain gave her own prayer, particularly as a debt with the topics of memorial day. here it is last week. >> eternal god, we pray to you as we enter this memorial day weekend that you would bless our efforts to honor our fallen heroes and the fanfare of parades and picnics, barbecues and summers beginning, may we take time to recall the countless sacrifices that were made to defend our freedoms and uphold our liberties. these noblemen and women have stood firm in the face of war's alarms and up against the anguish of adversity, they would not be moved. may they rest knowing they gave themselves fully to the work you set before them to accomplish.

grant them peace in knowing neither their labor nor their sacrifice was in vain. god at the ages, may we be the guardians and guarantors of their valor's legacy. guide us in the living of these moments that we would remain true to the ideals they willingly devoted their lives to preserve. inspiron is the same depth of commitment to our country, same fidelity to our fellow americans, the same unhesitating character to humble ourselves in service to you and to this nation. in your everlasting name we pray, amen. host: that is from last thursday. the tomb of the unknowns cemetery, flowers being placed. later on this morning, ceremony and practice custom with the united states president presenting a wreath. that will take place around 11:00 if you want to watch that

and other remarks made on this memorial day, can see that on c-span, our app c-span now, and our website c-span.org. let's hear from carol from wisconsin. good morning. caller: thank you for honoring our veterans. i could say what they had a national public radio last night, the national memorial concert was so moving. it meant a lot to me. my husband was in the air force pertain years. -- for 10 years. i saw a strongman cry. all the people come the men that died as they crawl those beaches. we have to know that history and how they fought for our freedom. i can't see how anybody can vote

for somebody that called those men suckers and losers and called gold stars -- and harasses goldstar families. thank you. host: vietnam vet, james in south carolina. caller: good morning. thank you, pedro, for taking my call. i am a vietnam veteran, air force. i had three uncles, my father and three of his brother served in world war ii. the youngest, his name is on the world war ii wall. he was killed before i was born. i can tell you story about when i came back from vietnam. i was being chased because i had my uniform on and a bag that

said "vietnam" and they came after me. i literally had to run to get away from them. my uncle served -- he died young at 44 from complications. the next to the youngest, he suffered shellshocked. they called shellshocked back then, ptsd. i want to honor everyone that served and those who did not make it back. thank you very much for taking my call. host: james giving us his thoughts. later on in the program, we are to meet the person responsible for the upkeep and oversight of a battle monuments across the united states, american battle monuments commission. that conversation at 8:30 this morning to learn about those

sites, how they are maintained. you can ask questions about that as well. later on, we will meet two co-authors of the book taking a look at a woman is special operations, her role, and also how she was killed while in duty. those conversations coming up on the program. up until then, your thoughts taking a look at this memorial day, what it means to you. you have heard a lot of perspectives but those are the lines you can share your perspective come active and former military, military families, you can add your thoughts on the others' line as well and give us your thoughts on this memorial day. you can text and post on social media, too. john is in virginia, a veteran on this memorial. hello. caller: can you hear me ok? host: i can. caller: thank you for working

this holiday. i don't think we give you guys much credit for working today. i know you should be with your family. i want to say something and that is that i am glad you have programs like this. however, this was not done 55 years ago when i was a cadet. i went through basic training after college and went to vietnam. frankly in my uniform, i had to hide in the back of the airplane because i got dirty looks from the passengers. i think our countries changed a lot. that is the comment i wanted to make. host: as a veteran, as someone who served then, what does this day mean to you. caller: it means we should recognize people for our service -- frankly, hopefully i can see

some nurses with the ceremony this morning at the statue of the -- i'm glad we have a day we recognize. besides this, oil day is to put flowers on graves. for relatives as well. memorial day is to remember those who passed away. sometimes we forget. this lady who called in reference to mr. trump's comments, that came from the atlantic newspaper. there is no fact checking. there's no evidence he said this. i really don't like people making comments unless there is overwhelming evidence. mike pompeo was with him all the time is that he never heard a thing. host: let's hear from sandy.

sandy, military family member in orlando, florida. caller: good morning. my dad was on a b-29 bomber in the pacific. i watched a show yesterday on tv that was really great about the people that were on the b-29 airplanes during the war. when he came back from the war, also his four other brothers were in europe with various parts of campaigns, he took advantage of the g.i. bill and became a history teacher. he taught a class on propaganda in our high school. when my mom, who recently passed

away, was watching the insurrection, she told me so many stories about his experiences and what it meant to him. and seeing people with the flag hitting others -- my mom passed away a couple of years ago. but that was so distressing to her. it is just something to think about that having -- i have been lucky enough to go to normandy and i have also been in the netherlands. to think about what has transpired historically and how it affects all the people that are involved in the military now and those who have served the country in the past. i am really

proud my dad was on the b-29 and served his country. it affected him greatly but he was a very patriotic person. and i living my life now through him. i am working for democracy in the united states, in my state of florida. that is how i can honor him. host: max, south dakota line, others. caller: i went to honor my two uncles who both served at normandy and world war ii. one was injured. my question is, why are our heroes of service -- they don't belong in a different country. i've always wondered, why were they buried their and not

brought home? host: you can listen on about 8:30 eastern standard time with the secretary of the american battle monuments. be sure to ask him what goes into that process. and he is the one who oversees those sites across the united states and able to answer those questions if you want to stick around and listen to that. 8:30 is when that segment will take place. let's go to john. john from columbus, georgia. hello. caller: my dad, my grandfather, and uncle -- his body was lost in the balkans. i have two sons, son-in-law, now two grandbabies that are -- that have served.

they go in with apple pie, mom, and pride. at the time you get done with camp, that rubbish is flushed out. we fought not for you all, we fought the person who was right next to me or down the line. i did not fight for you. i did not fight for anybody in washington. and i am born and raised there. i fought for the men that i was with. i did not appreciate when they treated veterans then and i don't now. how is it we can afford to give away millions to take care of illegals but we can't take care of for guys who are dying in the gutter killing his pain with bottle. that is the question that should be for everyone today. host: a follow-up question, tell us about the lasting conflict.

caller: my grandfather was murdered in dunkirk. his unit he was responsible for was captured. they were run into. they were run into a barn and they set fire to the barn and when they came out, they machine-gunned them. i took some time and went over to the british war cemetery. michael tommy, a radio operator -- they were called piano players, special operations executive. he was not a u.s. citizen and neither was my grandfather. they held onto my dad from 1941 to 1947 stop he could not vote

in this country. he came here in 1929. he put his butt on the line just like i did. i learned several years later the pain he had when i told him i was going into the marines. i learned that pain when my two cents made their statements and i try to talk my grandchildren out but they went ahead. i am very proud of them but make no bones about it, they did not fight for you. they all came home -- a lot of trust issues with the american people. host: that is john sharing his story in georgia.

let's hear from another vet, nancy in iowa. caller: i would like to speak to women in uniform. i served as an officer in the united states navy in the 1950's. we were very rare at that time. and now we are not rare. and one of the things i have always remembered from my service was i served with men who had come back from world war ii, the finest people i've ever known in my life. i captain, flying tiger, we lost in his late 90's, our executive officer who was on d-day. it was the proudest thing have done probably in my life. i would encourage young people to consider military careers. a lot of energy is being expended in our country now and

perhaps some of that energy could be channeled into serving our country and understanding sacrifice, sacrifice of those who died and sacrifices of those who came back. i will say one thing for the greatest generation that i've always thought, they were raised by great generation which gave them the values that took them to normandy, that took them around the world, that took them to korea. those are the thoughts i would like to share on memorial day. host: are you engaging in any special activity today? caller: we are very mindful. we don't have any special activity. my husband would go -- normally -- he is not well at the moment, good to our little cemetery where his great grandfather is buried who fought in the civil war. host: nancy and isla, a veteran giving us her perspective on

this memorial day. many of you veterans adding to the mix this morning. if you're currently serving or former service, give us a call on that line. for those military families, heard from plenty of them to this morning. and then all others as well. from the house floor last week just before the house went out of session, one of the people who spoke was marilyn democrat iv, honored a resident in his state who lost his wife during service in the military and added his thoughts to the idea of memorial day. here is representative ivey. >> i arrived this where they begin to honor christopher j chambers, nathan gage ingram, tragically died in the mission and the arabian sea january 11

this year. i knew chris personally. he was a native of prince, george -- prince georges county, maryland. he participated in the boys and girls club and a member of the swim team. his presence as a leader impacted the lives of many including my kids while he coached them during their swim team participation. he attended bishop mcnamara high school and graduated in 2009 from the university of maryland college park. chris began his service in the united states navy in 2012, graduating from cell training in 2014. the decorated servicemember, his awards include the navy marine corps achievement medal with combat and three navy marine corps achievement medals. he's arrived eyes parents that she is survived by his parents, wife, and daughter. nathan gage ingram of texas and listed in 2019 when onto graduate from sil training in

