hegseth. >> afternoon. welcome to the heritage heritage foundation in our little auditorium. we of course welcome those joining us on c-span in the future on booktv. we have everyone in-house have everyone in how severe would be so kind to check their cell phones have been turned off as we prepare to begin and of course our program will be posted on the heritage home page following the presentation for your future reference as well and our internet viewers are always welcome to send questions or comments, simply e-mailing speaker@heritage.org. hosting a discussion on behalf

of heritage is the amendment salmon. for defense budgeting. she is in our sarah allison center for national security he. she's familiar with u.s. defense platforms, government contract name and brings her expertise to defense hardware investment. before joining heritage commission worked at the washington d.c. headquarters of an asset group. she later became their manager of an analytics global defense spending data subscription business. from 27,292,009, ms. salmon served in the allison center. heritage both as -- and heritage of national security issues. she earned her bachelor's degree in political science at the university of california irvine and a masters in international relations from the school of advanced international studies at johns hopkins. please join me in welcoming

them. [applause] >> good afternoon in thank you also much for joining the heritage foundation and the veteran of america today for what we hope will be a great conversation with mark greenblatt about his most recent book, "valor: unsung heroes from iraq, afghanistan, and the home front". if you haven't had a chance to read the book, i would highly recommend it. it is a good short read and really highlight individual stories that truly inspiring stories from soldiers and the telling of the quality of our troops. interviewing mr. greenblatt today is a three, concerned veterans of america. party joining concerned veterans coming of veterans coming as the executive director for freedom for his excessively greedy organizations over 95,000 members. he has been played three times. his last tour was in afghanistan

that the instructor at the center in kabul. he holds two bronze stars and a combat infantry for iraq and afghanistan. a regular contributor to fox news channel and a senior fellow at the american experiment and number for the council on foreign relations. he has graduated from princeton university and holds a masters of the kennedy school of government. please join me in welcoming staff to pete hegseth. [laughter] >> well, thank you very much. first and want to thank heritage for its offer partnering with us. this is truly a heritage of freedom for why heritage does to highlight efforts of veterans, but also pokes like mark who was done incredible work to try to highlight the stories of the generation and i think this institution more than most in

this town has sought to ensure that these stories continue to be told and that we highlight folks doing great work like what mark is doing. i am honored to be here. i appreciate this. i think the viewers will enjoy it and i can tell you having had the opportunity to engage with "valor," you want to pick it up. if you haven't already. but it is a phenomenal read. i know members of our staff have engaged as well and it provides an accessible and we're going to get into this discussion, but an accessible account of stories of what men did on the battlefield. as someone deployed using gauge of these types -- not in love with these stories, the situations come it is accessible to a reader who hasn't been the military, but it has been there once, the subtlety in the death of someone who has been a support multiple times engages with the material and not to

make it such a powerful piece of literature and something that had a lot of success. let me introduce mark briefly. want to adjust its come to be or q&a. specializes in criminal and ethics investigations. he's involved in several communities, service activities including the vice president of an education fund, the marion greenblatt greenblatt foundation to honor excellence in education. he received his grief from duke university and law degree from columbia. he was also a senior manager in government fella at harvard university. he's the black out in tae kwon do, and was the drummer, which he claims to be as popular as the beatles. he lives with his wife and two sons in bethesda, maryland.

[applause] >> so mark can be wrote this who has a served as a veteran, but what made you undertake this endeavor and how long did it take and what is the process been like quite >> in 2007 in 2082 were spent was for the honor military veterans and folks serving in the military. they would tell their stories and bring them up on stage in front of this huge audience of people and there was not a dry in the house of the company stories. this one movable stories. i would go year after year and i kept saying how come no one knows this guy? they are going to go back and they'll be back in grocery if they're lucky enough to find a job. whereas in years past, in generations past, they would take parades in their honor. the hometown heroes is so year after year is that how come no

one knows these folks? finally i said why don't i write about them? and then i just started hearing stories coming after people. i do investigation for a living and so this is something where during my day job i look at misconduct and this was a nice juxtaposition worth looking for positive conduct. i was looking for original stories what went right. and that was what drove me and it took a long time. it took five years. >> how did you find them? did you read a news report and say what you get in touch with this guy? how did you find such an exceptional story quite >> a variety of different ways. veterans organizations for help will. veterans affairs helped me find stories, but other than that it was also just had to tori down, calling contacts saved you know anyone that might be in this world or that world is moving

toward getting closer and closer. want to the about that in washington is to get six degrees of separation to pretty much anybody. especially in the military. they are looking for stories. eventually i found a good roster of stories and when i had an appreciable number i thought this was good. we are ready. >> we are going to get into a couple stories eventually because they duplicate a sense of what the engage in the material. you mentioned in the past and in the book you talk about sergeant mark from world war i. names that we know and understand from history that works every two conflicts. he didn't name the names, but i will. except when folks think iraq and afghanistan today, you engage with jessica lynch or beaufort doll. those are the names that people know from this conflict.

