Skip to main content

tv   [untitled]    March 3, 2012 11:00am-11:30am EST

11:00 am
from. they have to work for it. without this award, i would probably have never seen it or had an appreciation just how challenging that process is. writing legislation is the most challenging job you'll ever get. it is easy to write poor legislation. hard part is writing good legislation. high skill that's up there. you always see it, and the opportunities that have been afforded me have allowed me to observe that. i also know that not a place i want to work. nice to find out if you can, because it is a difficult skill to find people that are successful in that environment.
11:01 am
more than anything else, i guess this decoration afforded me opportunities, opened the doors. what you do with it then is up to who you are, what you think your goals are, and i guess you kind of understand what charlie brown was talking about with the great burden of potential. that's basically what i had to summarize. i have been offered the opportunity to fulfill my potential. and you know, grateful for that. >> thank you, brian. [ applause ] >> leroy, do you want to add anything, being fresher to the process? >> i'll make it brief, i promise. sort of like sitting here today, i didn't know what to expect. then someone asked me about
11:02 am
that, and i said -- they asked how has your life changed, the is good though. a lot of the events i go to, there's a few other recipients there. they never fail to pat me on the back and say congratulations. you have another 60 years of this going on. [ laughter ] so i have to take it back three years real fast. i was in the hospital, still recovering. my wife had flown down to texas to come see me. and it was before i even knew i was put in for the award, she had went out and she had purchased the medal of honor book, had a video in it. it was something that i read while i was laying there in bed. and wild to see all the heroes i had come to life.
11:03 am
i didn't know what to expect, but i knew first there was doubts in my mind if it was going to go through. a lot of people kept telling me they doubted it, too. they said well, you're a ranger, you're supposed to do above and beyond. two, you're alive, they haven't given it to a live person since vietnam. then it slowly went by and drifted. and it seemed like it didn't even matter to me if it went through or not. it was the actions were already done. the process was taking a long time. people would come up to me, say do you know where it's at, what level of the military is it at, has it made it to the pentagon, the white house, when is it going to happen, i said i really don't know. other people would find out before me and would tell me. i heard general so and so, it is on his desk. i was like it is new news to me, i didn't know that. so it didn't seem like the biggest part of my life. i kept in my mind if it did come through, it would be an
11:04 am
opportunity and privilege to get out there and represent so many veterans and military service members. but chance to advocate for some of them and mentor a few others. so when it did happen, in the past few months, it has been fast. i have been doing a lot of media and traveling, but i tell a lot of people, the up tempo is no higher than deployment overseas. it is something i have gotten used to, but i was in california earlier this week, already lost on which day it is, but that's what happens overseas, too, you lose track of time. while i was down there, i was talking to some med students at ucla with my doctor, and one of the things the pao down there said is i can't believe you didn't want to go to disneyland
11:05 am
and to lakers are not playing now, but a kings game and this and that while you're down here. i said well, there's plenty of time in my life to do that. i want to do stuff that makes a difference. part of it, i was talking to med students, i was telling them how important the role of a doctor in the military is. said if out of 100 one of you joins the service, does what the doctor did for me and other soldiers, that's the difference there. i try to pick a lot of my events. i'll pick and choose to go to that will make a difference. there's a few, don't get me wrong, that are fun. but my choice was the military. i chose to reenlist last year before the award. [ applause ] >> it is a chance to make a difference.
11:06 am
working with wounded soldiers, fun to watch their resiliency, and their great attitudes. it's a decoration that i can wear for everyone. especially those that gave the ultimate sacrifice. [ applause ] >> thank you, leroy. one more question from the audience. >> are you going to do something inappropriate? >> we wonder if we could hear from ashley and linda. just see what their perspective is on joining you in this life. >> it is certainly okay. i'll ask them if they are comfortable -- ashley, are you >> yeah, she does.
11:07 am
i'll volunteer her. [ applause ] >> there it goes, leroy. you're through now. >> thank you. >> i'll take it around. >> you're a mother with children and you kind of represent the country, whether you like it or not. >> changed our life. i'm very proud of him, obviously. it's kind of a mixed feeling when he received this medal because i look at all of our other militaries and are out there and the families, we all sacrifice the same thing, so
11:08 am
sometimes in a way i feel like they should all be receiving this, also. not just us. and so when he was awarded it, we have a lot of friends and family and spouses saying congratulations to me. and i said no, this is for all of us. congratulations to all of you because he wears this and our family represents every single one of our military and the families, and as far as the injury and receiving the medal, it has changed our family but for the better. our kids are aware of all the things that do go on, especially when they visited him in san antonio, the burn victims, it just really -- our kids have been able to take that and go back and share with other kids and our community.