2021. as we approach this memorial day , let us pause to remember chris, nathan, and all brief service members who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation. we thank them for their service and our prayers are forever with their families and their loved ones. host: that is representative ivey from the floor last week in the lead up to this memorial day. daniel pink, rethinking how memorial day is served stuff you can find the post online but here are some of the thoughts he made saying about a possibility could be the former mom world and veterans day which since 1954 has bounced. many americans polls show is confused. combating the holidays would minimize and concentrate them into something more powerful. a single day of the year where

american lives possibly honor everyone for military service. a more provocative idea, move into july 3 two pair with independence day. this is the model in israel. in the united states, the idea goes like there could be a solemn day including preserving extending national monument of silence. nearly 1.5 million americans who perished in words. on july 4 we could celebrate their freedom and sacrifice those sacrifices have brought. he would legitimize the next day celebration, deep in the previous days and each holiday, revelry works in tandem. those are the thoughts of daniel pink from "the washington post." you can find it on the washington post site and contribute your thoughts as well

as this memorial day and what it means to you. let's hear from ray in texas, veteran. good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to speak to our country, veteran of the vietnam war. the morrill day means to me is to pay respect and give the ultimate respect and honor to the people -- to the military that served and lost their lives. i believe that we do not need a commander in chief that does not respect the veterans. thank you very much. host: cori is a veteran in new york.

good morning. caller: how are you? host: fine, thanks. go ahead. caller: i am a u.s. army combat medic. i have served two terms, one in afghanistan and one in iraq. i was just wondering how far does the current president, how is he going to respect individuals like us? host: how do you mean? caller: how is he going to respect us because i was in the v.a. -- obviously, the v.a. is doing nothing for me. the v.a. is doing nothing for anybody. also, how are you going to highlight your hairline? host: a vietnam veteran, hello. caller: good morning. and my family, my dad served

in world war ii along with his older brother and younger brother and my younger son served in -- the younger son served in korea. i graduated high school in 1966. i spent a couple of tours in vietnam. i called to honor gary who was my best friend. we started a friendship in grade school and went all the way through high school together. gary joined the army, which airborne and in 1968 and that april, he was killed. i went to arner gary. gary author rose. host: how did you meet? caller: we went to grade school together. we became friends. in the third grade, gary's dad died. the family was impoverished.

his mom remarried. we just became friends. in november 1947 ash -- when gary turned 16, he was the first to get his drivers license and we would go out and write and celebrate. we were like brothers. when i heard he got killed, it was devastating. host: what did he do as far as military service? caller: he was army airborne. in april of 1968, gary was called -- she was tired of working for somebody. he tripped a landmine and was killed. host: how did you find out about it. caller: at the time, i was going to school. i got a phone call from my mom and she told me -- excuse me.

he had been killed. i gotta go. bye. host: you are welcome to share a story or other families members, to come if you wt to share a story on this memorial day. give us a call on theine but that is the best way to reach out to us. if active and former military families. text us if you wish, too. the social media site is available as well if you want to tell about numeral day overall for like jerry said, talking about his relationship with his friend, you're welcome to do so on this memorial day. don't forget to stay close to c-span for the memorial service that does take place at arlington national cemetery

scheduled around 11:00 this morning. you can always see it on our main channel c-span or go to the affect c-span now if you wish and the website is available to you as well at c-span.org if you want to watch it there. let's hear from ted in new hampshire come a veteran. caller: hello. i want to mention something that we don't really talk about much and i have never seen or heard of the memorial of the children of war. these are the kids that would -- were drummer boys that walked into gunfire along with the regular soldiers in the powder monkeys that were on the ships like old iron site. these children of war were heroes and they seem to not be recognized too much. they were as brave as any man or woman. i feel we should honor them with

a memorial. this is very important because their lives were just as important as the ones that hit the beaches at normandy. in this i pray the congressman do something about this in remembrance of them. host: how did you become interested in them? caller: because i've never seen anyone or anything that pertained to them. i've seen the pictures. some were 12 years old that stood -- there was a general in the civil war gave a white horse to his drummer boy. he rode into battle with them and was killed. there was a great honor sent to his family. but these are names that are forgotten or not cold, and we can't forget, especially on this day.

host: let me hear from victor, a veteran, on this memorial day. victor, thank you for reaching out. go ahead. caller: i am victor. today i honor my great-great-grandfather who escaped enslavement in mississippi, joint the union navy, served on two ships, gunboats. i'm also 100% disabled vietnam veteran. i served in 1968, 1969 with the airborne division. i honor those who served in vietnam in 1968 in 1969. host: tell us a little bit about your service and if you wish to

share, you don't have to, but as far as friends lost or something like that? if you want to share that, go ahead. caller: oh, yes, i would -- not at this time, ok? thank you very much. host: they jerk in georgia giving us his thoughts. let's hear from . caller: i like to honor my grandfather. in world war ii, was a pow, 18 months. he got cancer and died. told me the story of how he was captured before he died. it was amazing the bravery and dedication that he had to

survive the way he did and prosper the way he did after going through so much in his life that he still found the strength. i am quite sure it is through god to keep his head up every day and smile. he is my hero. a real american hero. a true american hero who no matter what your faced against, you know because we are one nation under god that we will survive and you will survive and for all of those that have died for this country, we cannot ever be grateful enough. that is what memorial day should mean to everyone. because america is blessed by

god because we are one nation under god. that's it. this is not a political point. i don't care about who is the president or any of that. all i wanted to say is my grandfather was my hero and he was a true american. and we as a nation should stop staring into our phones and start looking at the sky and what god has created and quit looking at what man has because that is the answer that we are looking for. god is the answer. host: jeremy in texas on this memorial day. there's a story in "the washington post" that talks about -- we been showing you video of soldiers placing flex at arlington national cemetery. as part of that activity leading up to memorial day, we have shown that throughout the course

of the morning. however, there's a story about the mentos and the keepsakes that are left there and what is done with them and what could be done with them. you can find it there. various memorabilia at one of the gravesites in section 60. this is the section where those who died post 9/11 wars are buried, by the way. this talks about during one of the visits to the cemetery, mark and nancy placed a colorful patchwork quilt that arrived from ascender they did not know. they observed others leaving mementos to honor the fallen army officer. days later, during the weekly

walk, rod gaynor walked, the curator surveyed gently tucked it under his arm while tacking it with the plot number and date. the story goes on to say if the lungs and a collection of more than 3200 keepsakes gathered over the past few years from section 60. locked out of sight in a climate controlled corridor not far from the tomb of the unknowns. there's a lot more to that story about the momentous left and how they are preserved and what can be done with them. anyone interested in reading that, that is the washington post, story on may 27 when that

came out. let's hear from bob from florida, a veteran. caller: i just want to say thank you to the v.a. and i wish everyone would understand with the heartache is when you lose someone you love like your father. at only five result, my father was killed in the second world war will step 10 days before the war ended. these children are still living today and all their life they had to wonder what happened to their life if their father had lived. nobody ever pays attention to the fact all these people that died gave their life so you can be free in the united states of america.

thank you. host: bruce is, bruce in north carolina, veteran as well. caller: first, good morning. i want to thank you for this program and the opportunity to speak to my truth about this day and what it means to me. i served in the military active duty and reserve 21 years. i'm grateful it was respected and honored the flag and military. i think we should continue to have such a day like this year and programs where people can really share what it means to be a veteran and serve.

i wish everyone could serve this one you're in the military. i thank you for this program and hope you continue to have a blessed day. we should all be thankful that we are in this country and we should all respect and honor veterans and we should always have a commander-in-chief that should be of the lack mind, honor those who are serving and those -- like mind come honor those who are serving and have served. no one knows unless they have been in the military what it really means to serve our country. host: as someone who has served, what does memorial day especially mean to you? caller: it means we should respect those in uniform and those who have passed in uniform. those who are former veterans and service members and honor

their service because we are one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. host: calvin -- let's hear from kitty in pennsylvania, member of a military family. hello. caller: my dad served in the air force for 33 years. i am very proud of my father. he has two brothers that served in the marines. i think today -- and i think every day, we ought to be very proud of our military, our veterans, people serving in this country today. i think they are wonderful. every time i see a service man, i go up and thank them for service. my dad died in the philippines. he has been dead since 1989.

when he died in the philippines where he was buried, the volcano erupted and it washed him away. we don't even know where he is anymore. i think of my father every day, how hard he worked for serving this wonderful country. i am very proud of the military. i just wanted to call and thank everybody. host: if you don't mind sharing, what did your father do in the philippines? caller: he was stationed there. i really don't know what he was doing. i can't tell you. but that is where he died. he was just going to retire. would go to a desk for two days a week and everybody went to lunch and when they came back, he had died of a massive heart attack at his desk. the day i had my daughter is the day my dad died. it is a bittersweet day. i think of that all the time,

how wonderful the military is. when i was little, it was so special, we would walk on the sidewalk and they would salute my dad was that made me feel very special about my dad. host: katie, thank you for sharing those memories with our audience. let's hear from calvin, calvin in virginia. caller: good morning. i served in vietnam in 1968 with the marines. on this particular day, i always remember don kirby. we were on an operation where we came under fire and corporal was

out on the open, we received fire. somebody hired for kirby. he came running up. he was attending appelbaum. doc kirby got shot right in the chest. and there he died. i don't know where he was from or where he is buried, but i think of him not just today but a lot of times over the years. i was a kid when i was over there. i'm 74 now. i think of them all the time. host: how did you get to know each other? caller: on the battlefield. as somebody hollered -- wished to joke around on patrols. i don't know where he was from.

it was just a short time we got to know each other. i did not really know him that well. the experience that we went through, i will always remember. i can't get it out of my head. i just want everyone to know he served our country well and gave his life to help treat another guy. he was just assigned to us. he was just doing his job, what he thought it was his job and gave his life like so many men in the military. that's all i've got to say. host: we been showing you some sites across washington on this memorial day, some of the unknowns and other sites to be part of a lot of special activities.