i understand why you wrote it, why such little attention on her works. >> i think a lot of it arises from the wartime. i think pairwise a culture of not romanticizing what men and women were doing on the scene is truly in the media. i think that was frowned upon. that was what i wrote at those types of stories and a big fashion and that i think had a detrimental impact because there is no counterweight to the negative stories that would come out. and that's really what was driving me was here was a lack of balance between some of the negative stories. say the abu ghraib incident in the positive stories going on. i was so out of dollars of that

was what i was trying to ask, to cure that point on the other side of the scale. >> is a very important point here for the war is be filed in political terms, it becomes difficult to highlight. as you said, may be glorified in the eyes of some. but as you outline some of the book, these wars separated themselves. they're doing a job. he unintentionally talked about this briefly. the words of the men in this book distinguished service cross, several silver stars, multiple bronze star medals, all the credible boards. but no medal of honor. i think one of the things that's very intentional and excellent about this book is these are not guys they received the highest award a nation can bestow you when you read what they've done, you kind of wonder what then does it take to receive the

medal of honor at these guys are getting it. that was one of the first things i responded to when you tell the stories and to get into the metal itself. if you look at a way to elevate it, that is certainly one way. you've got only 16 of this generation and only for iraq all postern is. why so few medals of honor and you think that also has to do with the political exploits the mac i certainly think it does. the pentagon is talking about earlier has certain technical requirements and some of those are difficult and complex we are right now in terms of whether they are i.e. decent men and women doing incredible things that may not quite qualify the technical requirements because you need to have a fire from combatants in that sort of thing. i also think there was concern about cheerleading, looking like they were glorifying in order to drive support for the war.

bestowing the medal of honor. so we have a huge gaffe in years past and the current generation. at something like one out of 30,000 troops receive the medal of honor. that was one out of 30,000. the men and women are still doing pretty incredible to. it's just unimaginable to think that they are not doing the same great things at the same rate of previous generations. >> it is not up at all. i've got certain friends for a long time. silver star, should be a medal of honor. and it does resonate because when a medal of honor is held around the neck of some of his generation, most recently, kyl carpenter, a marine.

i don't wear that. he did something so incredible that he deserves it. but i wear that with him wear that within same maciver presents my generation. i'm proud of what he did. i do think when you pull that back him you are sending the signal to troops of the generation that what they did wasn't quite worth it. >> either way, let's not forget the medal of honor is no longer sacrosanct. there's a major effort to undermine his story and is very controversial these days. we've even gotten to the point where even that is not sacrosanct and it's a real tragedy. >> yeah, this really hits home. i've got a painting appalls and it may mean the turn of his humvee actually of his changing table of my son's bedroom. a little odd, right click but i want my son to know who he was. not care who brittany spears is.

that's what the really powerful example of this book is. it is unsung heroes of iraq, afghanistan and the home front, which is clearly intentional. you talk about the deeper side. tell me more about what was revealing to you about the deeper site, not just a combat site. >> i wanted to know what these guys are doing, but i found to be amazing. as i started interviewing them in getting to know them, talking with their families, i said there is more than just contact. it's more than a linear plot line. that is exciting. but when you marry that up with the other half of the guy that i know, it became incredibly -- that is something i had to incorporate modular and example of one of the guys is a marine named james hassell. james was an 18-year-old kid was listed in the brains of thought it was his calling and his

mother. they wanted to defend the country. in jeans and a seated woman he describes the book finally says to her commie promises there is going to come back from iraq in one piece. that promise was really driving her. as james, fast-forward a year or so, in iraq in this awful, awful firefight, a buddy of his injured badly. they have to attack the media now and are waiting medevac. it's about 100 yards down an alley in this house they are written. the problem is there's been urging fire going directly into that alley. there is no way james and his buddy can his buddy can get lion, the injury coyote without going through the fire.

