veterans returning from iraq and afghanistan. host: alive you of the tomb of the unknown this memorial day. president obama has their for a wreathlaying ceremony. there for a wreathlaying ceremony. we will take a look at various aspects of veterans issues. our first half-hour, we are interested in thoughts from you on how to best honor fallen veterans. here's how you can participate. if you want to give us a call -- if you want to reach out to us on social media, on the best way

to honor fallen veterans, you can do so one of three ways. @cspanwj. facebook.com/c-span. 45 comments already. you can always send us an e- mail at journal@c-span.org. bob is from the time records news in wichita, texas. they look at the remembrance and how veterans, fallen veterans specifically, should be honored. you go to the bottom of the op- ed this morning, it says --

on the follow-up page of the op- ed from the record news of wichita falls times goes on to say with those thoughts in mind this morning, again i'm a to participate and give your thoughts on the best way to honor fallen veterans, here is how you can do so. for democrats, call us at you can also reach out to us on twitter or send us an e-mail at

journal@c-span.org. about 45 people participating on facebook even before the start of the show. john fox says -- those are some of the 45-50 or so comments on facebook before the start of the program. as you can imagine, several of the papers this morning showing their pictures of how memorial day is done in their hometown. ,"is is "the columbus dispatch showing lawrence ross the third. friday.k place on another paper out of the

"chicago tribune. though this shows graves located at the abraham lincoln national cemetery in elmwood. you can see the flags next to the braves. many other papers this morning. during the morning, you also see some of the monuments around town here in washington, d the that highlight -- d.c. that highlight that. iwo jima memorial. honor to the men and women of the marine corps who have given their lives in respect to the country. very iconic. we will show you shots of that through the course of our morning. for our first half-hour, how to best honor fallen veterans is how we would like to have a response. illinois, a democrat line, john, good morning. caller: the best thing you can do is take time and think about these kids today. of course, all veterans think

about it everyday of their lives,, they think about the men they have served with and lost. one thing about the marine corps memorial, there are 13 heads pushing that flag up your -- hands pushing that flag up. the 13th is the hand of god. host: how do you specifically look at the state and how do you remember those who have died in service to our country? caller: i will run to a cemetery in indiana called same cemetary.st. john's one of my friends was honored with the medal of honor. i will visit another cemetery, to visit another war hero. atm going to say a prayer all three gravesites. people should take time and think about the precious lives that have been given up for this great country. host: that was john from illinois. we hear next from rich, joining

us from pennsylvania, a republican. caller: how are you? host: fine, thank you. caller: the fallen veterans should be honored by a ceremony they always do, but i think also by taking care of the ones that survive, the ones who come home wounded, and the ones who come home who were not wounded. i think we can do a much better job taking care of them. host: when you say a better job, what do you specifically mean? caller: just look at the backlog of cases of disabled that have come back on the most recent wars. take care of those things. it is ridiculous. i was a veteran from the vietnam era, but i never left the country. i had a top-secret clearance. i was stationed in nebraska and never left nebraska. those who did and came home and were disabled, for any reason, directly because of their searches am a should be taken care of good they should be

taken care of and the quicker manner. as ridiculous -- this is ridiculous. host: that is rich giving us his thoughts. tom from fairfax, virginia, republican line. caller: good morning. winky for having my call. i think the best way to honor our veterans is if you know a family member, particularly the children of those who have fallen, thank them and tell them a little bit about what they did for serving our country. as you know, a lot of the are volunteers today. it is very small percentage of the population. i think a lot of americans do not really understand what countries do and how they do make sacrifices. if you can go and visit somebody in the hospital that is wounded or talk to a family member, let them know they are appreciated. that is a lot. host: you may be an active or retired member of the military.

and you will want to participate as well, giving us your thoughts. here is how you can do so -- if you are active in the military or retired and you want to give us your thoughts on how to best serve fallen veterans, that is a line you can choose. off the fox news website, it has a story about america's oldest veteran, choosing to spend the memorial day at home

again, several ways you can give us your thoughts this morning. on how to best honor veterans on this memorial day. again, the lines are dedicated for democrats -- for active and retired military -- on facebook, you can give us your thoughts on facebook.com/c- span. @cspanwj on twitter. journal@c-span.org. charles says --

that is one of the ways he will celebrate today were honored today. the iwo jima memorial, which you have been seeing this morning, has been constructed, and if you were to look closer, it would say in honor of the men and women who have it in their lives to the country since november 10, 1775. the statue is based on a photo taken by joe rosenthal of the associated press. he was then on duty with the u.s. navy. he was so moved by the image she constructed ursa scale model and then -- a scale model and then dwight d eisenhower dedicated a memorial on november 10, 1954. it was a 179th anniversary of the u.s. marine corps. we will be showing you those shots as the morning progresses. that in the tomb of the unknowns which he saw earlier today. we will hear from nathaniel from alabama, he is retired.