those visiting washington. again, the wreath-laying ceremony set to take place at the memorial. a lot of things going on. stay close to c-span. that memorial day observation at arlington at 11:00 is where you can see that happen on our various platforms. we are talking about the memorial day itself, what it means to you from the varying perspectives of people who have been calling us on what he whether it be formal or active military, be a military family, or others to share their thoughts on this day. in miami, let's hear from ricardo on our line for others. caller: good morning. my name is ricardo gilbert. i'm retired u.s. army soldier. i just want to say god bless the souls of michael, raffaella,

terry, russell, stephen -- soldiers i had the privilege of serving with that gave it all. gave it all in the persian gulf. thank you. host: that is ricardo in miami giving his thoughts. various legislators sharing in the lead up to memorial day, some of the activities they have been doing and posting on x. this isongresswoman, democrat from michigan. democrat from massachus and small towns, remembering the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

joing those in princeton to remember their sacrifice. representative from california. and republican from nebraska, a parade which he giva giantotic thumbs-up. some of the activity of legislators. on the floor of the house last week leading up to memorial day, various legislators talked about memorial day and the significance it played. >> as we are on the precipice of another memorial day in this country, we have so much to be thankful for and grateful for as

we pause to remember those who have fallen to defend our country, our way of life, our constitution. so from the fields of valley forge to tripoli to our own homeland of the civil war, san juan hill, the trenches of france, pearl harbor, normandy, it would you, 30th parallel, jungles of vietnam, iraq and afghanistan and others, we are grateful for those that stood up and stood in line of fire for us, for our values. greater love has no one than this to lay down one's life for one's friends will stop we owe them a lot. we can never pay that back stop other than to be grateful -- remember those that have fallen far nation. host: those are just some of the memorials made in the house.

we will hear from ed, former military. go ahead. caller: we are a little town but we have a great memorial. it includes air force, army, marines, big ceremony today. lost 123 kids in our little town. single a school, small town. those kids were 23 and younger. even the coast guard does a lot during war and even in peacetime, patrolling the oceans . i will be hitting five va hospitals.

i don't think we have enough holidays for them. you can't say enough -- from civil war till now. my dad's brothers come everywhere just about in our family. my mom's brothers were all in vietnam, three of them. i go back to lee grant. anyway, so we don't give enough credit to what our military has done. more pride needs to be in this country, respect. i don't need kudos. i made it out. i was commander. we are all out.

my guys came out of it. we're -- alas last thing i'm going to say, i don't want to get politics, but one of your callers gave a cheap shot on trump. it was the first time in seven years or more we were at peace. no wars going on. this commander-in-chief now, wide-open borders. no one respected milley. he backstabbed even trump who picked him and told china, our enemy, we will give you heads up two weeks. that is treason. host: we will leave it there. jane, military family. caller: good morning. i was born in 1954. i heard my grandparents talked about the second world war, my

father and his two friends. my fatgot lucky. he was a navy, lowest rung of navy. he was sent to casablanca. one of the bigwigs came into camp where he was stationed and said, does anyone want to drive across north africa with me? everybody was like, heck no. my dad said, of course i do. he ended up -- not a tragic trip but a marvelous trip across south africa. when he got to their destination, which was an italian camp in north africa, my father befriended the son of an italian automaker. they both bonded on their love of american jazz. but the tragic part was his two

buddies who were young men in the military, i don't know which branch, by the time they got to the top -- well, there were three of them. two died and one was -- 70 people died along the way, his buddy had signed to be a high officer in the navy but i go again to my great uncle who was in world war i and i remember just a couple of years ago going through and finding a letter of his and the tiniest of letters you could barely read it because paper was in such short supply, he died of effect several war one. he was gassed in world war i.

my partner, his father served as -- was a reporter with -- they were at the opening of one of the camps and they remember driving along and seeing stacks of bodies in train cars on the way to that camp. they were there at the release of prisoners of the camp and some ran toward the fence and were shot by the germans. but most recently, i heard the story, i think was pbs, they were talking about folks that went -- a group of men, military men, horrendous trips up to russia, supplying russia when the soviets were helping us in world war ii. and their story was horrendous.

their ships were filled with vulnerable bomb materials. the snow was piled high every night. they're having to scrape the ships. i guess as an elder now, the last three years, to really appreciate as i said, as a young girl, midas will have been the civil war, but just come home with summative our institutions, you know being challenged that way. host: jane. a shot of the memorial and washington, d.c., one of the c-span cameras out and about today at the monuments that you probably recognize. the war memorial, tomb of the unknown. we've been showing you those with their cameras out there.

someone on x the korean war. alsoing, my dad was 70 when i to to his firsts it in washington, d.c., served on a naval carrier in the korean war and saw horrific tngbut i never understood it until i saw his face, the grief on his face that was so intense. i will never forget it. ted in oregon, veteran on our line or former active military. caller: good morning. i was in the air force. i was a civil engineer. i traveled the world during the cold war. i want to shout out to master sergeant kw hall. he died decades ago. he was a vietnam vet. you would ask him, where you from, sergeant hall?

he would say i am from la, lower alabama. you never know when you are in the military until you see people in civilian close what they are all about. everybody is in a green suit. you don't know where they came from. you don't know their story. you're really just concerned about yourself and the guy next to you. i just kind of think that -- i want to say thank you to the young generation of veterans that were thrust into shooting wars in an urban environment. i couldn't imagine that being a cold war vet. the only thing i ever had to do was wear warfare suits and they gassed us. pedro, have a great day. thank you. host: this is steve who said that tays most certainly a dayoricnics, barbecues, and

ballgames. those who gave their lives want us to them in a good w b sitting in a gravese. you can make your thoughts on x known. you can go on facebook. caller: hello. i never served in the military but my brothers and i -- one lived in kansas city and he was in the army. my brother who recently passed, it is been a couple of years, forgive me my mind. i had a heart attack and a stroke. but i'm doing fine. my oldest brother was in the air force. my uncle was in the air force. i had an uncle in chicago,

illinois, he was in the navy during the korean war. and the rest of my brothers served in the military. this country is a great country. we don't need to have this country by dictatorship. these beds fought hard. they gave their blood for levity here in america and across the world. excuse me, i am upset. but you talk about a president that is going to represent us? we fought against dictatorship. we fought and shed our blood. my uncles, my brothers did. my brothers are living but i have a baby brother that served in desert storm. when they got stirred up over

there, he had to stay in the army. i am proud of him. although my brothers served in the military. thank you. host: this is mike in buffalo, neork, sang my family brought our uncle home from germany after being missing in act for 80 years. his body was brought home this past thursday with military hono will be buried with his parents and brother this weekend. our family now has closure after 80 years of not knowing what happened to him. let's hear from terry, maryland, go ahead. caller: my dad served in world war ii and the philippines. he had four brothers that served , my uncles, all made it home alive. i served in the navy for four years and spent my time around the world. i wasn't home for three out of four years. i also spent time in vietnam.

i had two great-great-grandfather set served in the civil war and were fortunate to make it home and lived to their 80's. military people, they sacrifice their lives and away from their families. this is why our country is so great. host: terry in maryland, finishing off an hour and half of your calls on this memorial day and what it means to you. thank you to those who participated. ourour guest joining us throught the remainder of the program will reflect on the theme of today, especially on what it takes. our first guest is american battle monuments commission charles djou discusses the work of managing american battle monuments and graves around the world. later on we will meet marty scovlund and joe kent who

discuss a book about a woman named shannon kent went on -- who went after high-value targets and the most dangerous regions on earth. that is next on "washington journal." ♪ >> today an unprecedented armada landed on the shores of normandy. >> these are the boys. [applause] >> these are the men who took the cliffs. these are the champions who helped free a continent. these are the heroes who helped end a war. >> 2 million sons from 15

countries jumped into skies and surf and met death on an even playing. >> the sons of democracy mounted their own attacks. at that exact moment come on these beaches, the forces of freedom turned the tide of the 20th century. >> the road to v-e day was hard and long and traveled by wary and valiant men. history will always record where that road began. it began here with the first footprints on the beaches of normandy. >> more than 150,000 souls set off towards this tiny sliver of sand upon which hung more than the fate of a war, but rather the course of human history. >> today we remember those who

fell and we honor all who fought right here in normandy. >> watch these bands live all day special coverage of the 80th in over three of d-day, thursday, june 6. featuring a speech by president biden from normandy, france. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we continue on with related topics regarding the date. charles does you -- charles djou joins us from florence italy talking about the role he has in the preservation of military cemeteries and monuments across the world. thank you for giving us your time. guest: thank you very much. delighted to be here. host: can you explain the work of the commission and what it does? guest: the american battle

monuments commission has the humble charge of maintaining the 26 american cemeteries and 31 battlefield memorial spread across 17 countries around the world. the agencies charge is to make sure america remembers and that the world remembers the service and sacrifice of the american armed services. host: how does a commission come into being? guest: our agency was founded in the wake of the first world war. after world war i, which was the first major international event -- mass casualty international event for the united states, congress decided we needed an agency to take care of all the war dead from the first world war. our first chairman was general john pershing, the commander of america's expeditionary forces during the first world wars and he took charge to make sure america was respectfully

memorialized all of the battlefield after world war i. our mission expanded after world war ii, a humble charge we've been carrying forward for 101 years. host: what does the everyday work of the commission involve? guest: it involves making sure all of our crosses and stars of david and all of our american cemeteries are properly maintained and taken care of. what is much more important and a value for our agency is making sure we educate americans that when they come to our sites, a lot of them, whether italy or france or the philippines or mexico, people understand what america has done in the incredible sacrifices made by american service members and the cause for freedom and democracy. america is unique among nations in this world.