what does james duke? puts up his hands and says throw him on my back. james is the biggest guy unit at the time and he knew. he said i'm the guy. i can't leave right in here to guy. he said i might die on the way out, but i know brian will die if i leave him here. so while the guys provided on his back. just as he's ready to leave, enter into the alley with a slide insurgent fire with the 200-pound man and his own gun from his own weapon, his own side, everything covered james thinks about the promises made to his mother and thinks he's got to break that promise. think about that moment. you're talking about writing about the deeper side, how do i not talk about that quite thallus i had to get into it. that was one that really just stuck with me and i try to

convey that moment where you're just sitting there looking at the present and thinking to himself, i'm about to die. quite a moment. >> in multiple moments for the feelings are the driving force for personal reasons is the driving force behind why they do what they do. for me was the quiet prayer of my mother often times. i would think of that on a rate on a rate of saying i don't know where this is going to go. your head goes there. speaking of why they do what they do come you do a little assessment of identifying what are the attributes? what is now where? how does someone do something so exceptional? i know you quite a bit about it, why do guys do what they do click >> the one thing that is overwhelming was the sense of brotherhood, its humor, self-sacrifice. but the central concept is they will do anything for each other.

it was overwhelming to talk to these guys. these are individuals who jumped into snipers fire to save a penny. think about that concept. there's light at the fire and he jumped into it to help a guy who just got shot right in that spot. it's pretty amazing. so what are you thinking in that moment? that is something i don't know we civilians can appreciate and that is something you can speak to you. it is that training until mm defense of brotherhood and it's really just compelling and inspiring. we don't have an equivalent to that in the civilian world. there's just nothing like it. it was just incredibly inspiring. >> you hit on all of them. he had on the brotherhood and the selfless aspect of it. the one that i often times turn

to need emphasize the impact of training. just really how significant that is on influencing natural human instincts. i am going -- we can jump into it right now. the particular story that grabbed me when i was reading the book, for selfish reasons that was just particularly interesting was one of michael walsh, special forces captain in afghanistan it was basically an embedded trainer and special was the top-rated remote villages in afghanistan. but i'll ask you to tell his story because you can do better than me and the relationship he has with the afghans in what he continues to do which was an amazing amazing story. in the middle of the young bush, not to lead with the most juicy aspect, instead of typing for fire, he stands up. why click >> piece in the middle of what is called a riverbed.

it was a dried up river bed in a very a village in afghanistan. and he is leading a patrol through it with an american unit with an asking unit. they're trying to get them acclimated to some of these environments that they can stand up and do it on their own in years to come. as they are walking, they are ambushed and they receive live fire. your natural listing if they're both coming at you is to get out of the way. but mike told me he was trained that your armor is more secure in the front and so he actually turned toward the rifle, the machine gun they were firing not instead of them started shooting back in a few sideways as they were, you are vulnerable and he can slip in behind. counterintuitive because you think you're a thinner profile.

>> that's what he was explaining. the incredible thing, there are multiple things and make story. mike is involved in policy behind our efforts in afghanistan. he wanted to ensure he would engage the population and he didn't want to look him as he said, like a storm trooper where he had the helmet, night vision gear, so he had no health anywhere with what he called a light load. so here he is with a light load, no helmet, no grenade. he was firing his rifle full on an indescribable jam. think about that moment. at that moment, i definitely would have gotten out of the way. but not mike. make her his rifle down. i remember him showing me in a fluid motion he threw the rifle down and picked up his pistol and he was fighting back against two, maybe three machine guns with a pistol. either way, let's remember he had no helmet.

>> pretty incredible moment. eventually he decided to duck behind a small stone wall that was five feet away and he describes his job is not terribly graceful. but he did actually jump behind a stone wall and he continued firing. an incredible story about how the training kit and at the moment to turn said he was fall on with his armor there despite the fact he had no helmet. >> absolutely. it is overcoming what is hardwired into human nature to flight is the ability to then fight. i remember the first time i was shot at, i documented it was training, but also the shame if i've got buddies and i'm not going to be the guy who stocks longer than others. there's a lot of human dynamics. but i like the special operator, when he died behind outlaw and they were regrouping, there is a

man down it adds an incredible depth to this story. he proceeded to rally the troops. tell the story of sergeant major's tomorrow. >> lets. >> let's go up a little bit. i said they were. within asking unit. on the patrols in the days before hand comedian crowed to develop a relationship with the sergeant major who is leading the senior non-mission officer of the asking unit and he really respected tomorrow. he was a hardcharging guy. he worked hard. the men under him respected him and he was so categorically different from what mike had seen in other armies in afghanistan, but elsewhere in the developing world. he said that's the kind of guy we need. that is what will help afghanistan succeed. while not die 10,000 times and you'll be fine. so you really develop this admiration of respect him and his healthy with this guy.

