captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2008 >> don't give out information to the enemy -- that would help the enemy. no problem. i said, you can fly the helicopter anywhere you want, but don't interfere -- there's no room on that bird. don't push a soldier off, don't crowd somebody.

if you want to get into the middle of a fight, that's your call. don't interfere with operations which meant also do not go up a company commander during a fire fight and ask for an interview. i never had that happen. i think freedom of the press is one of the great freedoms of a democracy. absolute great freedom. along with freedom of speech. we're blessed to have those two freedoms. of course they have to be exercised judicioujudiciously. i'm delighted that the pentagon embedded journalists in the iraq

war that's been going on for the last couple years. i don't know if you know this or not, but the pentagon before the iraq war went off offered american journalists the opportunity to go to fort buenning, and i believe ft. knox, other military bases to be briefed on battlefield maneuver activities and battlefield activities.

they learned about tactics and they learned about fireman ufr and fire support. they were much more qualified to report to the american people what they were seeing in iraq. >> naud maude. >> whereas in vietnam, as i understand it, joe six pack right off the streets of chicago could show up in saigon and get a press card. he didn't know the difference between a squad and a battalion or m-16 rifle and a mortar. if i were asked today to cover a rugby football match in redskin stadium, i wouldn't know what the hell i was looking at. that was the same with a lot of the journalists in vietnam. they didn't know what they were

looking at. so consequently they took these -- they took the pictures and they reported graphic stuff, some of which helped the enemy. >> join us next weekend for more oral histories from the vietnam archive. that airs saturday at 8:00 a.m., sunday at 3:00 p.m. and monday at 4:00 a.m. eastern. for more information and to watch past oral histories, visit our website, c-span.org/history. louisiana governor bobby jindal is scheduled to reveal his proposal for balancing the state budget for the next fiscal year to date, a budget, $900 million in the red. in shreveport it's mostly cloudy and 37 degrees at the airport, 38 at barksdale and 38 in men

den. you're listening to shreveport news radio 710 keough. >> this weekend book tv and "american history tv" look at shreveport, louisiana. today at noonest earn on become tv author gary joiner on the union army's failure in louisiana "one dam blunder from beginning to end: the red river campaign of 1864" then a look at the 2,000 books of the james smith noel collection at the shreveport archives. then a walking tour of shreveport and bowsier city with neal johnson, on "american history tv" on c-span three, from parks dale air force base, a look at the base's role on 9/11, plus a history of the b52 bomber, also visit the founding father's autograph collection at the state exhibit museum and from the pioneer heritage center, medical treatment and medicine during the civil war. shreveport, louisiana, next weekend on c-span2 and 3

freedom itself was at tacked this morning by a faceless coward, and freedom will be defended. i want to reassure the american people that the full resources of the federal government are working to assist local authorities to save lives and to help the victims of these attacks. >> i was at home asleep when we got the phone call, and an editor of mine said that i needed to head out to barksdale because a plane had crashed into the world trade center and they thought it might be an attack on the country. >> i had heard on the radio that i had turned on in my office that an airplane had apparently hit one of the world trade

centers. i had originally thought that perhaps it was -- the first one was just a terrible accident, sort of like the b 25 bomber that hit the empire state building in 1945. that was sort of the first thing that hit my mind. but after the second airplane hit i realized this clearly was not an accident, that this was a deliberate action. >> the president was addressing a class of schoolchildren in florida at the time of the attacks. an aide came over and told him what had happened. he maintained his composure and waited. he didn't want to alarm the children. he waited until their visit was done and they immediately snapped into action. i think he was originally planning on going back to washington, and then they heard that another aircraft was possibly headed that way. my understanding was at that time they decided to come to the closest secure safe location which was barksdale. >> the base that morning was already on alert because the

base was involved in an exercise that was a preplanned exercise that had been going on for several days anyway. so the base -- there was already a high level of security. the air crew members were on alert. everybody was already at their duty stations due to this prearranged exercise. i remember it being sort of a feeling of disbelief myself, that what i was seeing on tv was actually happening, and everyone quickly transitioned from this exercise the base was in into the real world handling of the events that were unfolding. >> barksdale is a bomber base located in northwest louisiana. it's about 22,000 acres. barksdale opened its gates in early february, 1933. it started out as an army airfield. at the time it opened it was called the world's largest airport. on september the 11th, the role of ts base was essentially the