unlike any other country, unlike any other time in history americo fights not for conquest or plunder or enslavement of another people. america is unique in we fight for just words. the words freedom, liberty, and democracy. when we succeed, when we accomplish our mission, when our military has obtained that unconditional surrender of the enemy, we go home. the only thing america asks for in return is a small plot of land to bury our dead. the abmc has the responsibility of taking care of those plots of land. host: we are showing people some of the sites from your website. tell us a little bit about the cost for this upkeep and for the land itself. what is involved?

guest: we are funded by the united states congress and we are extraordinarily grateful to the american people. it is small and the grand scheme of the american federal budget. we had an $85 billion budget this past year. this maintains 26 cemeteries and 31 memorials all around the world. it is a humbling statement of the american people and american values that america wants to memorialize this and america wants to make sure the world understands what we as a nation or people are willing to sacrifice for. this is something that distinguishes the united states from all of other countries around the world. most countries will send their armies and they will send their young and they will send their best to fight for a crown or a king or a specific denomination or sect. we americans stand apart because

we stand and fight and are willing to sacrifice for the ideas of freedom and democracy, the best values of the american ideal. guest: -- host: i suppose part of the work of visiting this is not only to memorialize the dead but i suppose education is involved of what happened at the various sites. guest: absolutely. as we get more distance from the battlefields americans fought around the world it becomes more important that her agency educate americans and the people of the world on what happens and why we did this. why americans were sent here to fight back against authoritarianism, to defeat the nazi war machine. this is something that is incredibly amazing, pure, and good about our nation. i want to emphasize to all of the listers and viewers that i recognize and realize and

understand that there is a lot of division in america. i realize a lot of americans are disappointed in what they see in modern american politics. sometimes all you see it shouting and yelling and nothing getting done. what we do is this humble charge to remind americans that we have been able to do good and we can do it again. we have it within us. we have the capacity within our nation to rise above this pettiness and squabbling and to do big things. it is an amazing charge to be at an agency where that is our job, that is our responsibility and i'm looking forward to another century. host: our guest is with us and if you want to ask him questions you can call the lines. we will keep the lines we had for the former segment. active and former military, (202) 748-8000.

if you're a member of a military family, (202) 748-8001. (202) 748-8002 for all others. text is questions at (202) 748-8003. what determines if a soldier gets buried in the united states or one of the sites abroad? guest: that is also a good question. in the wake of the first world war, what happened -- it was our first major mass casualty event for the united states with military action outside of the united states. america had terrible battles in the american civil war and before that the american revolution. what initially happened is when we had american service members parish, make the ultimate sacrifice overseas. they were buried in an american cemetery. after the war concluded the united states gave that stick in the option of do they want to repatriate the remains of their

loved ones or would they like to have them stay with their soldiers, with their fellow service members in one of our sites. the majority of family members chose to keep their loved ones together with their fellow service members. that is how the abmc started. to be buried in an ambc site requires the service member to have died in service of the nation during your combat campaign. there are some narrow exceptions. you cannot be buried in any of our sites because you were in the service. it requires active service in the campaign to be buried at one of our sites overseas. guest: is part of the work you do helping families with the location of those who die in have been unaccounted for?

what happens as far as their burial is concerned? host: absolutely -- guest: absolutely. a good number of service members that we care for our the missing in action. we recognize all of the mia's observed our nation and we have not been able to find them. it all 26 cemeteries we note the missing in action. we also work with our sister agencies -- that agency is specifically responsible for going out and finding are missing in action. if they find one of our missing in action, our agency puts on our wall of the missing that we have found the service member. i want the american people to know that when we send one of our finest to fight overseas,

the united states makes a promise to that service member that we will bring him or her home, whether the home -- ideally back home to the united states. if they make the ultimate sacrifice we provide them a home at one of our sites and if they are missing in action, the american people will not stop looking for them. indeed, our nation continues to look for all of her missing in action, even those ever 100 years ago in the first world war. just last year the ambc, through work with the french individual found an american soldier from the first world war, positively identified that individual was in america, and gave a full burial to that individual at one of our sites. this is a wonderful statement about the value and the goodness of the united states and the american people that we do not

leave anybody behind. we do not take american lives lightly, the cost of freedom is a higher price americans can do to make sure everyone comes home in one form or fashion. host: charles djou serves as secretary for the american battle monuments commission. this is suzanne from south carolina. go ahead. caller: i would like to thank you for the work you do. i want to share that my father, who will be 88 in a couple weeks , i am an air force brat, i was born in dover air force base. dad retired in 1976 at lake mcguire air force base. it is extremely important for my father that when he passed he be buried with his military brothers and sisters. he will be buried at the national cemetery.

it speaks so profoundly to the brotherhood and sisterhood that our servicemen and women shared together that my dad wants to be with that family. on another note and very quickly i would encourage all of american citizens to vote november 5 for our commander in chief. the president of the united states. the commander in chief is responsible for the military. he controls the military. when you vote, want you to vote for the president who you know will honor the peaceful transfer of power. thank you. host: that is suzanne in south carolina. guest: thank you very much. thank you to you and your family and your father for your service to our nation.

if anything, one of my regrets as the secretary is too few americans understand the sacrifices made by our servicemembers and their families for the cause of freedom around the world. i am delighted your family has visited abmc sites and i respectfully encourage all viewers to come visit us. this is your american cemetery, this is your american history. so many of our sites around the world, i see a lot of dutch or french or italian or filipino visiting the american sites. if anything i want to see more americans visiting our own american sites to understand our american history together. i thank you for your support. while i am an appointee of president biden, our agency is

proud of our nonpartisan approach. there are no republicans or democrats or conservatives or liberals in cemeteries, their only american service members. we take care of all americans. host: michael in new york. hello. caller: good morning and a happy memorial day to everyone, to the activa national guard, veterans and family and neighbors. thank you for the work you do. one of the reasons i watch c-span is because i learned about new agencies like yours. i had no idea the american battle monuments commission existed until this morning. how do you -- in submitting for new monuments -- how do you balance honoring all of our american -- all of our american

volunteer -- there is a many different cultures of america that are represented when they die in battle, weatherization americans or jewish or christian or muslim americans. with regard to the women veterans, etc.. i have seen many monuments as well as -- for 70 different subcultures of america. how do you balance that -- for so many different subcultures. how do you balance that in creating new monuments? guest: thank you for that question and i'm delighted you are about the american battle monuments commission. i want to encourage you to visit our sites. or visit us at ambc.gov. this is your american agency responsible for taking care of service members. in terms of how we take care of our monuments, how we take care

of our servicemembers, we are spread through 70 different countries and cultures. -- through so many different countries and cultures. with all of our servicemembers buried overseas, everyone is given a latin cross or a star of david and their uniform and they are the same. i am very proud that for the united states of america we do not discriminate on the basis of rank, religion, or race. all-american servicemembers burit all of our sites all around the world, you will see generals buried next to privates. you'll see christian catholic protestant, jewish, hindu, muslim, buried side-by-side and you will see no distinction whether you are black or white or asian or hispanic. all service members come if you are an american servicemember you were all treated the same. it is the value of our nation

that there is a democracy in death all american lives are valuable. no american life is more valuable than any other american life because of religion, race, rank. that is something that justin wishes united states and our nation values different from any other nation on this earth. when you're asking about how we bury our soldiers, it is all the same, precisely because we treat all of our servicemembers the same and recognize their service they given the ultimate sacrifice of american life is equally valuable. in terms of the monuments, the monuments reflect both american design but also trying to reflect the design and cultural heritage of the sites for which we are located. when the american battle monuments commission designed various memorials around the world we would work with an

american contract architect to come up with an appropriate memorial. we would work with the permission of fine arts, and try to do something that incorporates the american service and sacrifices and studies completely the american services background -- connected to that country's particular values. this is unique and speaks very well of the american people. we are not a nation based on a particular ethnic group or religion or specific faith. the term american is a group of individuals who believe in the ideals of the united states, who has a belief in a system of democracy, of freedom, and of liberty. you do not have to be of a specific race or faith. you do not have to have a specific family last name. all you have to do to be an american's believe in those

american values. host: let's hear from carol from a military family in illinois. good morning. caller: good morning. my father was in world war ii and during world war ii he buried graves in the cemeteries in the south of france. i went to see it later and it was beautiful cemetery. so inspiring to see how beautifully maintained it is. the buildings on it were gorgeous. we were there on memorial day and the chapel was filled with floral arrangements. i want to thank you for what you do and in terms of my father, it was such an incredible impact. he died three years ago in his