incredible thing if this was all done through an interpreter. he said it was really remarkable how you could still engage with you even through an interpreter. a very unique man in on this particular ambush -- on this particular patrol, kumar was at the front. mike was a couple back leading the team in when the shots rang out, mike thought he was hit. pretty bad. mike then fought back as we were just describing, full on fighting with his pistol. he then jumps behind the stone wall, that he knows sumar is down. so mike, think about this concept, runs back into the kill zone. that is where the shots are firing. went back to the kill zone, running towards for the machine gunners are to grab sumar. he carries him back and

describes it not terribly elegant. he doesn't know when the shootings in and start again. he doesn't know if the machine gunners are watching, sitting right there. he doesn't know what's going to happen. he knows he has to get sumar out of there now. as he's coming back to the grove trees for the rest of the men were -- and it was very emotional and still in the middle of the zone any kind of june died in front of him. he was the first of the afghans to die.

the guy comes back. i should mention that sumar and mike had talked to one of the things he asked is why under 30 with the army? at the life-threatening decision. this holiday is the unique. he appeared enough money to become radicalized. they gave the family collection to help support them after sumar passed away. but then my curve from the interpreter months later that the widow had run on widow had read that as money and was forced to send the kids to the madrassas. this was everything a sumar was fighting, everything mike was fighting against it is happening, unfolding in front of his eyes. so on his own accord, mike

developed away to wire money from america to this widow. he never met anyone in the family other than sumar. but he is sending money, thousands of thousands of dollars of his own dollars in order to support that family and what ultimately happen when he came back from another display made is because of the money he sent a note for, those kids, the widow could pull their kids out of madrassas. >> so when you talk about selling the deeper side of these guys, what he did, trying to save sumar is pretty incredible. but then funding, supporting his family said they don't radicalized, that's another world. and anonymously. they don't know who it is. a friendly american money shows up.

he up. emissions of their deployment in 2009. the kids have actually been at madrassas for a couple months because she didn't have the money and she was able to pull that. obviously we get engaged, but i'll ask you to tell one more story to give everyone a flavor. i go walled went on to be a policy advisor on afghan policy is a unique example of someone who has existed in the deepest, darkest days in a tactical sense, but understand the strategic attention and oftentimes what is missed. this book is not political at all. but i'll ask you a quiet day political nonpolitical question. do you -- your heritage, washington d.c. in the middle of a political bubble. how would washington look different if michael walsh was said in the halls of congress as opposed to what we have today? for men and women like him quick >> i think atrocity that we have so many veterans serving.

i don't understand how that is unfolded over the years. but it is where we are and i think it would be very different. the va scandal would have a different town. i don't know that it never would have been. the categories of oversight and also just the discussion of the wars, when you see, there are moments i've seen testimony went very senior officers are testifying in congress and the opposite error is responding to a question from the senator. he kept saying man because that is how he strained. the senator took offense to that. not just illustrated to me a real dissident that she took offense to that and asked him not to call her that. it just seemed so odd that

someone of such stature would not have that type of understanding of how that culture is and it struck me and i was such an illustrative moment for me, a real tragedy. but i think the discussion surrounding the wars, things like the veterans backlog, which is an absolute travesty, those are completely different. ..

>> tell us, if you would, one or t- the best, don't, they're going to get the best when they read the whole thing, another plug there. [laughter] seriously, there's so much in here in any chapter, but tell us one or two nuggets or stories that give it more flavor. >> sure. one of the stories about an army grunt, his name is steve sanford. steve was in an awful fire fight in mosul, iraq, and they were taking very bad casualties, and they were evacuating out a large number of folks from this one house. and steve was providing suppressive fire in the house as others were evacuating the guys out x. as they're coming out, they're actually finishing up, they've gotten all the guys out, and steve was manning the door. he saw a friend of his walking

out toward the humvees and a shot rang out and hit his buddy, a guy named chris, in the neck. and chris dropped, and steve -- who was in a position of relative safety, i mean, he was not in the sniper's fire, he was on the side, the sniper could not have got him -- steve ran out to where chris had just gotten shot, right in the sniper's fire 20 feet away from the sniper, and he started performing cpr on chris. think about that concept. he's performing cpr on chris as the sniper is plugging away at steve. plugging away over and over and over again. and i asked steve, i said, what are you thinking in that moment? and steve said -- this is a moving moment. he was crying when he told me this. he said i had more important

things to do than worry about little pieces of metal sticking out of my vest. think about that moment. and he's literally trying to save his buddy's life. and the sniper is pinging away. finally, the sniper hit a shot that wasn't in his armor, and it was in his leg. it was a devastating leg shot, and it hurt, and steve then understood, okay, i've got to pay anticipation to that guy -- attention to that guy now. and so steve whipped around his rifle and with one hand, because it was so close, he shot. and they were just shooting at each other as close as i am to some of you in the audience. and they're shooting away. and finally one of steve's shots killed the sniper. that was about a minute before steve blacked out, and, you know, he was later evacuated to the hospital. he, apparently, had cardiac arrest three times during surgery that night. so he essentially died three times, and they brought him back

