he visited the capitol, we met at last. and i had the pleasure of presenting him to president roosevelt, who greeted us with great warmth of feeling and with his usual emphasis, informed us that he was delighted. [ laughter ] delighted to see us. and just to end where i began, after the loss of my leg, i was carried to the house of samuel witheral, i was tendering cared for by his daughter mary, so angelically did she care for me that a feeling stronger than

ordinary goodwill was awakened in my breast for this fair angel who ministered me and it was my good fortune that the feeling was fully reciprocated and in due time, there was a marriage. and three children. my wife gently passed some years ago, and she rests in our national cemetery on arlington heights. and when i answer the final muster, i shall rest beside her, comforted by her presence, and by the proximity of so many of my brave brothers, most of blue

and the gray. thank you. [ applause ] >> it's a little difficult to come back to the 21st century after that, thank you, stephen. it was magnificent. [ applause ] >> you're welcome. >> if you have questions, please

go to the microphone. let me ask the first one. tell us the story that we heard you begin to tell over a drink last night how you found larry and the subject and the reminiscents. >> oh, boy. [ laughter ] i -- this -- well, let me just preface it by saying, i think this is the third time i've performed this piece. and i did perform it once before gettysburg and once at west point. did some of you hear it before? yeah, i thought you had. but not all of you. i'm glad, i got stricken with panic when i was coming up here thinking, oh, my god, they've all heard this already. [ laughter ] but in any case, i -- larry -- larry is just a superb, eminent journalist. and knows how to draw stories

from people. and you know, medal of honor recipients are vets, as many of you know, are reticent much of the time to talk about her experiences. and medal of honor recipients are particularly reticent, and i believe part of the reason is, they feel a certain amount of -- what's the word, chagrin -- not guilt. no. but something about being rewarded when so many of their comrades are dead. so they've been particularly reticent. what larry set out to interview at the time i think there were about 127 -- 130 living medal of honor recipients from world war ii, korea, vietnam. and ended up publishing a book called "beyond glory." which was first hand accounts from 27 -- is that right? approximately.

27 of them. and we used to play ball together. play basketball together. and one sunday, i just asked what he was working on, and he told me, and i said, that sounds really fascinating because i've always been interested in history. and he gave me an incorrected proof of the book. this was in may 2003 and it was about to be published in july of that same year. and i stood in my living room after a basketball game, just standing there in my sweats, and i read the book. three hours later, it just really knocked me out. it was so, so good. i had the germ of an idea. because i found myself reading aloud a lot of the stuff. and i found that the voices were starting to emerge. and just as an exercise, i sat there and i took one of the fellows, some of you heard of him, john finn. finn just passed away this year

at the age of 101. finn was a navy lieutenant that went into the navy i believe in 1926. maybe even '23. and he was -- he was at canlily bay. and he was in ordnance there. he went to the tarmac, a 30 caliber manage gun, putting it on a training stand and for the next hour fired and was wounded severely. and he took down a zero, with a .30 caliber machine gun. i didn't know what it was. basically, i had taken a chapter that larry had written which was maybe a 20-page chapter, and i just sort of condensed it into a

dramatic bouillon cube. and i took it downstairs -- my wife tina who is here. you should stand up and say hello. [ applause ] she's the inspiration behind everything, as far as i'm concerned. but she's also, one of her greatest qualities is she's a merciless critic of my work. [ laughter ] you know i'm quite -- as a matter of fact, i'll get notes on this performance now. did you have to cry so much? [ laughter ] i feel it coming, you know. but, you know, i'm by nature kind of a -- what's the word? baroque. i'm a little baroque. i like curlicues. tina is more ofminimalist.

i said, would you listen to this. and i performed this thing i'd just written, finn, and she was in tears at the end of that. she said, continue doing what you're doing. and then i spoke with larry, and we made a handshake deal. and i just -- and i ultimately turned it into this solo performance "beyond glory" where i enact, embody, whatever i do, eight recipients of all services and ethnicities and from the three wars i mentioned already. and started performing it from 2003 through really 2007, it's almost exclusively what i did. so i've given over 500 performances, and as harold mentioned, i took it all over

the world and to the persian gulf, to the dmz in korea as part of a very, very unique singular partnership between the national endowment for the arts and the department of defense. [ laughter ] at the time -- this is interesting, i know i'm going on. >> that's good. >> at the time, you know, this was during, of course, during president bush's administration, and some of you with the nea has been whipping post of congress for many, many years not without some justification. but in any case, the chairman of the nea was dana joya who is a smart poet but a also smart guy. he recognized when i was performing "beyond glory" right literally at the gates of

arlington cemetery. and no one was coming because theatergoers in washington, they go to the arena, they go to the shakespeare theater. they go on tuesday night, we have tickets, we're going i don't know what we're seeing but we're going. [ laughter ] but i was doing it, i remember once, the stage manager would come out and say we've got seven people, you know. there times when i played it to one person, i told the producer, i said, there's an old rule in the theater that if the cast outnumbers the audience, we don't have to do the performance. and she said, well, there is one person out there and you're just one person. i said, that's true. but i play eight guys. [ laughter ] now, the producer happened to be my sister who --