90's. the effect of having worked at the cemetery and buried 250 soldiers in france, it was something that had an overwhelming impact on him for the rest of his life. guest: thank you very much for visiting our site in southern france. thank you for your father and your family service for our nation. may i just reinforce what carol said to all americans. when you go overseas to france or italy or the netherlands, may i respectfully encourage you to consider coming to see one of the american battle monuments commission sites. every year there are millions of americans who go to paris and see the eiffel tower or visit the louvre. billion's of americans who go to rome and see the coliseum or the beautiful gardens -- millions of

americans who go to rome and see the coliseum or the beautiful gardens. not enough people go to see the american cemetery built by the people who made those places free that were liberated by americans. it is an important part of our national history to remember that the region these beautiful places weather in nice in southern france or belgium or italy are free and tourists can visit them is because of the sacrifice of our servicemembers in the first and second world war all around the globe. host: active and former military (202) 748-8000, military families (202) 748-8001, (202) 748-8002 for all others. host: the land these monuments sit on, is it owned by the countries in question or the united states? guest: that also is an excellent question.

the land by and large remains the national land of the host nation. however, leased to the united states in perpetuity for something like one dollar a year. the reason it is not technically american soil is we have issues in the past with individuals who come onto our sites not to honor our american service and our ward did but to claim political asylum. to avoid the complications of individuals who may want to come onto our sites for political purposes, they are owned and operated by the united states in the united states government but it is technically still host nation soil, whether it be france, the netherlands, belgium, italy. host: this is tom in arkansas. hello. caller: good ring and great job. i visited the u.s. military

cemetery at luxembourg city 10 or 15 times in the last 10 years. it is amazing how well they are maintained and also amazing how any of the native people -- how many of the native people visit those with great reverence. i'm a veteran of the u.s. air force. my father served with patton during the second world war. these places are pretty moving. all i can say is well done. thanks. guest: thank you very much. thank you for visiting our site in luxembourg. thank you for your compliments and appreciation of the work the ambc has done to make sure all of our sites are maintained to the highest standards. ambc does this because we believe all of our servicemembers in our cemeteries overseas should oddly rightly be

honored for making the -- should noon rightly be honored for making the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of theation but because they continue to serve as representatives of the united they are a reflection of our nations best values. when you come to our ambc sites and cemeteries, it is not only honoring the history and service , it is something that is current and timely and part of today. it is a reflection of who we are as american people. it is a reflection of the very best of what it means to be an american. abmc is proud to continue this heritage and continue this work. host: the 80th anniversary of d-day in normandy is this year. any special events by the commission? guest: in about a week and a half on june 6 there will be a ceremony recognizing the 80th anniversary of the d-day landing.

we are looking forward to this. the president and the united states and the president of france will be with us for the ceremony. all 26 of our sites around the world are special and important, but on june 6, the 80th inverse rate, our normandy site will be -- on the 80th anniversary of d-day come our normandy site will be especially special. d-day in a lot of ways was the hinge of history. everything that has occurred since them and what you see in the modern world can be traced to d-day because of the bravery, because of the u.s. and our success on d-day, how the world has turned out since then leads back to that date of june 6, 1944, when american started the beginning of the end of fascism of america -- of imperial japan and nazi germany. host: if i may ask, how did you

get this job? guest: for me it is an honor to be appointed by the president. i have served for almost 25 years in the u.s. army reserves and infrequently served -- this is a humbly honor that combines my love of our nation and military service and interest in american history that i've been extraordinarily humbled and privileged -- honored to be able to hold this position. i serve it at the greatness of the american people. host: one more call. ron in michigan. caller: charles, is andersonville prison, the home of the pow mia museum, is also a cemetery. thousands of american union soldiers died there. it is one of the most want to get beautiful places in the united states if not the world. it is haunted for sure day and night.

guest: thank you for that question. my specific agency are responsible for maintaining the american cemeteries outside the united states. those sites located inside the united states largely from the american civil and american revolutionary war, the memorials are generally maintained by the national park service and cemeteries are maintained by the veterans administration. andersonville is maintained by the department of the interior national park service. they are our sister agency. my agency does not do anything specifically with andersonville. host: one last text. if you are asked how does your agency mitigate headstone erosion because he says often order headstones are unreadable. guest: are agency watches and monitors all of our headstones continuously.

we have at least one full-time american superintendent at each and every one of our sites and if he sees degradation in our headstone we replace that headstone and we have a regular replacement process to make sure all of our american service members who made the ultim sacrifice overseas are properly honored and recognized. i want to ensure every single american watching this is our humble charge we are very proud to do. host: you can find out more of the work of the commission at ambc.gov. charles djou is the secretary of the american battle monuments commission. thank you for your time. guest: we appreciate you and we appreciate c-span and please visit us in person if you can or at ambc.gov. happy memorial day. host: coming up will be turned

by the authors marty scovlund and joe kent will talk about their book on shannon can't who hunted high-value target in the most dangerous regions on earth. that conversation is coming up on "washington journal." >> alan taylor is the thomas jefferson memorial foundation professor of history at the university of virginia. he is one of five history writers who have won the bullet surprise twice. his 11 books -- who have won the pulitzer prize twice. his books focus on the creation of the united states. his latest book is called american civil wars, a continental history, 1850 to 1873. during these years, north america three largest countries all transformed themselves into nations.

professor taylor include stories of black soldiers fighting for the union, native american struggling to preserve their homeland in the united states and the west, women fortifying the homeland and newly arrived immigrants thrust into the maelstrom of the civil war. >> author and historian alan taylor on this episode obook notes plus. book notes plus is available on the c-span now free mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. >> tooted to c-span's live coverage of the 2024 national political convention starting with republican event in milwaukee on july 15. next, catch the democrats when they convene in chicago on august 19. stay connected to c-span for an uninterrupted and unfiltered glimpse of democracy at work. watch the republican and democratic national convention's

this summer on c-span, c-span now, and online at c-span.org. c-span, your unfiltered view of politics. powered by cable. >> c-span has been delivering unfiltered congressional coverage for 45 years. here is a highlight from a key moment. >> to my colleagues and friends and most especially my wife and family, i have hurt you all deeply and i beg your forgiveness. i was prepared to lead our narrow majority as speaker and i believe i had it in me to do a fine job. i cannot do that job or be the kind of leader i would like to be under the current circumstances. i must set the example that i hope president clinton will follow.

i will not stand for speaker of the house on january 6. rather i shall remain as a backbencher in this congress that i so dearly love for approximately six months into the 106th congress, where i shall vacate my seat and asked by governor to call a special election to take my place. >> c-span, powered by cable. >> c-spanshop.org is c-span's online store. browse our latest collection of c-span products, peril, books, home to core, and accessory. there is something for every c-span fan every purchase helps support our nonprofit operation. shop now or anytime at c-spanshop.org. >> today and unprecedented

armada landed on the shores of normandy. >> these are the boys. these are the men who took the cliffs. these are the champions who helped free a continent. these are the heroes who helped end a war. >> 2 million suns from 15 countries jumped into flak filled skies and a blood filled serve and met death on an even playing. >> the sons of democracy improvised and mounted their own attacks. at that exact moment, on these beaches, the forces of freedom turned the tide of the 20th century. >> the road to bj was hard and long and traveled -- the road to ve day was hard and long and

traveled by valiant men. history will always record for that day began, with the first footprint on the beaches of normandy. >> more than 150,000 souls set offer this tiny sliver of sand upon which hung more than the fate of the war, but rather the course of human history. >> today we remember those who fell and we honor all who fought right here in normandy. >> watching c-span's live all day special coverage of the 80th interest or have d-day thursday, june 6, featuring a speech by president biden in normandy, france. >> be up-to-date on the latest in publishing with book tv's

podcast "about books" with current nonfiction book releases plus bestseller lists as well as industry news and trends. find "about books" on c-span now or wherever you get your podcasts. >> "washington journal" continues. host: joining us is marty scovlund and joe kent. they are the co-authors of the book "send me" the true story of a mother at war. thank you for giving us your time today. guest: thanks for having us. host: mr. kent, i will start with you because this book centers around your wife shannon. what was the driving force of putting this book together? guest: the driving force was being able to tell who she was to tell her story.