good morning, sir. caller: good morning. what i would like to do is to in other lives -- words, when i got out of world war ii, they give us around $300. we also got a 52-20. one year of $20 a week. i lived off of that for a while. that of these soldiers come back, sometimes their parents are dead, and they do not have anything. if they just gave them $20 a week, a lot of them probably would not commit suicide because that is what hurts me, when you hear a lot of these suicides. they of times what it is just come back and their parents are gone and they do not know

anyone. they just get so frustrated until it causes you to go insane. if you get so frustrated -- my major was in psychology -- if we could figure out a way to give every weekl stipend for a year to get readjusted, i think that would do a lot to help these suicides. host: george dixon on twitter who adds about the say and how to honor veterans -- , fromxt call is richard new york, the republican line. caller: hello emma yes-- hello, yes, what i think should be done, veterans should not have to wait a year or two for medical attention. that is number one.

also, they should have the opportunity to become veterans and not let another benghazi happen where they are trapped like cornered rats in trying to fight for their lives and nobody helps them. host: those are current veterans. how do we honor fallen veterans? those who have passed? caller: go to the cemetery and say you're thing for them -- your thing for them. there is nothing much more you can do for those who have died. host: democrats -- the line we set aside for those of you who are active or retired military for our first half-hour, we will talk about the best way to honor

foreign veterans. we will take on topics related to veterans issues during the day, and then as you go on this morning, you will see sites of the tomb of the unknown and the iwo jima memorial. that is how we are going to spend our morning this morning. marianne reaed says some folks gathered at the u of jima memorial this morning, which we have been showing you -- the iwo jima memorial this morning, what we have been showing you this morning. we will be at the yet non- veterans memorial -- the vietnam

veterans memorial later on this morning. we will also hear from folks of the vietnam era about the remembrances of that time. time from ohio, active military, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you today? host: i am well, thanks. caller: i would say the best thing we can do for our fallen is to honor what they fought for and ensure that we do not make the same mistakes in the future. they fought to protect the people and the constitution of the united states, and they also fought so that we have the rights and freedoms that we enjoy today. that sacrifice should ensure that we do not allow our folks to take those rights away, whether it is labor for whatever subject you want to talk about. let's make sure our representatives guarantee the future of rights rather than trying to eliminate them. mechanicsville, virginia,

the retired line for those who served. stewart, good morning. most people can do whatever they want to do, but i will tell you what i want to do. i will gather my grandchildren around me. we will have a picnic. i will explain to them what today is about. too many young people do not know what it is about. i was watching the news this morning, and they were asking young people what today was about. they said it was a day they would have a good time. i will make sure my grandchildren understand. host: is this a regular thing for you as far as what to tell your grandchildren specifically on this a? caller: yes sir, every year, july 4 also. host: on the department of defense website, chuck hagel put out a two-minute video taking a look at memorial day, adding his thoughts on it. here is a small portion. [video clip] >> i took the oath of office to become the 24th secretary of

defense. it is a great honor. it is a privilege. to be part of your team, who you are is the honor. that is the great privilege. i'm proud of my background, proud of my career, like you all are, but nothing makes me prouder than my association with the military and the veterans. our country will never forget those who fell in battle and those who have yet to return home. their dedication and selfless service resumes equally across the country, and their legacy is carried forth probably by those who wear our nation's uniform today. thank you for your service. god bless you and your families. another shot of the iwo jima memorial this morning and as we talk about veterans on this memorial day, the lines are on your screen --

this from yesterday from the " norman transcript" of oklahoma as president obama visited moore, oklahoma after the tornado damage there. picture of the president surveying the damage. he is standing there at the plaza towers elementary school principal amy simpson and the oklahoma governor as well. video you can see there as well. you should know that another one of the papers when it comes to federal responses to the oklahoma incident, it says --

most assistance is for emergency housing. the total destruction has been estimated at $2 billion with 12,000 buildings destroyed. the federalrs, emergency management agency has provided $57 million to obama for the construction of roughly 12,000 safe rooms. -- to oklahoma for the construction of roughly 12,000 safe rooms. video for yesterday as the president spoke in oklahoma. [video clip] >> when we say we've got your back emma i promise you we keep our word. if you talk to folks in alabama who have been affected over the past couple of years, the folks in joplin wino who have sent volunteers down here, if you talk to folks in new jersey or new york, they will tell you that when we say we will be there until you completely rebuild, we mean it. i want everybody to have that confidence. again, to all the people here behind me, i want to say how proud i am of them about how grateful i am for their service.

