sense of purpose to give you and whose life the service and acts ofs to appreciate what man from georgia to take h 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 antry and, that distinguish them onhie 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 r from living every day with presence a purpose, who made a lifetime of sharing an equal dedication to this country,

inspiring countless people with this doubtless will, quicken within us not just admiration but aspiration. not just gratitude but grid to live our part in upholding colonel puckett's lac this, mayo salute this heroes service and give enduring honor for his sacrifice. in the strength name we pray, amen. >> be seated, everyone. dear god, don't let me get a

bunch of good g killed. that's how the man we honor today, a well-trained professional soldier greeted the task before him as he a the command of the eighth army ranger i i can ranger company with humility, with c■s about the horrors of war. that e popular assessment of the conflict on the korean optimist. general macarthur himself s home for christmas. american but for first lieutenant ralph puckett and the 50 rangers under his path home turned out be much less

i headed them was a crucible of staggering odds along the front line near the chinese border. u.s. forces in routes sector■! . but o the■8 205 where his small company would take a stand more than a mile from the nearest reinforcements, they were outnumbered ten to one. it's difficult to imagine a starker embodiment of the motto rangers lead the way.w perhaps on november 25, 1950, ralph puckett repeated the simple prayer he offered when he took command. don't let me g a bunch of good

guys killed.■g perhaps he asked for the strength, the courage and the resolve to discharge his duty and lead his menith honor. with the benefit of here today t was granted. wore our nation's highest military decoration. and in the hearts of generations of soldiers to come, the courage and self-sacrifice that earned that honor will be this great man's etern legacy. a man who volunteered for command who repeatedly would risk his own life to defend his position, rally his man and ordered them to safety without coup, and words of the prophet

isaiah said, here am i, me. today, joins ralph's wife jeannie, theirgh martha, their in an extraordi am to welcome colonel ralph puckett, jr. to the capital. >> and we want to welcome all of our visitors for this important and solemn occasion. it is a gre to be a part of it. as speaker faust it is my privilege to show the house profound gratitude for colonel puckett, and all of our korean war veterans. colonel puckett's model was simple.

you said it this way. this is his quote. be there. when the going gets tough, when there's cold weather, rainy weather, somebody shooting at you hot,a y are going without food, whatever it is, be there. cold in november 1950, colonel puckett was there for his man country. antedate america gets to show our thanks, the lastving medal of honor recipient from the korean war. and we all get a chance to be ts family, honor his life and sacrifice in these hallowed halls of american democracy. colonel puckett was a u.s. army ranger and a veteran of the korean war and the vietnam wars. for his contributions his 22 years of service in the army rangers, heerstars, two bronze stars, five purple hearts, and the two heist the works of

military, the distinguished service cross, and the congressional medal of honor. and just a couple much my oldest son will head off to the naval academy, and while colonel puckett went to that other school that we will mention, it's my hope that my son j servicemembers and war fighters learn from colonel puckett's example, and aspire the same great virtues of, honor, and c. many soldiers of the korean war sacrifice.paid the ultimate 7000 others remain unaccounted r.but select few like the colonel went above and beyon du. we are joined today by several like colonel puckett, eight other medal of honor recipients, and in their presence at in memory of the colonel puckett we ask ourselves, how did these men

come to be so great? hoes are f, the two great adversity. theyaryen. most of them did x because are driven by profound sense of duty, self-sacrifice and faith that the c was just, that our values and our wthefending. and that god would honor the value of their personal commitments here these soldiers of the korean war did the right thing even at great cost to themselves. and there is his example weould. so today we join jeannie and martha and thomas an entire puckett, to pay tribute to colonel puckett and allhe great men who have gone before us. we pray that the -- those who showed the greatest form of love, those who laid down t fri.