she had a remarkable career in the military but also i wrote this book for our sons, they were one and three when she was killed. they did not get a chance to know their mother. i wanted them to have something they could consume on their own so they could get to know their mom beyond the stories i tell them and their aunts and uncles tell them. i wanted to write it so women like shannon who served in the global war of terror with guys like to and marty can have their stories told. it is easy to forget how many women were fighting on the front lines, taking the risk and losses with us. that is something shannon struggled with. she had done multiple combat deployments but did not have a specific title like so many of us guys did. i wanted to do her legacy a true honor and tell her story and by telling her story led other women, particular who served in the war on terror with us, tell their stories. host: both of you write that

shannon's role of an operator -- these are the first step in the fight, fix, finish, exploit, and disseminate target methodology american special operators used to dismantle enemy networks. can you elaborate on that as far as her job. guest: if you will look up shannon kent you will see she has a long sounding technical title, crypto linguist. she was initially trade to steal enemy communications in cyberspace, signal intelligence. she was also trained as a linguist. she spoke arabic fluently, multiple dialects of arabic. shannon, because she was never satisfied with doing what was expected of her, she branched out into human intelligence. dealing with people on the individual level to cultivate them as human sources so they

could help us hunt down terrorists. she became a one-stop shop doing signals intelligent and human intelligence but also speaking the language and understanding the culture and being a female she was able to talk to a section of the population that us men could not talk to because of the way the middle east. because of shannon's skills at hunting the enemy she became invaluable and was immediately put at the tip of this beer and special operations before women were technically allowed into combat. host: marty scovlund, how did you get involved in this conflict -- in this project? guest: it was shortly after shannon was killed in 2019. a mutual friend told what joe did, he wanted to tell shannon story. i came to her memorial at the naval academy in annapolis and was able to observe that and see

how special shannon was to so many different people at such a high level of special operations and intelligence. it was right from there that i told joe i would love to throw my hat in the ring and help with the but -- and help with the book if that is what you have in mind. a couple of months later we had started on the book. my ground and special operations and conflict support makes me a perfect person to help tackle this book with joe. host: mr. kent talked about it, but the idea of women and special operations not a common thing. what set shannon apart from the rest as far as your research and the way you develop the book? guest: in it shannon's case, a lot of time when you see women on the battlefield, they are flying helicopters or they are working in intelligence but typically on the base but maybe they were on one of the cultural support teams. shannon did not need to fit --

shannon did not neatly fit into any of those buckets. she came on before people were talking about putting women on the battlefields, especially the special operations capacity. her first deployment, she knew she was volunteering to go to iraq but she did not know she was volunteering to go trash to today be seals and green berets. she did that and seamlessly fit in and it was like she was off to the races. she graduated second in her class, male or female. then made it into other classified special operations units. she was a completely different category than anybody else making inroads as women entering the battlefield. i do not think that makes her more or less but she was different and operating at a very high level. guest: -- host: mr. kent, you talked a little bit about this.

being on the special operations side, how did she balance that with concerns of being a parent and being at home taking care of your boys, there are pictures, how to cheat balance those concerns -- how did she balance those concerns? guest: shannon did most of her experience before we had kids and as we started having kids she wanted to change so she could stay at home with the kids . she also wanted to support -- on her last deployment, her commander, very decorated and well respected navy seal committed suicide on that deployment. shannon, because she was good at having a lot of foresight, she saw the mental health crisis that gets frequently discussed nowadays, she sought way ahead of time. she got her badgers -- she got her bachelor's degree in psychology, her masters in psychology and was accepted to become a psychologist. even though she was academically

accepted, because she had survived cancer before there was a catch 22 to stacy was unfit -- to say she was unfit to be certified as an officer, but because she was in combat -- she was attempting to strike a balance and attempted to strike a balance because i was continuing to deploy. i had just retired from the military. i was going into a second career in the cia. shannon was doing her best to support me as a supportive and loving wife and be there for our kids and serve our brothers and sisters in uniform. host: our guests will be with us to talk about their book. call the lines. we are keeping the lines we started with. for active and former military call at (202) 748-8000. for those military families, (202) 748-8001. all others, (202) 748-8002.

you can also send us a text. (202) 748-8003. marty scovlund is the editor of a website task and purpose. guest: is a military news and culture publication. we have a couple of folks on the pentagon reporting as well as more people spread across the country. we are focused on telling stories and representing the junior officer ranks and trying to stay focused on the issues that impact them, the news that impacts them, or holding power accountable when things like unlivable barracks or upcoming deployments are affecting those folks. host: mr. kent, a long career in the military. you served as an army ranger and green beret. what other special operations

did you do? guest: i served in a couple of special operations unit. that is where cher denied met. -- that is where shannon and i met. host: mr. kent is running for a house eat this fall. not the purpose of our discussion but i wanted to let you know that. how did you and shannon meet? guest: we met in baghdad in 2007. she was giving a briefing on a terrorist we were hunting down. she had great information. i should have gotten her phone number or email then but i intended on coming back and seeing her the next day. by the time i made it back where she was she had moved on. i found out much later she had gotten down to a task force of navy seals to help them hunt terrorists closer to the battlefield. i did not meet up with her again for several more years when we were both selected to work at a pretty elite special operations unit that provide -- that

combined intelligence professionals like shannon with special operators like me. host: some of her qualities, you write in thethat after she was approved for assignment she would be deploying alongside navy seals for special operation task force operating alongside the legend at iraqi fce to capture high-quality targets. some would say she is lucky to get out of that assignment like this right out of her initial training. it was shannon who took the initiative to apply. she made her own luck. host: shannon headed -- guest: shannon had an unbelievable amount of energy and initiative. she sometimes found the 25th and 26th hour in every day. she was driven and wanted to serve at the tip of the spear. she joined the military because of the terrorist attacks on september 11, 2001, both her father and uncle were ground zero first responders.

shannon always felt like we were running behind, like there was so much we had to do and she wanted to contribute, she knew she could speak the languages and hunt down terrorists. shannon was incredibly driven to be at the tip of the spear. if people will be there in harm's way, shannon wanted to be there. guest: as far as that ability to command that present and gain those skills, for someone who will do well in the field what do they need? >> for shannon, one of her greatest abilities was empathy. she was able to put herself in the shoes of other cultures and start to understand everything about their way of life that helps when it came to giving up information or navigating the

complex semi pervasive environment she was asked to work in. not only was it learning languages. not only being a capable tactical servicemember who knew how to shoot. she had to have the language and empathy and a drive and willingness to learn and be somebody that wanted to spend that extra time. what we do not get into in the book is there was another side of her life on the signals intelligent side of her job. it does not get into the true impact that shannon had on national security for years. host: let's hear from sean in

seattle. he is calling on our line for military families. you're on with marty scovlund and joe kent. go ahead. guest: i am glad you got together through your mutual friend and was able to get this book done. thanks to both of you for what you have done for america. i am very aware of the rules and regulations around doing a book of this nature. i am curious how you both were able -- i know you cannot do as much as you like. i am very interested because i think, mr. can't come in -- i think mr. kent may have heard of me. my family has been heavily involved in the most ultrasensitive operations in the

history of the united states. i am curious how you got this done. my family is cold war, vietnam era and peacetime era background. with that, thank you so much and i will let some other people call in. host: thank you, caller. guest: both joe and i had no interest in writing a book that was some sort of special operations tell-all or intelligence expose. we wanted to get at the truth of shannon kent and focus on who she was and how she lived and how great of a person she was. neither of us were trying to sneak in any details, put shannon's former teammates that are still out doing this work in danger or jeopardize future operations. definitely in the writing of this book we tried to avoid all the things we both knew. we both have a background in

special operations. we avoided the landmines we thought were appropriate. on top of that we submitted the manuscript for prepublication review with the department of defense and the cia to make sure there was not anything we missed. that is why you will see there are a few reactions in the book they requested. host: mr. kent, do you want to add to that? guest: the point was to tell shannon story. there are anecdotes that might be exciting but marty and i had every intention of keeping her brothers and sisters still in the fight to safe and secure and putting the focus on telling shannon stories. host: several of the passages in the book deal with her interaction with men in the military and concerns about being a woman in that world. can you elaborate how she navigated that? guest: shannon let her work speak for itself. there were a lot of people who are skeptical of having women on the battlefield. that changed quickly once we got our boots on the ground.

2004 timeframe. i think a lot of us who are out there trying to navigate how complex iraq was, we realized a bunch of guys who look like me and marty are not going to be able to solve the problem. we needed people who understood the culture and the language and the other half of the population, women, we cannot speak to them. when women came on the battlefield and started working with special operations, it had nothing to do with we need to be more inclusive. it had to do with we need to get a more diverse section of people on our team so we can more effectively hunt down the terrorists. shannon understood that at a basic level and she would always say i'm not trying to be the person kicking in the door. what i can do is tell you exactly which door to kick in. under this language, under this culture, i can run human sources. shannon let the work speak for itself. anytime you caught any flak, you

would get one or does good guy skeptical of a woman on the team. shannon was in good physical condition so any physical test she got she got she earned her slot on the team. at the end of the game it -- at the end of the day it came down to the fact that she could help us hunt terrorists and that guys out the door killing bad guys. host: you write that she developed a legendary status, even a nickname. can you elaborate on that story? guest: her nickname in iraq throughout the iraqi cooperation there, they talk about a person called shama, which i think is just arabic for shannon. you hear jokes about shama around there. this was all just shannon. i think the legend started on

her first deployment when she was with green berets and navy seals and an assortment of iraqi special operations. we talked about during a lunch period she would sit with the iraq special operators and hold conversations with them where she is in the same conversation switching between different dialects of arabic as well as using the local slang and all of that, to a point where iraqi special operators thought she had an apparent -- a parent or someone in the family from the middle east. there is no way an american could speak like this, in their eyes. it is one of those things born out of her language ability. once she started doing the unique aspects of her job, i think that legend only group. -- that legend only grew. host: mr. kent, you want to add to that? guest: i actually heard from

shannon from a lot of my counterparts. i worked with the same iraqis over and over and after a while, i had some of these iraqis tell me there was an american woman who spoke arabic like the native and i should meet her. i attempted to speak arabic and immerse myself in the culture. i was most certainly not as good as my late wife. i remember these iraqis telling me this girl speaks iraqi arabic like it is her native tongue. like marty said, i thought they were describing an amalgamation of several different women they had worked with. fast forward several years later when shannon and i started dating, she told me her iraqi nickname and i was like this is insane, i have heard of you from iraqis. she was legendary across-the-board. host: you write "as joe rounded the corner he heard a woman

discussing the location of the leader of a terrorist cell he was trying to run down. his eyes honed in on the woman the voice belonged to, she was a young redhead wearing a faded new york yankees baseball hat with piercing blue eyes. almost instantly nothing else mattered. " mr. kent, take it from there. guest: we were in a serious location when all of the different intelligence agencies were working together to hunt down terrorists, while i was mesmerized with sharon by her looks and she was brilliant the way she was helping us hunt down terrorists. i had to do the best to thread the needle's of finding creative ways to drag out the conversation. unfortunately war moves fast so that was about a 20 minute interaction. unfortunately i did not get her email or phone number. i intended to come back the next day to talk to her more, but that is not the way fate had it. the book we are talking about is

by marty scovlund and joe kent. it is called "send me: the true story of a mother at war." this is joe in north carolina up next. good morning. caller: i was stationed with seal team three and special operations group southeastern region, pakistan border. i was surprised meeting various women soldiers that were doing stuff, the new stuff, social work and interaction. i remember when the seal team commander killed himself before christmas. it was pretty tough on everybody out there. different missions. that was my fifth combat deployment.