[ laughter ] -- who is if anything, tougher than my wife. so i went on. but in any case -- oh, this is going -- what was the question? [ laughter ] anyway, anyway, the nea saw it and what dana joya saw was very smart because what i was doing, no question about it, has some artistic merit. but it also would fit so well into -- it supported the bush administration. i mean, the virtue of the piece is that this is a military piece that it's for everyone. it's for americans, you know, it's for human beings. it's no pro war. it's not antiwar. it's men's feelings about it and

so everyone could get behind it. and that's been the signal virtue of the piece to it. and larry has, we've gone out together at times and done things, he's, you know, just remained such a great friend. and then some -- i guess i was asked to come down here to do something at the -- i believe it was for the dedication of the new visitor's center which i think is just so magnificent. i'm sure you've been there, but if you haven't been there, you got to go there. and i premiered this purman piece and "beyond glory." i found a forum that works for me, you know, doing something that's a ten-minute sort of bite that just comes up, and you plunge right in. you know? and if it's written well and performed adequately it will work. [ applause ]

>> as you may know, steven langua stephen lang is the speaker at the national set tear on november 17th. you'll be in for a treat. tell your name and ask a question. >> i'm from long island, new york, high school teacher. your commitment to the presentation of information is irrefutable as evidenced yet again today. you have been long admired for your portrayals of general george pickett, as you prepare for your role in appomattox, i was wondering if you could speak for your preparation and what you hope to bring to that role and how you will endeavor to

unlock the lincoln in you? [ laughter ] >> the main preparation is for an hour every day i'm stretched. [ laughter ] we've got four inches to go. [ laughter ] and then with the lifts things should work out just fine. you know, "on to appomattox" is a proposed mini series. some of you may be aware of it. some may not. what they've done, i've read the script which is why i agreed to do it, and they're excellent. i think it's a difficult climate anytime to make anything about the civil war. i think it's a -- put i wish them all the best. and what really is happening.

and i'll talk about preparation in a second. making something like this is a bit like making stone soup, you know? basically, they go out, the guys who want to do this who have credibility, i mean, they're guys who have produced many things and they're good. they go out to actors that they want and get them to agree in principle to do it so they can use their name. and that helps them to secure the financing that they need. so they have secured some really marvelous actors. i had never in my life conceived of myself playing abraham lincoln. i had felt that if i was going to do another civil war piece that i probably would like to do robert e. lee, just to kind of finish off the trifecta, as it were. [ laughter ] but they came to me about playing lincoln, and i said,

don't screw around with this. don't -- you know, that's too serious a thing. and they said, we would like you to play this. and, you know, i thought -- well, i mean, i don't know how anyone would say no. so my feeling is that if it comes together, which i hope it will, that i will first of all, my greatest resource is standing on the platform with me. no question i would -- i wouldn't make a move in terms of -- you know, i'm always interested in the really material parts of the character. you know, how did he walk? was he a good rider? did he wear his hat strait? whatever it is, and if you kind of accrue enough details you

find yourself somehow acrying the confidence to handle the role. i've had my hands full with other things and as that project begins to solidify and mature, then i would work out a very detailed way of working on it. i think. >> i'm from akron, ohio. you deserve an oscar for your academy award performance. >> thank you, you're right. [ laughter ] >> why are you telling me that? >> i'm gordon dover from cleveland, illinois. i'd like to know what institution granted you your recent doctorate? >> i'm dr. doctor. i received a doctorate from first -- from jacksonville university. a wonderful school down in florida. and beautiful -- i went down there, and they gave it to me in

a doctorate in theater and film. and i made -- i made remarks to the kids down there. and then several months later, my alma mater, swatzmor college. i found a great thing to do in giving commencement addresses. these are both in 2010, right? my film "avatar" had come out, and they had done a line of action figures. and there are action figures of me, which had we had any foresight, we would have on sale outside. [ laughter ] but they're wonderful action figures. i mean, get the six-inch one, but i recommend the nine-inch one. [ laughter ] and they're totally -- you know, as it says on the package,

they're fully articulated. [ laughter ] and the head rotates 360 degrees, much as my own does. [ laughter ] so i -- so what i've done is, i bring one with me. and then at the conclusion of my remarks, i present an action figure to the college president which never fails to, you know, illino illicit laughter and merriment. they forget about the 17 minutes preceding it. >> i think you deserve a lincoln more than an oscar. as a member of the cleveland civil war roundtable, we've been waiting forever for the third movie in that trilogy. do you know anything about it? >> that's a tough sale, man. i'll tell you, generals" for onr another, it didn't do well.