three times that night. and he is now, i'm happy to report, he's doing very well. he is a police officer in michigan, and he's a good guy. so -- >> no, that's, that's a great segway. how, we -- the narrative off times in the media is you've got broken men and women coming home, damaged goods, ticking time bombs. >> right. >> based on these nine stories, how are these guys today? >> yeah. >> what are they contributing? what's sort of the epilogue, if you will? >> yeah, sure. i do touch on some of the stories. i give an epilogue -- but now we're a bit removed from even those epilogues. i am very happy to report that, by and large, they're doing very, very well. these are good guys. they're smart, and they're active, they're engaged. they did struggle. some of them did struggle, you know, especially the ones that close buddies die to them

like steve with his buddy chris who, ultimately, did pass away. you know, some of them struggled. but i'm happy to report they're doing pretty well. two of them, unfortunately, have passed away, and it's an amazing thing that neither of them or were in combat situations. they were both home, and they were just tragic situations when they passed. >> one of them doing duty of tending to a fellow veteran. >> that's right. chris kyle, who's a former navy seal, and he had some notoriety in a positive way. he'd written a book, and he's one of the stories in "valor." he set up a large charity effort when he came home to help veterans that were suffering from post-traumatic stress. and one of those that he was helping, he offered to take him to a range and shoot because that's what, you know, that's how you can just relax and hang out. this one particular marine just lost it and flipped out and thought that chris was going the

get him, and he shot chris and killed him right there on the spot. it's really, it's an awful, awful story. but of the seven who are with us today, they are really doing well, and, you know with, adjusting and going to school or working, you know, and doing good things. >> as you said, chris kyle had reached a certain level of notoriety -- >> yeah. >> -- for what he'd written and what he'd dope as a sniper. how many of these other guys had been approached before you approached them? how many of them had had someone say let me tell your story? >> none. it's called "unsung heroes" -- by way, chris was never approached. i approached him, so even chris at the time was -- no one. no one knew anything about chris. if i could just add a little piece about chris, a pretty amazing thing. and one of the themes that i have throughout the book is the sense of humility that these

guys don't talk about what they did, they don't, you know, focus a pot light on themselves ever. -- a spotlight on themselves ever. chris, for those of you who don't know, was a navy seal sniper, and he was the most lethal sniper in american military history. think about that concept. and he was incredibly effective. he was, the insurgents in iraq called him the devil of ramadi. again, think about that concept. they put a bounty on his head, there are 80,000 on his personal head. he was awarded multiple silver stars, multiple bronze stars. i told one story of his bronze star stories in "valor." and the amazing thing about chris, i interviewed him for eight hours while he was in baghdad. that's a lot of questions, a lot of answers. countless e-mails after that. never, not once, not one time

did he mention any of those things. now i don't know about you, but if i had done any one of those things, i would have tattooed it on my forehead, betweened about it like you wouldn't -- tweeted about it like you wouldn't believe, right? [laughter] not these guys. not chris and not the rest of these guys. they just don't do that. it's so inspiring especially in this area, you know, where claiming credit is what we do, you know? [laughter] it's what capitalism is based on. [laughter] and these guys just don't do that, and the contrast is just so remarkable. i think when you're talking about getting those folks in to serve in congress, that's what would be so great, sort of thing where they're not going to shine the light on themselves, i did this even though they may have played some small role. that's something that would be just so refreshing and just so healthy. >> well, i'm going to, we're going to open it up to questions

here. we've got a great group here. we've got microphones, so if you've got a question, raise your hand, we'll get a microphone to you. but before we do that, i just want to -- i'll probably do it again at the end, but tell you how grateful i am. and i can't speak on behalf of anybody. but i kno for our generation -- i know for our generation so much of what guys want is just for their story to be told or the story of their men to be told. i work a lot with sean parnell who proa book, "outlaw," wrote it because he couldn't think about the stories of his men not being today. and if -- told x. if you know sean, it's not about him. he just wants every american to see through the pages that he wrote, and that's exactly what you do with "valor." and i, as just one veteran myself, want to thank you for putting in the blood, sweat and tears for telling these stories. i i know how valuable it is

to -- >> i just wrote the words. you did it. the thanks should be going to the other, in the other direction. but i appreciate it. >> questions, please. yes, ma'am. >> hi. i'm barbara ladean. i have two sons who served, in the military, and a daughter who served in a civilian capacity. there seems to be a divide between them and the other people of their generation who stayed here and attended college for the most part. they're, let's say, elite generation and who think they know something about the war and about what we were doing. there's a pretty profound divide can, actually. my kids talk about leadership going forward and the fact that their generation, you guys, your