same as it is today. it was the largest assembly of b52 aircraft in the world, and a major planning base as the headquarters of 8th air force and second bomb wing. >> as i heard this story through our wing commander at the time, brigadier general curtis bed key. we already had a command post fully activated and general bed key was there. and as he later reported, when "air force one" was approaching the base and was requesting clearance to land toond clear all the aerospace, he asked, well, what is your estimated time of arrival. right about that time the people that were on the flight line radioed in and said it appears that "air force one" is on final approach. so it was very quickly, from the moment that the air force wanted to announce they wanted to land until they were on the ground.

i remember looking out the window of the headquarters building and seeing the blue and white aircraft coming in onto the base. at that point we quickly realized the president was going to be our guest for a while. >> i know that when i got here, they were already in a full lockdown of the base, only letting essential personnel on. media, of course, we with were not considered essential so we were kept off the base. the next thing we knew, we were looking at a monitor in the channel 12 van and the next thing we saw was the president speaking in front of this podium here with barksdale air force base under it. that's how we found out about it, that the president was here. >> we have taken all appropriate security precautions to protect the american people. our military at home and around the world is on high alert status. and we have taken the necessary security precautions to continue the functions of your

government. we have been in touch with the leaders of congress and with world leaders to assure them that we will do whatever is necessary to protect america. >> when "air force one" came in, it was under escort by two f 16 fighters that were -- that had been scrambled from ellington field outside of houston, texas, to meet "air force one" over the florida panhandle. and they were carrying live munitions and were assigned escort duties. it was interesting that the organization that they were from was the 149th fighter wing. that was president bush's old outfit when he was in the texas air national guard. one of the f 16s landed to refuel while the other assumed a combat air patrol over the city. so you knew when you looked up

and saw that f 16 on that slow withouter all around boysier city and across the red river that it was armed and it clearly had orders to shoot down any suspicious aircraft. and as soon as they fueled the other one up, the next one took position over the city and they left -- they stayed over the city until "air force one" left, and both continued the escort mission to the air force base. so it was just the knowledge oh we we see f 16s and military aircraft all the time in this region, but to know that that one was on an actual combat air patrol over an american city, it really drilled it home that this was anything but a normal day. >> i don't believe that there was a time in its history that this base was as important in the life of this nation as it

was that day, in all of its 68 years of life to that day. this base was there when the president of the united states, the commander in chief needed it. it was a safe place to be in case we were attacked again, in case something even worse came down the road. this was a central point. in fact, within 24 hours, aircraft from this base were planning missions and deciding where they would head out and go out and begin what we now know as the global war on terror. >> there really was no sense of, wow, we participated in history today. we'll take a moment to reflect on that because there really wasn't any time. we simply moved from exercise to real world mode in the blink of an eye. >> by the end of the day, everybody was doing their job 110%, 120%, whereas at the start of the day they were doing their job 98% to 100%. things took on a whole new

degree of importance and life dch and-death tone that day because you saw people jumping out of buildings and you saw the two largest buildings in the world come crashing down in the heart of what was supposedly a very safe and prosperous american city. all weekend long, "american history tv" is detouring shreveport, louisiana. learn more about shreveport and find out where c-span's local content vehicles are going next online at c-span.org/localcontent. you're watching "american history tv" all weekend every week end on c-span3. there's a new website for "american history tv" where you can find our schedules and preview our upcoming programs, watch featured video from our regular weekly series as well as access the history tweets, history in the news and social media from facebook, youtube,

twitter and four square. follow "american history tv" all weekend every week end on c-span three and online at c-span.org/history. the medal of honor is the highest military declaration awarded by the government for valor and action. fewer than 3,500 have been awarded since the civil war. next, a conversation with two recipients as they reflect on their service in the vietnam war. this hour-long program took place at the national archives in washington, d.c. good afternoon. i'm director the national