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ to dream the impossible dream ♪ t unbeatable foe ♪ ♪ to bear with u ♪ to run where bra dare not go ♪ ♪ to write the unavoidable wrong ♪ to love pure a fm afar ♪ ♪ to try when your arms are too ar ♪ to reach the unreachable star

♪ this is my quest to follow that star ♪ ♪ no matter howtter how far ♪♪■t question or pause ♪ to march ino hell for a heavenly cause ♪ ♪ and i know if i'll only be to♪ ♪ my heart will lie peaceful and calm ♪ when rest a ♪ ♪ and the world will be better

for this ♪ ♪ that one man, scorned and covered with scars ♪ ♪ still strove with his last ounce of ♪ to reach the unreachable star ♪

■

[background sounds] [background sounds] [background sounds]

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪■á ♪ tarry there ♪ we share as we

♪ none other has ever known ♪ ♪ i come to the garden with ♪ ♪

♪ ♪♪ ♪ ♪ and the joy we share a we tarry there ♪ ♪ ever known ♪ ♪

>> if you would, please pray with me. holy lord, as we depart this sacred af honor, having commemorated on life well lived and faithfully discharged, may we be inspired by colonel ralph puckett, jr. is extrrd courageous example of character driven leadership, that we would take a firm hold of the baton youno passed from him to us. would that we with the same presence of=a■0ur compatriots. would that we likewise step up

and take charge in suc a way that inspires unfailing desire and perseverance to resist the usils that threaten to overtake would that we like this humble american fear no one, fear no situation, fear no adversary, knowing that you have called a speech to in our time with the same selflessness? now,ntel ralph puckett rest from ld in your faithful s, grant in the reward of your own well done. in your merciful name■$ pray, amen.

[silence] [background sounds] [background sounds]

[background sounds]■-" sounds]

[background sounds]

[background sounds] [background sounds] [background sounds]■■■dwg■

>> president biden observes more morrille starting 11:00 and online at c-span.org. >> many members of congress are

posting their thoughts on this memorial day. and representative brian mast post of -- ♪ >> todn unprecedented armada landed on the shores of normandy. >>re the boys who went over.

■e are the men who took the champions who helped free a continent. these are the heroes who helped end a war. >> 2 million suns from 15countrk filled skies and a bloodsoaked serve -- surf and met death on even plain. the sons of democracy improvised and mnt attacks at that exact moment on these beaches, the forces of freedom he 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 that road began, it began here heirst footprints on the beaches of normandy. >> more than 150,000 souls set

off toward 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 f right here in normandy. >> watched c-span's live all day special covof t 80th anniversary of d-day thursday, june 6 featuring a speech president biden from normandy, france. ♪ 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 revolut0 plus, war of 1812, 2200.

498,000 during the civil war. war i 116,000, world war ii 1worlwar ii 405,000, korean w0 etm war 90,000, highlighting the most recent conflicts. persian gulf war, 1500, global war on terror this was terror, 68,000 plus people. war on terrorthis was 2019. the purpose of this program is to hear fromg your thoughts on this memorial day. if you wan 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 i who reserved and perished and yested bomb to visit buried where they honor my grandma' a bronzeyestyesterday i took-yd bomb to visit the cemetery where my great grandparents are buried where onory grandma's brother with a bronze plaque, saying this is farm country in the heartland where u see the women working. then luis lopez adding thoughts on facebook. remember all of those killed and wounded in wars. we nd to take care of them. you can share those sentithe ph.

text us at (202) 748-8003 sto r) 748-8003. . what does memorial day mean to you? caller: im retired military. before i■+ begin i would like yu to thank me for my service. 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 peheart i received effort om fell on my foot. despite all of that the v.a. has been giving me arode. the agency has refused to cover le 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 -- child. host: we will go to■0[p■

if you want to share your thoughts, let's hear from rick in iowa, retired military. caller: good morning. i've got some pictures years ago, bestervisor i ever had took me to the luxembourg cemetery. on memorial i will tell you, the over 5000 soldiers buried theree as well.

just general patton is buried there as well. it struck me that it was beautiful. the crosses in marble and it was terrible at the same time, you know? i nt him over to see where the germans were burthey r from them. ■[it's -- i'm looking at the picture of that as well. they didn't have a lot money at the end of the war so from what i can see here, they buried two soldiers to a cross. on this day, i try set the remember their sacrifice.

when they had to do their job, they all did it. like i say, there wasn't anything political involved in that. i just remember standing there feeling a lot of anger, sadness. toy, i set out flags and whatnot, that'st to remember is just the honor in which they servedrs and what thy must've been going through that last day. id be laid to be -- that they could be laid to rest in aknow ? host:on facebook this morning -- ricky is up