very good you brought light to this story. the story of this young lady. i appreciatethank you. host: joe there in north carolina. if you wanted to follow up on that. >> that had a big impact on the task force. i think they saw then that a lot of people, our world viewed asking for help as weakness and they fought these demons and battles and unfortunately a lot of people did not make it out on the other end of that. through his death that got shannon interested in how to resolve this mental health crisis. the first person ever heard talk about it was shannon and then several years later everyone's talking about it as it became a real epidemic within our community but it's something

that i think still haunts us to this day. they would encourage any veteran out there to reach out, don't fight alone. don't fight alone, those who lay down their lives for us would not want us to fight these demons alone. they would want us to live our lives to the fullest extent possible in their honor. host: how does one when they're in special operations deal with multiple rounds of deployment and enduring that? >> i think for most people go through the process new actually get into their special operations unit, it's a long tough road for most people. and you put a lot of work into that and i think certainly for the war on terror generation to fight that war the highest level that they could. i think for a lot of us who

joined met was every bit the intent was to go overseas as much as we possibly could the war went on so long people did get tired some had better endurance than others. but i think that that intention but most guys and gals had getting into that during the war on terror. in shannon's case there was certainly a part of the calculus. she volunteered for that she did not have to go onto that first one but she found a way to get over there and made the choice after that again to go volunteer for the direct support course knowing that would put her right there shoulder to shoulder with navy seals who were deploying very often as well. i think it was a conscious choice on her part. everybody who served during that time new what they were signing up for for the most part and

wanted to be the solution to the terrorism that was happening and be part of the answer, our countries answered answer to 9/11. host: talk at your wife's way of dealing with these multiple deployments. >> she knew she could contribute to the battlefield and she really wanted to be there. most of us in special operations especially guys and girls who did multiple combat appointments we were volunteers. the politics and every thing else aside we viewed it as our generations war and if someone is in going to harm's way we wanted to be us and that was shannon's mentality. that change when we started having children but that duty was still there. she winter for thin final combat deployment fully knowing she might not make it back. she could have gotten out of that deployment. you can get out of deployments

after you've been on enough but shannon said why my better than anyone else. why should i stay at home and let someone else go especially shannon also realized the experiences she had in the way that she spoke the language and understood radical islam, isis, of iranian threat. she was uniquely postured to contribute a lot to the fight and why would she sit back at home. something i said to her and this was part of our final conversations. i did not want her to deploy. she said i feel that at my got level but at the end of the day i've been on deployments with mothers and fathers, i've seen fathers not make it home to their kid, why am i special. i disagree because she was special to me and my family but i could not argue with her logic. this is our generations fight, none of us felt like we did enough. host: let's hear from tom in

louisiana. caller: can you hear me? host: you are on, go ahead. caller: god bless to joe kent. i had two questions. i wanted to ask did shannon get her initial training at cori field in pensacola? >> i don't believe so. she went to signals intelligence course in fort gordon. i'm not sure if she was out there in pensacola. caller: let me ask one other thing, when she was killed, was she targeted or was that just a wrong place wrong time? >> i think a combination of both. they were killed in syria in the city center so i believe isis was specifically targeting

special operators in that area but they were killed a fairly well-known location so i think isis just had suicide bomber's deployed in that area knowing they might get a good shot at getting lucky. but she was definitely sought out and targeted by isis because they were going after that special operations task force. i don't think shannon individually was targeted. host: jimmy is next in indiana. caller: i want to thank these guys for their service and i'm not against anyone in the military. i made two dollars a day when i was 17. just like the vietnam was a wrong war, the iraq war was the wrong war.

the israelis kept telling us iraq had weapons of mass destruction which they didn't. we killed so many iraqis, so many americans and in the vietnam war we lost 59,000, average age 19. it's crazy. in washington dc the congressmen and senators answer to, we send billions of dollars to israel. they've never fought in any war for us. host: we will leave it there because you put it out a lot for our guests. as far as concerns about what they were doing and maybe questions of what they were doing how do you compartmentalize that in the world of special operations? >> at the end of the day at the spence show operations level you are very focused. i won't speak for joe but i think both of them were involved

enough in the war on terror and the multiple deployments that by the time shannon was going on her final deployment they all had serious questions about what exactly are we trying to get out of this at this point. certainly it wasn't lost on anybody and i think by the time we talk about withdrawal, i think most veterans probably have questions about was it all worth it or what exactly were we trying to do to put these wars in iraq and afghanistan. and i think we got just as far as the veteran community is concerned we have to remember the end of the day we went out and did what we were supposed to do as servicemembers in the united states military and ultimately the why behind a lot of things is up to the politicians.

we just have our individual jobs . shannon was doing her duty and you can get too wrapped up in the moment with those larger questions after you've taken off the uniform. host: did your wife ever expressed concerns or skepticism about what was going on and her secretive compartmentalizing all that? >> the politics and the individual duty of service i'd like to say even other took place in the same geographic location they are in a different universe. you go when you fight and you deploy because you love your country and then after a while you fight and deploy because you love the men and women on your left and right and you know they're going to go no matter what. they are going to go out there and take losses, they will be exposed to danger. while would you not going to help defend your brothers and sisters. that becomes the reason why we push forward.

both of us working more on the intelligence and operation side we really wanted to work our way up the ranks and eventually the folks provide ground troops to policymakers so we don't get more debacles like the iraq war. i them mid to thousands we all knew we had been lied to their policymakers regarding the iraq war. so we were just trying to stop the bleeding from our policymakers and come to a place where we could withdraw successfully. the next thing you know we have isis which essentially we created through a series of errors and some horrible calculations with in syria and then we had to go take care of it. shannon and three others were killed a month after we took away all the ground that isis controlled and trump gave the order to withdraw. so they should have been out

there had the bureaucrats follow the order of the commander-in-chief. a lot of what that caller was discussing is the reason i'm running for congress right now. host: aaron in alabama, military family member. caller: good morning. i wanted to call in. i am a military brat, my dad had 24 years in the air force. he flew b-52s in vietnam and one thing i wanted to comment on was the way those soldiers were treated when they came back, they were not treated very well. by protesters, just the public in general. so i'm glad to see that mindset has changed because it's not the soldier's fault, they're doing with the country ask them to. thank god we have people who will do that for our country. i want to say thank you so much for your service and your wife's service.

i did follow when you are running for congress last time, i was pulling for you. how can we help you -- host: i'm good have you stop there because running for office is not the primary reason we brought him on. we understand it is happening but if you want to address your other question go ahead. >> i couldn't agree more. the scars from the vietnam war and the way those veterans are treated i think that something we are still dealing with today. i do think there's a broader discussion to have around the all volunteer force. i do think we need to discuss and analyze how having a small group of volunteers who did repeated combat deployments made

it easy for washington, d.c. to send us off to nonproductive wars and asking the american people to wars. if we did that those wars would not go on as long. because they couldn't be sustained. >> for our guest if you want to ask him questions. for those of you are active military, 202-748-8001. for all others, 202-748-8002. send me has a particular significance, but what is the significance of those words? >> it is taken and really i think there is no single statement the captured as well

as that. she repeatedly said send me from the time she joined the navy to her final mission and everything in between. she was that person that was going forward. the fight for mental health, parents that -- the parents go through every single day i just can't think of a better phrase to use to describe a person. host: i will allow you to elaborate on that, mr. kent. >> it really sums up who shannon was, not just shannon but the entire generation. if you talk you find very few who did just one tour. most them at multiple combat deployments and shannon was right there at the tip of the spear. she knew if anyone was going to harm's way and she could benefit

that mission she wanted to be right there with them. it wasn't enough just to be in the navy, she was a volunteer to be at the tip of the spear and said send me every time the nation had a problem. host: you also wrote in the book about the ranks you individually held. can you elaborate on that. >> the military is still driven by hierarchy and officers and delisted people not supposed to dating each other. i started out as an enlisted guy and became a warrant officer. they're supposed to have technical expertise. we are in between commissioned officers and ncos. shannon at the time was enlisted , we were both -- we check and we weren't in each other's chain of command. so we were definitely peers for all intents and purposes. though technically we were not supposed to be dating. we skirted around a lot of the