11:09 am
and one thing that for veterans day, our school is doing their veterans assemblies. my husband will be at each one of our kids' schools to speak. and our oldest has written, was just asked to introduce him and said mom, i'm proud of dad, but i don't want to just acknowledge him, i want to acknowledge all of our military and our veterans, and he wrote this full on page, speech, a full speech, and he asked me to proofread it, and i sat there and cried. i was like i don't know how i'm going to hold this together. it made me realize he's a quiet kid, but made me realize wow, he really gets it. he really, truly gets it. and proud to be his wife, proud
11:10 am
to represent the military and say thank you to our veterans and to all that still serve. and watching the videos is very emotional for me. especially since i got to meet a lot of our medal of honor recipients, means a lot. but also for the fallen, like my husband said, we just lost four guys. one of them we were close with. that's been very, very rough. left behind his wife and two baby girls. so just another reminder, when he puts -- i help him put that out there what they're doing for us. all in all, it has been positive we met a lot of people in our life. he is still among us and with us. [ applause ]
11:11 am
>> my dad is robert maxwell, and he's had the medal all my life, so growing up, he never made a big deal at all about it, and i used to take it with me to grade school and show and tell it. wear it around. so i just thought that everybody's life was like this. i think beyond his medal, i have seen so much humility and kindness and gentleness and that was him before the medal. just knowing he has the medal makes me so proud.
11:12 am
he'd be the same person without it. he's really taught us a lot in our life as a child. taught me a lot of what kind of person i want to be. it hasn't affected him that much. he's just my dad. [ applause ] >> mrs. hooper, do you want to say something? mrs. hooper, joe hooper is a name on an award that will be presented tonight to brian thacker. his memory lives on through that award as well as other things. and mrs. hooper, if you would like to say anything.
11:13 am
>> it is always such an honor to get to be here, and i thank everyone for being so nice, but joe always said i was doing my job. anybody in the military would have done exactly the same thing if they had been in the exact same place that i was. sometimes you don't have a lot of choice, you just have to get the job done. [ applause ] >> thank you. somebody i introduced in the beginning, mr. dan murphy whose son was killed in afghanistan. dan, would you like to add anything?e keeping the memory of your son alive. >> thank you. i'm in a lot different position than most. i have three living recipients here.
11:14 am
i not only lost my son, but he also lost most of his s.e.a.l.s team. so i see things from a different perspective. what i can tell you and what i notice in my time dealing with others that have received the medal of honor, whether posthumously or alive, not just their courage, but the fact that like michael, they all thought something higher than just of themselves. they thought of others, and that their overriding principle was not so much what happened to them but what was happening to their men, and i think that's kind of the perspective that i bring. i know what mike did and why he did it, and i get a better perspective, understanding what these three men and why they did what they did. [ applause ]
11:15 am
>> well, ladies and gentlemen, i think we'll wrap it up now. thank you for asking that question. added great dimension to what we came here for. i think you would agree with me that we will leave here richer in spirit than when we came in. and for the perspectives that you've heard and the questions that have been asked and answered by all of you and the medal of honor recipients, thanks very much. have a great day. [ applause ]
11:16 am
you're watching american and four square. follow american history tv every weekend on c-span 3 and online at c-span.org/history. this weekend, american history tv is in shreveport, louisiana expanding our reach from washington d.c. for programming on american history. shreveport is the third largest city in louisiana and the former
11:17 am
home of the louisiana hayride. a radio show which helped celebrities like elvis presley get their start. learn more about shreveport, louisiana, all weekend long on american history tv. >> the louisiana hayride. ♪ >> it would start off with a big roar and logan would come out and mr. page would. the first thing they would ask is anybody here from texas? of course, a roar would go up in the auditorium. it would start off with all of that. who is here from arkansas, mississippi, alabama? >> good evening, everybody. from the auditorium in
11:18 am
shrevepo shreveport, louisiana. >> it was like magic when you walked in the building. the vibes for that saturday night were so exciting. the louisiana hayride is actually known as the cradle of the stars. and it literally was the "american idol" of its day. the louisiana hayride embraced young talent. all of the great stars that were here that became so famous all over the world from the louisiana hayride have never been equalled. it actually started april 3rd, 1948. it was a live show broadcast in this wonderful building on this stage and it was broadcast by kwkh.