it tanked, and it's a difficult thing to make. but i'll also say that you know, gettysburg, "killer angels" if you think about it, that was a film that i won't say made itself, but the structure of that is so symmetrical that the star of that film is not tom berber berberenger or more tin sheen. it was the battle of gettysburg. "gods and generals" you got onassis, fredericksburg, chancellorsville. it's about stonewall jackson but it's also about chamberland and also about lee and in a way, it would have been more suited to a, you know, serial -- a mini series format.

when you get into the last full measure, you're basically talking about zigzagging through virginia, everything leading up the north and then grant becomes the central figure. it becomes grant and lee. the guy -- whether ted turner has lost his mojo for doing civil war stuff or not, retould call ron maxwell and say -- let's get to work opt thing. but i'm not holding my breath for it but it sure would -- i'd love to do it. that's where my robert e. lee inclination comes from. i thought marty sheen was great and bob duval and i'd like my chance to fail in the role as well.

>> final question for the session? >> final? >> final question. >> steven, you over on picket, jackson, you were at the okay coral. you're in the future of avatar. if the past is pro log to the future, what life lessons have you learned throughout your career as an actor. >> that's kind of a wonderful question. i've learned life lessons interesting you bring up the okay coral. as historic at abraham lincoln and stonewall jackson. when you play somebody, you have to play it with all the self love and self-loathing they have. you have to embrace the character. my motto is and this i stated

several times in avatar because people after avatar people come up to me constantly and say, i really hate you. and, you know, they mean it in the nicest way. my feeling for characters is -- if i don't love them who will? and if i love them deeply and enough, then i can bring you to some kind of understanding. or not even an understanding. recognition. i just want you to recognize you know? so what that is, to me my relationship with my characters is many things but one of the things it is is an act of kindness, me towards the characters and i've come to believe as i've gotten older that the most important life lesson -- the most important

quality that in my life is kindness. more so than intelligence or anything. but if you can live a kind life, then i think you'll die happy, which is yet to be determined, of course. >> steven lang, you've brought the lincoln forum to a place that we can only say with a tip of the hat to hairly smith is beyond glory today. thank you for everything. >> narrator: on may 14th, 1607, 104 english setters will landed

at jamestown island, virginia, to establish a colony for the virginia company. the locate served at the capital of virginia until 1699. thought to be lost to history forever to the james river, the original fort was unearthed. we visited jamestown to learn how the story of the 16 settlers is being revealed every day through the study of artifacts. >> i'm the senior curator for the jamestown rediscovery project. it's a project of preservation virginia. the first statewide historic preservation organization in the united states. it is confusion, that there are so many jamestowns and many people visit jamestown and it turns out that they never we want to the real place, the place where all the history happened. so there's a jamestown that's a living history museum. jamestown settlement and they

interpret jamestown and they have three wonderful ships and they've reconstructed a fort and an indian village and a huge museum over there. that's a state-run organization. so they get state funding for that. and then the island itself, the original site of jamestown, is co-managed by the national park service and preservation virginia so it's an unusual private/public partnership that goes on here. the park service owns the majority of the island, 1500 acres. preservation virginia has around 23. they're 23 acres incorporated the site of the original fort, the church, the church tower and the last government building that was on the property. so they've got a lot of history condensed in that 23 acres. and it's the preservation virginia who are doing the

archaeology that visitors will see on the site today. we call our project "jamestown rediscovery" so we're the james town rediscovery project of preservation virginia. we do not get federal support and we do not get state support for our work so we're highly reliant on visitors and donations. we get half of the gate receipts of visitors coming through and grants. that's how we survive. it's hard in these times. >> the site is incredibly rich. just amazing. and we've been walking over the material all these years. it's been under our feeft when everybody was saying the fort was out in the river so it's just astand stounding that there's so much material. and i thought about why. for one thing, there was so much

death. in the early years, in sickness and i think a lot of things just got thrown away because they didn't belong to people anymore. they sort of wore objects, possessions without a possessor. and they just -- and people just didn't have the strength or will power to do much of anything. we find a lot of, like, lead thrown away that could have been re-use or recycled and it wasn't. it was just tossed out. that's one reason. the fort itself, being a protective barrier maintained a lot of trash within the perimeter. it didn't seem to be any orchestrated efforts to wheelbarrow at the trash out and toss it in the river. it just seems to have collected in the fort and then there were periodic clean-up periods and rebuilding efforts when new governors came in, for instance, and then things would get dumped

into old wells or old holes to fill them in. so i think that also contributed to it. but, it's a wonderful site. this is a look at archaeology on jamestown island, virginia. check the american history website for schedule information. the author of "kennedy and the berlin wall" a hell of a lot better than a war. next he talks about the berlin crisis of 1961 and an event hosted by the national archives in october of 2011. the berlin crisis is considered a milestone of the cold war by many historians. built in august of 1961, the wall straighted is the city in two parts. east and west. two months later in october of 1961, soviet and u.s. tanks