terminology because technically in the navy people called chief petty officer's chief for short. i was a chief orange officer and in the army you call them chief or shortbread work and a look back -- past the initial titles people use at work every day. according to the regulations once you're married all sins are kinda forgiven. if two individual's are married regardless of whether their officers or ncos. they're just not ok with the courting which doesn't make sense, but what you can do. host: karen in illinois, hello. caller: i just wanted to say i love the stories and, reading about her online and i look forward to getting the book. i served in the army and went to

monterey institute for spanish. i realize how difficult arabic is, it is not easy at all. and what a brilliant woman, i really appreciate you doing this because it kind of -- especially for all the women who are in the military it just is really heartwarming and inspiring. i love it. thank you so much. host: we've talked a little bit about this but this idea being an example for other women in the military and the input she had there. do you want to start? >> i really do hope that this book is something that women in the military and all branches and specialties as well as everybody in the intelligence field can point of this book and say this book is our story as well. this is that book that maybe they can hand to loved ones to

better explain what they went through or at least start that conversation. i'm a little bit sensitive to it myself. my youngest sister joined the army as a medic and was one of the final -- among the final soldiers to deploy to afghanistan. i love the idea that there is somebody like shannon even in death who can inspire people like my sister serving in uniform bring and it's really a way for her, i don't want to be too dramatic a way to continue to serve just threw her story now. >> she would not be comfortable with me giving this much publicity unless it could benefit others. she ended up saying you can walk

into the room of our peers and instantly people understand she said i don't have a title like that. most people don't know what it is but no matter how many deployments i do i'm always at this place where i have to start over again. that's one of the burdens of being a trailblazer. telling shannon story i think we will get a lot of women who have been there doing the hard work the credit they finally deserved. one of the ways she would be ok giving this much publicity is if we are also helping to tell the stories of a lot of her sisters there were out there on the front lines whether being trailblazers but really just contributing to the fight at a high level. i hope this story -- i appreciate last caller saying that. >> how intense was the training she received, what is the

process? >> there's a lot of mystique out there about what navy seals and army rangers do. the institute is very impressive. they take people who may be of never heard a word of foreign-language before ending one year to 18 months they make them experts in those language skills. academically it's growing. so shannon had one of the hardest languages you could learn and she did not know arabic going into monterey. so very intensive course by the time they come out of there they can translate, they can read the native language and then from there because arabic is so complex, so she had to learn the dialect. i would say some of the most

elite training she did was probably her language training. a lot of that she sought out on her own. it's challenging for her to get into warfare. she earned a slot at the selection but performing in combat but then she had to go through the physical rigors in this course is ran by navy seals so that these navy seals felt comfortable with briefing these intelligence operators out on the battlefield with them. she had to do a lot of what they do. a lot of the obstacle courses she caps off a high level of fitness that wasn't uncommon, laying down to make sure she could still drag me as a 200 plus pound guy. to make sure that she was not a liability on the battlefield and make sure she could actually recover some of her fallen teammates. host: you write also in the book like you talked about interacting with other people

but you also fitted in things like soap operas in the language to help her learn the dialect and the accent. >> that's one of the unique things is it wasn't just a 9-to-5 effort with the language, she would come home and the movies she watched for arabic language or had arabic subtitles. the music she listened to if you look at the playlists she had. there's so many unique things -- unique ways that she engrossed yourself in the arabic culture, i think it's one of the special aspects of shannon and when you look at how much at -- effort she put into it, it's unsurprising she was a successful as she was. host: james joins us from atlanta. >> i haven't gotten to enough of the show.

would you want people to call in with something. i appreciate that. i'm a vietnam veteran and i was in the war in vietnam on memorial day and lost a number of friends along the way. we fought to preserve freedom and freedom of the press is very important. for people on c-span to get to the talks that matter. i love c-span. for some men to dropdead -- that's not in a cottage. host: thanks for calling. marge in ohio, good morning. caller: good morning. i'm going to be 81 on june 5. so obviously normandy was

important in our family. my dad was in the new york national guard and really wanted to fly because he used to go to the airfield in brooklyn as a kid and he grew up in the 20's. the seventh regiment new york national guard was going into the army. so he tried to get into the navy , but the upper age limit was 28 and he was turning 28 so they wouldn't let him in. so he enlisted in the marine corps. he went to quantico -- he was a di for a while because he -- of his age and he could deal with young men. that's not what he wanted to do,

he graduated from a really good high school in brooklyn so they tried to have him straighten the books at the px out. he didn't want to do that. he said what i want to do is go into battle and bring young men home. so he went to pendleton. my mother put me in the car with ration, gas and tires. driving from new york to california to be with him because they knew he was going to be shipping out probably to the pacific. host: do you have a specific question for our guests in light of that? caller: when they say the greatest generation, it was the greatest generation and fortune enough to survive iwo jima. at least we got to have him back. host: thank you caller for sharing that. a stand outdate in your book? that's how you found out about

your wife, could you elaborate? >> i had an atypical knock on the door experience. i was in another pseudo-war zone in the middle east. i had also been out that day. i got back to our small base was and a friend of mine who is our boss there, i thought maybe i messed something up. he said we are to tell you what we know. i want to share with you what we know so you are informed. there was a suicide attack in syria. there's four americans dead, two of them are women. they asked you know where shannon is. i knew she was gushing on we had about one hour. we were attempting to get confirmation i was trying to get a hold of her but about an hour later we got confirmation that find she was killed, i knew what

was happening back in the state sprayed that there be a team that sent out to inform them and i knew command was probably looking to notify me. i called their command back at home and don't bother going to my house. i made the decision i did not want a stranger to tell shannon's parents she had been killed. so i made the decision to give her mom a call and it was the worst phone call i ever made of my life to have to deliver the news that her daughter was killed. host: texting us saying thank you for your service to our country, how old are your boys now and how are they doing? >> they are six and eight. they are doing really well. i'm very blessed to have a loving family. i moved my kids to the west coast to get my kids closer to

my parents, brothers and sisters. i was blessed a second time by having my wife now come into our lives about a year after we lost shannon and she really stepped up and became the mother figure. all things considered my boys are doing really well and i hope they read this book in the future to get to know their mother better. >> i think this is a really special day to talk about this topic. it is memorial day and if people are looking for a face, a name, somebody to rally around to explain to their young kids or their family members why this day is important. she is as worthy as any. she is an inspiration to me.

i have two young girls myself. they have the book on the bookshelf but will have to wait another couple years to start reading it. this will be the sort of motivation or inspiration i want them to draw from. i encourage everybody to check out the book but also if anything to learn why she was important and what she did on our behalf. more than anything today, go out and have a good memorial day, live a life with purpose that is something that a lot of people who we remember on this day were not able to do after their ultimate sacrifice. >> the true story of a mother at war. to both of you gentlemen, thank you for your time today. at 11:00 today, ceremonies of

the tomb of the unknown soldier will be marked by president biden and others, you can see that on our main channel c-span. and our website at c-span.org. that's it for our program today, another edition of washington journal comes your way tomorrow at 7:00 a.m.. see you then. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2024] >> this morning, president biden observes memorial day at arlington nationals or money without wreath-laying ceremony and remarked live starting at 11:00 a.m. eastern on c-span,

c-span now and online at c-span.org. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we are funded by these television companies and more including comcast. >> oh, you think this is just a community center? no, it's way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with 1,000 community centers to create wi-fi enabled lift zones so students from low income families can get the tools they need to get them ready for anything. announcer: comca supports c-span as a public service, along th these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy. ♪ >> today an unprecedented armada landed on the shores of normandy. >> these are the boys went to war.

these are the men who took the cliffs. these are the champions who helped free a continent, these are the heroes who helped end a war. >> 2 million suns from 15 countries jumped into flak filled skies and a bloodsoaked serve and met death on even plain. >> the sons of democracy improvised and mounted their own attacks at that exact moment on these beaches, the forces of freedom turned the tide of the 20th century. >> the road to v-e day was hard and long and traveled by weary and valiant men. history will always record where the road began, it began here with the first footprints on the

beaches of normandy. >> the more than 150,000 souls set off toward this tiny sliver of sand upon which more than the state of a war. rather the course of human history. >> today we remember those who fell and we honor all who fought right here in normandy. >> watch c-span's live all day special coverage at the 80th anniversary of d-day thursday, june 6 featuring a speech by president biden from normandy, france. ♪ >> congressional leaders joint military and government officials for a ceremony at the u.n. capital to honor the late colonel ralph puckett junior. a korean war veteran who died april 8 at the age of 97. colonel puckett was the last

surviving veteran of the war to receive the medal of honor for his actions during combat. he -- and earn content -- containing his remains was place in the capital rotunda in respect for his service making him only the eighth private citizen in u.s. history to have been granted the honor. [background sounds] [background sounds]

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[background sounds] [background sounds] >> would you pray with me? eternal god, we pause in this moment from all attempt to distract our minds toward our

sense of purpose to give you and the proper tribute to one whose life the service and acts of selfless sacrifice inspire us to appreciate what matters. in calling for a young man from georgia to take his place in history, you once again revealed to us that the uncommon valor of colonel ralph puckett, jr. was a common virtue shared by so many in that greatest of generations. as we honor then first lieutenant pockets axa gallantry and, that distinguish them on hill 205, may we also take note of the humble leadership and devotion to duty he displayed throughout his lifetime. in this ceremony where we lay to rest a man who would not rest from living every day with presence and purpose, who made a lifetime of sharing an equal dedication to this