11:19 am
horace logan was the producer along with norm and several others. and it just became a regular saturday night radio show. this building, it's kind of hard to believe, but every saturday night in the '40s and '50s, this building was packed with people that would drive hundreds of miles to come to the louisiana hayride. the show was very loose. >> you know, folks, i had a pleasant surprise tonight. an old friend of mine dropped into visit with me. i talked him to coming out on stage and sing for you folks. he said if you like his singing, he'll come back next saturday night and sing all the songs you want to hear. it's been a long time since he has been on the show. come out here. hank williams. [ applause ] >> hello.
11:20 am
thank you, horace. >> the engineer, bob sullivan said the louisiana hayride wasn't produced. it just happened. this is the hallway in the great municipal auditorium with a lot of the portraits of the stars of the louisiana hayride. of course, here is the man in black, johnny cash, who began here with his first record on sun records back in the early '50s. here is his beautiful bride, june carter. they both performed on the louisiana hayride many, many times. june is part of the great carter family whose mother maybelle and the carter family played here on the hayride here many times. of course, here's little old elvis. of course, elvis didn't have
11:21 am
side burns back then. he was a little teenager coming from memphis. kind of sandy headed and cute as he could be. of course, stole all the hearts of the fans of the louisiana hayride and became famous from the louisiana hayride stage when he was still a teenager. and down here is, of course, the great hank williams. hank williams actually the first really big star of the louisiana hayride. he was the greatest back then and is still the greatest. he left here after he became a big hit. went to the grand old opry. unfortunately, he had a
11:22 am
this is actually where i made my first entrance into the municipal auditorium at the hayride. we all came in through this back door and would go into one of the dressing rooms or go on stage. there was always a crowd back hereof singers, musicians, songwriters. everybody visiting before the show and all during the show, actually. this is a larger dressing room, which back in its day was very
11:23 am
fancy with its own shower and facilities. they put some photographs in here of elvis and however this was not elvis' dressing room when he first came here because as you remember, he was not a star. he was a newcomer. he was a teenager. he mixed and mingled with everybody and became good friends with a lot of the entertainers who were performers and singers on the hayride. he loved all the girls, of course. >> he is only 19 years old. he has a new distinctive style. elvis presley. let's give him a nice hand. [ applause ] ♪ ♪ why, it's all right, mama ♪ that's all right with you >> there were always just literally dozens of musicians and it was very lively.
11:24 am
and, of course, the stage was all set and the music was playing and the person who was coming on would be waiting about right here. the engineer's booth was right over there. bob sullivan, the engineer on the hayride, and the announcer's podium was over here. so, it was just a lot of mingling around back here. but i guess the most awesome thing that when you came out here, the roar of the crowd in this building was just enormous. ♪
11:25 am
>> okay, thank you. nice to be back to the hayride in shreveport. >> you can hear the music playing. it seems to never end in this building. and all of the great artists that performed here, it seems to me their presence is still in this building. the last regular saturday night show was in 1960 and the people that owned kwkh just decided to close it. i guess, you know, there are many opinions on why shreveport did not develop its music industry and nashville did. a lot of it had to do with leadership. the people in nashville, they were very smart people. very kind and loving toward the music community.
11:26 am
shreveport really, as far as i can understand, never embraced their music community. it was something that the leadership here did not understand as a value for economic development, for cultural development. it was something that was absent from the mind set of a lot of people here and it still is. we've had a big battle fighting for the louisiana hayride. we actually created a shreveport historic music district plan to revitalize the neighborhood and restore the old buildings. to create a music grounded atmosphere here. but that will give shreveport what it should have had a long time ago. a music presence.
11:27 am
>> all right. elvis has left the building. [ applause ] >> i told you absolutely straight up to this point, you know that he has left the building. he left the stage and went out the back with the policeman and he is now gone from the building. all weekend long, american history tv is featuring 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 are watching american history tv all weekend every weekend on c-span 3. who have we vetted? >> romney, christ. bloomberg. >> who can we win with? >> none of them. >> jon, obama just changed the dynamic. >> look inside the new hbo movie that gave the inside story on
11:28 am
the 2008 presidential campaign. >> i love the hockey moms. the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull? lipstick. >> sunday with authors john heilman. >> the expert coming from the speech is the asset from the campaign. immediately after that, she was. on the democratic side, there was a lot of concern as the mccain/palin ticket came out ahead of the barack obama polls. people on the democratic side were sort of freaking out. >> we will talk about "game change" sunday at 6:30 at c-span. next as a film produced in 1974 by the u.s. army. portions of the film were recorded in the pentagon's hall of heros. it was dedicated in 1968 by
11:29 am
president lyndon johnson and contains the recipients of medal of honor. this aired from 1951 through 1975. the series focused on battles, figures and traditions in u.s. military history. the long years stretched behind us into the past, forming corrs

146 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on