i want to make one final comment. a lot of the first responders talked about the training that they have done in part through some federal grants to prepare for disasters like this, and as a consequence, when it actually happens, they know what to do. they are not losing time. they are able to go through all the drills and training that they've gone through. southhere is anthony from dakota, retired military. good morning. caller: good morning. how are you? host: i am well, thanks. caller: i think, you know, you could help -- i think you could probably, you can help veterans, fallen and now, by helping their children. both the parent and child go through quite a bit. , ther as the deceased

gentleman that called in and said, i do not know what you can , the numbers at the va keeps going up and up, and the care for the veterans keeps going down and down. all the world war ii guys are dying, and the korean guys are the oldest ones now, and us vietnam guys are next, and the casualties in korea and vietnam and recent wars were not as high as they were in world war ii. but the money they get is still the same. in sioux falls is immaculate. tom daschle was our senate leader. believed our va

is as good as any, and i have been to quite a few in the bigger towns. host: that is anthony from sioux falls. joint from new jersey on the republican line. caller: how are you today? it is memorial day, and god bless all of our veterans. i just wanted to echo two of the callers, that- we need to remember what our veterans fought for. all of the liberties that seem at this point in time somehow to be slipping away from us. byo, to honor the veterans telling our grandchildren, children and grandchildren, which we do whenever we have the opportunity with our grandson, to teach him that this country was founded on judeo-christian values. we need to hold dear to those

values. host: we had a previous caller who says he tells his grand children about the importance of memorial day because he thinks that message is not going out enough. caller: exactly. i was so happy to hear that. my husband is a retired veteran. we try to do that and remind the children what these people fought for. whichmy final comment, is something we all really need to look at very, very closely is the people that we elect to these need to redo your values -- revere these values that america was founded on and elect people who revere those values, elect people who honor this country and honor why we are here. host: that is joy joining us to talk about that he plans to honor fallen veterans.

and when christian at this on twitter -- charles from louisiana, a korean veteran, alone. caller: -- hello. caller: i'm just calling in to say that i saw the marine corps memorial there, and i was not in world war ii officially, but i was discharged after world war ii. i was in the korean war. there and saw several of my comrades fallen and buried that did not make it back, so i just wanted to thank the marine corps memorial there -- it is just part of the story. the rest of it is they fought for several days and nights to take that i went.

all whole bunch of them fell -- fell inbunch of them the marine corps. i will be thinking about several of them today. host: the memorial, by the way, 32 foot high figures. raising a 60 foot bronze flagpole. the flight at the top of the pole flies at full mast 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. that is by presidential proclamation. the figures stand on the look above the granite base. the entire memorial is about 78 feet tall. up next is caroline from tennessee, the democrats line. caller: good morning. ajust love the way they put little flat on my father's grave good it makes me feel good that all of our veterans and fallen veterans will never be forgotten. i just hope that does not get cut out when we cut our budget because i think it is a beautiful remembrance of our veterans. host: talk of it about your

father and his service. caller: i do not remember the battle, but he was in the navy during world war ii, and his ship was sunk outside of japan. he got a purple heart. we had the ceremony for him when he passed away. the war affected his life severely. love that every year my niece put on face but the picture that i want to make sure that he gets his flag. , but to me,ly to me it is a special memorandum that our country does for: veterans. host: a couple of facebook comments -- you can give us your comments on facebook.com/c-span. caroline says --

we hear next from kenneth, birmingham, alabama. he is retired. hello. caller: hi. i think the best way to honor is supportveterans their families and support of that -- the veterans who are still living. forbacklog with the va clients, i have had a claimant since 2005 that has not been resolved yet. in since 2005 that has not been resolved yet. it is heartbreaking to think that i spent 20 years in the navy, and i cannot get any support. host: that is kenneth from alabama. a couple of international news, the slum looking at the voter registration for afghan presidential elections that will take place in 2014. it began on saturday. according to "the washington post" --

some of the details for the process. a spokesman for afghanistan's independent election commission -- there is a story in the post about iran and the beginning process of the presidential election there about the replacement of the current president. it says --

again, those stories in the post this morning. bonnie from wyoming, good morning, the republican line. caller: good morning. i believe we should honor our veterans by helping anyone that needs help, and i think everyone that served in our military and god bless them all. thank you very much. host: this is charles writing -- as far as a way of honoring fallen veterans. democrats line from connecticut. caller: good morning.

memorial day is a day we remember those that never came home. they say you go to work for your nation, but you fight for your brothers. , i think,came home the best way to honor those who did not come home would be to honor those who are here. aren't at a veterans hospital, -- go to a veterans hospital, donate to a cause, there are some many things we can do good one thing they all die for is our nation. i think we can all do a little bit better caring about each other. in their memory. abdul served as the senate majority leader at one time. he was also the republican nominee for president back in 1996. he has an op-ed taken a look -- taking a look at supporting veterans charities. the headline --