archives experience and it is my pleasure to welcome you to the william g. mcgowan theater. today we come together to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the creation of the congressional medal of honor. it was a bleak december of 1861, more than 12,000 men had already died in a conflict more bloody than most had imagined possible. with no end in sight. it is in this context that lincoln signs the navy bill authorizing recognition for gallantry in action that becomes the medal of honor. documents attesting to the heroism of civil war soldiers and an actual medal of honor, a medal never delivered because its recipient died in andersonville prison camp are now on display in the rotunda gallery on the exhibit level. i encourage you to visit the exhibit at the end of this

program. today's panel reminds us that the sacrifice of those bitter years were, unfortunately, not unique in our history. every generation has required us to have individuals willing to sacrifice for the good of the nation. we are honored to have members of our current generation of living heroes among us today. before we start the program, i just want to tell you about a few of the other upcoming events at the national archives. several of our daytime events this january touch on the civil war and its aftermath. next wednesday at noon in the jefferson room, adam goodhart recounts the start of the conflict talking about his book "1861 -- a civil war awakening." on friday, the 20th, sidney nathan's noontime program is a story of mary walker, a fugitive slave who spent nearly two decades trying to free and reunite her family.

on wednesday, january 25th, william doughback speaks about his new book "freedom by the sword, the u.s. color troops 1862-1867." these are just three of the will 11 programs in genealogy workshops wep have ahead of us in january. please sign up on the table just outside theater doors to receive a calendar and keep up with our activity, both day and night. before today's panel begins, we have special film presentation to set the stage. the film "medal of honor portraits of valor beyond the call of duty" is actually taken from a film that's included with this beautiful book that's available for signing at the end of the program. so i invite you to listen in to the film and i'll be back to introduce our moderator in just a minute. thank you.

>> many americans do not know what this medal represents. orr what sacrifices a lot of men and women have made for this country. i hope one of these days they will learn. >> it is hard for me to convey how important freedom is, and i didn't appreciate it and i don't think that anyone can until they've lost it. it doesn't happen automatically. it's got to be re-earned by every generation or at least every other generation. if you let it slip very long, it's gone. >> my idea, it was inconsequential the way i see it. some of those guys, you cannot believe what they did. what they were fighting for is

our freedom. >> my heroes were always people in uniform and the stories my uncle told about his experience in the military. he was wounded in combat and he was quite a patriot. i guess he was one of my best heroes. >> i had relatives that had been in the various services, army, air force, i had one in the navy. i always enjoyed listening to their experiences, especially the whole idea of what it was like to serve. >> my grandpa was a quaker and he had quite an influence on my life. so i guess i envision myself as a conscientious objector. but when pearl harbor happened i felt it was not only my duty but my privilege to serve the country. >> i was liberated from the german camp. this was something you never forget. i made the promise, lord help me, if i ever go to america, i'm going to become a g.i. joe.

>> my brother talked about joining the service because they were starting up the selective service system. i said, well, i'm going to go with you. we had a pact. we knew that when we were in combat regardless of what happened to one or the other, we would forgive the other for not stopping to help him because you had to keep fighting. >> my story was really about a team. when i went to charlie company and i went there with some negative circumstances, i walked in to a company that within a week or so i felt like i was a part of the greatest bunch of men that i ever met in my life. >> before you took off, you would brief, you would go over, and you would shake hands and hug the team members and crew members. there's a bonding going on there. no talking. but what you're doing is you're saying, i'm going to take you

and i'm going to put you out in the middle of hell. if you have to come home, i'll bring you home. >> something we couldn't describe. i couldn't describe the screaming and hollering. first thing you know, all my men were either hit or dead. >> we go in and the helicopters start taking fire. it was a thoroughly bad situation. with the hospital down, it wasn't any choice. we had to go in. >> my platoon leader said withdraw. i didn't want to withdraw. >> i had already been ordered to get off the hill, take your people, get out of there, leave the mountain yard. you got to be friggin' joking. >> it looked like the corps commander wanted the leave our soldiers there. of course, we don't do that. >> we agreed amongst ourselves that we would never surrender.