generation will be, the leadership will be composed of those people who served. what do you think of that? >> i would hope so. i mean, for the very reasons we were just talking about. i think it's essential. we have to get those folks involved in the political process, you know, because that type of selflessness, that type of leadership is sorely lacking, i think. so, yeah, absolutely. and i would agree, i think there's a chasm, a massive chasm between, you know, the folks that serve and don't. and i think there's some not just a divide, but that divide leads to a lack of understanding. and that's a problem. that's a problem. you know, when it's not in people's faces, they forget about things like the v.a. pack log -- backlog, they forget about things like the men and women that are serving overseas when it's not their neighbor, when it's not someone in their

family, and i think that chasm is problematic, absolutely. >> barbara and -- questions are for mark. but, no, it's a fantastic question. i think this book serves the purpose of educating a public that has no idea what went on since 9/11. and, barbara, knowing what your family's contributed, this is part of educating and highlighting what that's done. i also think, unfortunately, the to onus also still rests very much so on veterans to insure that that chasm doesn't turn into animosity which it quickly can when you say i've seep all this, i've done all this, it's underappreciated. this guy read it in a book or learned it at harvard and, therefore, he wants to tell me about national security policy or what it's like to work in afghanistan. that can quickly turn into animosity. so the extent to which veterans can assist other veterans, i mean, there's a network there. not just a support network, but a connective network where

hopefully there's -- it's small groups of people who make change. and i hi, hopefully -- i think, hopefully, those that have seen the real deal working together to affect change in a nation where the rest of the country's asleep or complacent. so i very much appreciate what you have to say. we'll go right here. the firsthand and to the gentleman. >> my name's christy mccormack. i wanted to know outside of the training in the military, did you see anything or hear anything in the backgrounds and childhoods of these guys that would lead them to be this kind of a soldier or service member and do these kinds of acts of valor? >> sure, that's a good question. one thing was that many of them had friends and relatives that had served, and that was something that was sort of in the back of their mind, that they thought they would go into service. a couple of them were just out of nowhere like james hassle

whose family members, it really came as a thunder clap to his mother. and dan foster. his grandfather served to be rabblely, but for a short time long before dan was alive. generally, they had folks they were familiar with that served, but there are a couple that just sought out that structure, the brotherhood. they liked the concept of belonging. james actually did research into what the marines were all about, and he just became end am mored with them -- enamored with them, and he said i have to be a part of it. i can't not be a part of it. and it was pretty compelling that this was just some, you know, out of nowhere for him. there was no, it was just something that developed within him, and it was pretty inspirational. >> one of the as -- attributes, you talked about, is humility a lot in the book. and when you think of selfless

service, you think oi honor and those -- of honor. humility is sort of a residual piece a bit, but did you find these are humble guys, or their service humbled them and, therefore, they were -- i mean, was it cart before the horse or what? >> yeah. i think it varied a little bit, but all of them through the training became humble. some of them, james -- the one we were just talking about -- described himself as, you know, a brash kid. he said when he was playing football, you know, he walked out in his first game, he, you know, he acted like he was tom brady. [laughter] and, you know, he was this brash kid, and it was all about him, and he was strutting around and, you know, he was this kind of charming rogue. but he describes, and i go to great pains in the story to tell about his evolution into this team player, this guy that was not about himself. it was really remarkable, this evolution that occurred in a

relatively short period of time, and of it was all through the military, all through that training. he eventually adopted this credo that, you know, you have to be part of the solution, not part of the problem. and that was something that really drove him. he instigated that to me. he told me all about that. and he said that was all from his training. so i think they were in some measure, some of them were humble going in and fit right in, and some of them came in, maybe a little brash, you know, a little like a peacock. but quickly morphed into that humble team-first player. >> [inaudible] >> i can hear you. >> [inaudible] heritage foundation. basically wanted to ask you about the cheerleading that the media didn't do, and i was just wondering what your thoughts were on why the media wasn't cheerleading j. i think some of it is a bit of residual from,

you know, the vietnam era sentiment, but i think it was grounded in the politics and just the media environment of the the time that i think they, among their peers, if they wrote stories like this, they would be perceived to be cheerleading. i think it was just frowned upon. that budget news. it wasn't news -- it wasn't news to talk about a good story. and, you know, that's tragic. i, you know, i think that's a real problem. but i think that was the ethic of the time was that, you know, if you just wrote something that was unvarnished positive, you were cheerleading. and i hope that that has changed to some degree in the sense that now we're seeing some of the medal of honor recipients getting some up varnished good press although you have moments like dakota meyer where folks are trying to undermine that story as well. but i think that's what it was as well. i think given the swirl, the for moil of the -- the turmoil of the politics at the time, you

were perceived to be cheerleading, and that was just frowned upon. that was my sense. >> and i would say the sting is -- you want, it's no longer cool to be for the home team. >> right, exactly. >> and especially when it comes to the press in world time. in world war ii there were things withheld, there were stories that needed to be told. i think you've got vietnam, obviously, affected the media. but you've got now a media obsessed with every level of independence to the point of making sure we're telling a story with balance that includes all the wrong things america's done on the battlefield as oppose to emphasizing the good. >> not only that, there was a journalist who was taking a picture of an insurgent sniper shooting at americans. i don't know that in world war ii an american journalist would have been taking pictures of a german sniper shooting at americans. i just -- maybe i'm wrong. i just think the ethic has changed where it's this

detachment is overwhelming, and any sort of positive story is viewed as cheerleading, and it's just, as you said, you can't root for the home team. i'm hoping that's eroding over time. i'm hoping there there's a litte course correction there lately, i hope. >> well, it also can be disinagain juice to cheer for the -- not in this case, this book is highlighting stories, but in the media to say, well, now it's time to the cheer for the home game after the game's over. i'll put thier is i on. that's most certainly not what this book is. this is a book to say what these men have dope. yes, sir. >> can you hear me without the mic? blake willis, i'm an intern here at heritage. thank you both for coming. question would be for especially the younger generation, but i guess everybody here. not everybody's going to be able to write a book book explaining these stories and getting that

publicity out there, so what can the younger generation do to help get these stories out there and give this some justice? >> i think telling the stories, forwarding them, you know, facebook and things like that and just broadcasting these stories, keeping them in the front of people's minds so that when, you know, something happens on "keeping up with the kardashians," uni, we also have the balance of what really matters. so i think even on a low level in terms of things like facebook that can help, just telling the stories. that's something i'm doing now beyond the nine i've written about in a book, i'm posting on my web site, on facebook, i'm telling new, other stories of incredible incidents, i mean, that are just inspirational. and i literally get choked up when we're writing them. and they're only a page and a half or so. it's not long. but those, share those types of stories. and they're not hard to find. and that's the sort of thing i think even on sort of in the

ground game, it can be very easy to do that. and just, you know, share them with friends and, you know, one thing you can do, by the way, on my web site i have ways you can e-mail the seven that are remaining in and the families of the two guys that have passed away, and you can ask them what can we do to, you know, to broadcast the story. i mean, i think that's the kind of thing you can engage with these guys. they're great guys, and i'm sure they would love to hear from people. but that's a way you can also do it, what can we do to get you out and come to our community that, you know, give a talk about this or that. i think they would love to do it. >> what is that web site? >> markleegreenblatt.com. there's an e-mail a hero tab. and you can pick all of them, one of them, two of them, whatever you want. you know, some of them resonate with others. you mentioned mike wallace hit

home for you. you can reach out to those guys, and i'm sure they'll talk with folks and meet with ab organization, that sort of -- an organization, that sort of thing. >> that's very cool. i didn't know of that aspect, of the ability to sort of engage with not the characters, but you can kind of use that phrase. >> right. >> the folks that you highlight in the story. i would also answer your question by saying look to your open community too. i'm from a small town in forest lake, minnesota. dozens and dozens of guys and gals from that town have gone and done incredible things. find a way to honor them in a small ceremony in their hometown where they never get honored or a memorial. whatever it is, i think there are small, subtle ways that we miss. and this is a big way to do it, which hopefully is the inspiration for smaller ways that individuals in their places can highlight families and veterans. >> one more. we have time for one more. >> sure. >> absolutely. >> yep. >> hi, i'm david, i'm also here at her taming, and i've led -- heritage, and i've read a few

books, and usually at the end they do talk about their efforts coming back here at home. and we hear in the news a lot about how we do have broken people coming back, and it's a tragedy. and with suicides in the military being one of the highest issues, etc., etc. how -- you said that these people have been doing well, and what has allowed them to do well and what are things that we can do in the future and allow our veterans to come back and integrate into society better as well as us as a community be able to support them? >> i would boil it down to basically one word, jobs. i think that really helps. that's just my sense of, my small sample of the world, but it does help. it helps them ease back in. it gives them a sense of purpose, a sense of mission, and, you know, relieves financial strain. a couple of my guys, one of my guys, james, who i mentioned with the promise to his mother, he was homeless for a little while after he came back. think about that concept. you know, he had just gone and