we would go down fighting so we had that commitment to each other. everybody knew that. >> so i packed up my remaining marines. this was without any orders. i said we've got to go help those kids. >> i told him i was going after this guy and kent said if you go, i'll go. i said, okay, but i'm not sure either one of us is coming back. you never know what's out there. >> so it happened. i felt something had to be done. i didn't even think about it. just did it. >> i felt, yes, there was a chance that i wouldn't. but to save jesse's life was worth it. >> titus felt that we had to do it and i called the command post and told them i was doing it. i didn't ask them, i just told them i was doing it. >> i wasn't going to set there if we went, we're going together. >> when i was a kid i remember my uncles and my friends' dads talking about world war ii but they never talked about the shooting part. you know? the dying part. they never said, listen, son,

war is hell and it is something you don't want to do. >> just before we got relieved off the front line, my brother was officially listed as killed on d-day. i just had to turn around and leave. laid down, cried my head out. >> we call ourselves recipients and people call us winners. as you see, we're not winners because we weren't in a competition for trying to win anything. we happened to be recognized by our fellow men and so we wear this medal to honor them and to honor the guys who really paid the supreme sacrifice, because we are here today because of them. >> when i received the medal of honor, i went in to the office of the commandant of the united states marine corps. he was also a medal honor recipient from gaud al canal. but he said to me, for starters, that medal does not belong to you. he says it belongs to all the

marines who did not get to come home. >> the medal represents what the country has always stood for -- sacrifice. >> today is particularly special. today marks the first time in nearly 40 years that the recipient of the medal of honor for an ongoing conflict has been able to come to the white house and accept this recognition in person. >> everyone that's ever served in our military has a part of this. i have the privilege of doing a great deal of speaking to our young men and women in the service today, and i'll hand it to them and they'll say, well sergeant, we can't hold that. i said, no, you have to hold it, because if you don't feel a part of it, if you don't feel like that's part yours, then it has less value. >> this medal, the navy, marine, coast guard medal is the original medal abraham lincoln

designed in 1862. this is it right here. of course, in the 1900s the army designed their own, then the air force designed their own. but this is the original medal. >> the cliche you are wearing it and a lot of guys that should have gotten it didn't. and i think that's so true. a young kid told me, he said, you know, my dad was in vietnam and he was killed, and i'm pretty sure that he should have earned a medal. and i told him, well, i wear it for him then. >> after president nixon gave us the medal, i stayed in my motel room. didn't feel like celebrating. i had a real tough time remembering all that stuff again. many of the guys in this society will tell you that for years i did not participate in any events. i wouldn't come to the inaugurals, i wouldn't come to conventions. because i didn't -- i still don't feel worthy. but it was just too difficult of a thing for me to bear.

but there's a verse in the psalms that says that man that is an honor and understands not. it is like a beast that perishes. i've come to understand that what this medal represents is not about me. it's about men and women who value something so strongly that they'd be willing to die for it. and they'd be willing to defend our country for it. so they put on the uniform. >> i've been around the world in a lot of places. and without exception, an american soldier is somebody that's willing to make sacrifices for those on the left and the right. and you're willing to do that because you know they're doing it for you. >> what is it that motivates these soldiers to do what they have to do on the battlefield every day? because you know, they see their buddies getting shot, getting killed, getting wounded. and yet they're there the next morning to get on the helicopters to go off on another helicopter assault. there is a special bond when you

are with your fellow soldiers going through dangerous things every day. that you want to reach out and care for and protect them and i found that to be the single thing that just makes up the american soldier today. >> i try and tell the kids how many great sacrifices that people have made to give you the freedom and to do what you're doing today. how many great men and women have lost their lives. >> freedom didn't come cheap. somebody's got to pay for it. and the live of these people are very precious. a lot of people think that the great thing about the medal of honor is it is awarded by congress and presented by the president. but to me, the real honor of the a difficult time thought you ul was worthy of it. >> i'm alive today because i had damn good men. i get emotional about it.

we are a free country and why are we? because a lot of people, black, white, yellow, gave their lives so that you and i could live free. simple as that. >> it is the best country in the world and i'm part of it now. i don't have to worry about the gestapo or the ss going to knock on my door tonight. you understand what this means? i have shalom, peace. people die for it. wow. that was very powerful. today we are honored to have as