served, and he was homeless because the v.a. was screwing up his benefits. same thing with dan foster, you know, who served admirably and earned a silver star holding off an ambush in a remote outpost in afghanistan. he came back, and the v.a. thought he was in north carolina, but he was living in california, and so he didn't get, you know, he didn't get his benefits. he had no job. he was in financial straits for a little while. so i think jobs help reasemilate, get them back and going. but not only that, just this sense of awareness. pete had talked about, you know, civilians having, you know, the country understand their stories. that's a huge deal. one of the guys, a gunnery sergeant, he's now a master sergeant, buck doyle. i said what do you want to come out of this? and puck told me i want people -- back told me i wallet people just to understand, exactly the phrasing pete used. it's not sympathy, it's not

pity. that's certainly not what they wallet. but just some sense of understanding of what they're doing and, you know, what they're suffering through, what their families are are suffering through. you know, bridging the very divide that barbara was talking about earlier. i think that would really help. but i really think jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. if i could snap my fingers and change the world in terms of the question you're asking, that would be a big one. >> and mark touched on two things, peer-to-peer, extent to which veterans working with other veterans is incredibly effective, and we're working hard to work on the v.a. piece, but so many small, private community organizations or veterans-led organizations are doing ip cred write well because veterans can relate in ways ores cannot. and you said the word a couple times, purpose. what's really hard to recapture when you come home is that feeling you had when you were with those men in that remote afghan village doing something that had life or death consequences, and then you come back here, and you're like,

well, do i watch o'reilly or hannity tonight? everything feels mundane. >> that's right. >> and so i think the jobs piece or a sense of purpose is so critical. they don't want a handout to, they don't want to be seen as a victim, they don't want to be seen as permanently damage. and i do think they will be part of the long-term -- if america is to be restored, i think it's going to be led by guys and gals who understand and have done these types of things and are are are equipped to deal with it. >> absolutely. absolutely. >> thank you. [applause] >> well, before we close, i just want to again thank heritage for hosting a fantastic forum for taking the opportunity to highlight this, highlight mark. it is markleegreenblatt.com. >> yes. >> correct? and if the book is "valor." you can get it, i'm sure, anywhere there's the interwebs. [laughter] but it's a fantastic read. it will change the way you see the ordinary heroes that aren't

so ordinary who wouldn't otherwise have had their stories told. so pick one up, tell other people about it, and thank you, everybody, for being here. >> thank you. [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> he's going to be signing books outside as well. [inaudible conversations] >> every weekend booktv offers programming focused on nonfiction authors and books. keep watching for more here on c-span2, and watch any of our past programs online at booktv.org. >> what's interesting about stokely carmichael is that stokely finds his vocation as an organizer. he finds his vocation as an organizer. he visits mississippi for the first time at the age of 19 in 1961, and it's going to be the

first time that he's also arrested. he's arrested as a freedom rider june 8, 1961. and he's going to spend not just time in a hines county jail in jackson, mississippi, but he's going to spend over 30 days in parchman penitentiary, parch man farm, one of mississippi's -- or the state of mississippi's worst prison farm. and it's really in parchman, and people like john lewis are are there, there's so many different -- jim farmer's there, there's so many different activists who are spending time in jail. but what's interesting is that carmichael's experience in jail is going to galvanize his political activism. so rather than be discouraged by that time period in jail, he calls up his mother before he's going to new orleans and they're going to get to mississippi by way of new orleans, and tells his mother that there's going to be media and journalists who are calling up.

and he wants her to them them that no matter what happens, she's proud of him, right? she tells him, may charles is his mother, and he calls her affectionately may charles, and she says i don't want you involved in any of that civil rights mess. stokely tells her the movement has become her life, and he doesn't want her -- and, you know, when you're speaking to your mother, you don't ever want your mother to embarrass you. and he's saying i don't want to be embarrassed mom. so whenever the press calls you, the line to tell them is you're proud of me, right? so stokely ends up in jail, he's in parchman penitentiary, and the press calls her up, and may charles tells them she's so proud of her son, she doesn't know what she's going to do. [laughter] so she did follow and heed stokely's advice. >> you can watch this and other programs online at booktv.org. up next, mitch yo kaku discusses his book, "the future of the mind: the scientific

quest to understand, enhance and power the mind," from the 14th annual book festival here in washington d.c. [inaudible conversations] >> all right. [cheers and applause] wow. the science room rocking it tonight -- today at the convention center. unbelievable. well, we're here to hear dr. michio kaku who is just amazing. i love this guy. [applause] just a footnote, i'm joel from the washington post. [laughter] i assume you knew. [laughter] but i write, i love the big cosmic questions, and there's no one better at asking and answering the big cosmic, i amazing questions than dr. kaku. he is just a genius at it. he's the co-founderf