office and they said they did not know anything about it. i said i was a veteran. they said, go see va of sales. that asked if i had my 214. they found a piece of paper and said, a ticket to chrysler. i got hired. we you find that a lot of veterans, they think society owes them something because they served. if you have skills, if you want to work, there is always work in america if you want a job. it depends on what you are willing to do. i was willing to do anything to take care of my responsibility. it's not on that not all on .ivilian employees a lot of it has to do with the

veteran themselves. i would like to say before i leave here, if you call your station and turn your sound off under tv, you can hear every word you are saying to your telephone, so you don't have to have the tv on. just keep the telephone to your year. thank you very much for taking my call. earl. that's good advice, the point we make here is that veterans are individuals. some folks have more motivation than others. some folks are better fits that companies than other folks. i think that is the most important thing. just like everyone else, you need to own the responsibility of building a great career and act on it. host: greg from north carolina, independent line. go ahead. caller: yes, sir. i think that for a lot of the the employment here,

especially in right to work states that north carolina is better than being on an unemployment line. if you are an older vet, something that might help is .ust to be able to get back in if you can pass the physical fitness test and written test, let the older vets back in if they can pass the physical tests. forget about the age restriction. one thing that is helpful for jobs is mobility. dmv is completely useless. for somebody that's been around about 1700 countries, it comes back here -- host: ok, caller, thanks. older vets. guest: i retired from the air force at 47 as opposed to 38

because i was out of the military for seven years and went back in. there is a great opportunity there. talking about mobility when it comes to veteran employment -- 75% of veterans have told us in the studies we do every year. at militarycom -- studies we do .com, they at military say "i'm willing to move for a job." host: and social media and things like that -- we hear about the civilian workforce being able to adapt to those sorts of things. how does that work? guest: if you are in the military right now and you don't know what linkedin is, you owe it to yourself to learn about that. own your career. linkedin is a great place to network and fine folks in companies where you want to work and connect it with them

see if you are a good fit. line.democrats john, you are up. caller: good morning. happy memorial day. guest: hi, john. caller: i need to ask you guys a question. i'm a vietnam veteran. '68. over there in '67, i was wounded and everything. i know this is about unemployment. when i came home -- years back it was a different situation. but i need to ask this guy a quick question about the va. could i do that? host: i don't know -- is this about employment in general or no? caller: no, i just wanted to ask him a quick question about what a doctor told me one time. host: take a shot at it, go ahead. caller: last year i was at the va in youngstown, ohio, and i ran into this dr. for a check up and everything, and he said he

was enabled dr. -- a naval doctor. the guy turned around and looked at me and said you blank blank owenam veterans think we you the world. i never heard anything like that. i actually got up and walked out. and he is a naval doctor, two. guest: that is a tragedy. we do owe veterans everything. look at where we are today on memorial day, honoring those who sacrifice for our country and their families. i don't think we can never do enough to help the veteran population with whatever career path they want, whether it is employment, education, owning the business. i think we will always have room for improvement. but at the same token, we're talking about it throughout many communities. one thing i love about where i work is that it transcends politics.

there is a lot of interest from democrats and republicans and independents about taking care of veterans of the families. host: if i am a veteran and i have six months to get out, what am i doing as far as the job search is concerned? guest: figure out what you want to do, innocence, and when you grow up. -- in essence, when you grow up it start with the career path, start with that career in mind. if that involves education, sometimes of internship, certifications, you need to investigate those things. treat that like it is your mission. once you have done that, when backwards to make sure you have important milestones. again, i will talk about military.com. we have a transition center where somebody can go and give us specific information and s up to one year out of separation of things you should be doing to prepare for the transition to civilian life. is theandy plunkett

community and outreach director. thanks for your time. guest: thank you so much, pedro. great to be here. oft: we will do a couple phone interviews concerning the vietnam war era and show you pictures of the vietnam war memorial. , 11:00 today, arlington national cemetery is the site of the ceremony. laying by president obama. we will continue after this update from c-span radio. some international news this hour. new s national security advisor tom donnell on is in discussion with chinese officials setting up a summit between their president. in remarks earlier, he said that next month's summit is a transfer president obama and onna's xi jingping to work several issues including long- standing differences over iran and nuclear programs to cyber attacks.

he will also meet with president xi and military officials and foreign policy figures. americans are remembering those who served this memorial day. in tampa, florida, some would workers say they want to make sure that the remains of indigent veterans are preserved with dignity. they are making urns from donated wood, and each inscribed with the military emblem is sent free of charge around the country. the veterans urn project got started last year when news reports surfaced about a former soldier buried at the florida national cemetery in a cardboard box. also remembering veterans today, the first family. president obama and first lady michelle hosted a breakfast at the white house with gold star of servicemembers who have been killed. as pedro mentioned, later the president will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns at arlington national cemetery. you can watch it live at 11:00

a.m. on c-span television or listen to it here on c-span radio. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. host: vietnam veterans memorial on this memorial day. you see a good crowd gathering right now. i will continue throughout the day. we will continue to show you pictures come in as we go through our final hour of washington journal. takeh for this hour will -- for this hour, we will take your calls on memorial day, and if you observed, tell experiences and stories and give your perspective. if you live in the eastern and central time zones, give us a call at --

so there's the lines for us this final hour as we bring you " washington journal" this memorial day. this is from "the washington times" this morning. , andmber memorial day ronald reagan's words." he highlights some of the words from arlington national cemetery, may 26, 1986. "arlington, so many memories, so many wonderful men rest here, men and women who lived colorful and vivid and passionate lights. they are the greats of the military.

blackjack pershing, omar bradley. the mensmith is here, on the space shuttle challenger. they had the courage of career professionals who took prudent risk for great reward, two against the sum total knowledge of the world, laid to rest here. they join other explorers --" and he goes on and on. 11:00, the wreathlaying that will take place by the president as well as others present for that. see it on c-span at 11:00. for this final hour, if you want on this give thoughts memorial day, three lines you can do so.

colleen from capitol hill, tennessee, you are on. caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. one of the lucky ones who doesn't have to visit my husband in a stone grave on memorial day. he came back, and when he did, he got a job in the oilfield in louisiana, is what you were talking about earlier. he was injured in that and then he went to work for at&t because they were hiring at the time. he stayed with them for 30- something years. tying in the problems that were faced when he did come back, he was trying to find a psychiatrist or someone to help him with, i guess, ptsd at the time paid he finally found one on our own and he got basically

laughed at and said, "you should have problems, you are in war zone." that is not one of the best things to tell a veteran and we found out. he never went for help after that did -- after that. host: what branch did he serve? caller: second of the 506 of you 100 branch of the army and he served from '70 to '71 and was involved in one of the last major land battles we had. they made a documentary about hell on a hilltop." they did not want to that battle to get out and be known because the year before that we suffered quite a few losses in hamburger hill in the same area. you don't realize that until i started looking in on some of the veteran site game across the for that battle.

that is how i found out the information. he still is one of the veterans who is the last to say, "i am a veteran." he doesn't appreciate what. -- where people appreciate and him. that is all i have to say. colleen in chapel hill, tennessee. donald in pennsylvania, vietnam vet. caller: i would like to thank c- span on behalf of all the veterans for having this quality program on during this solemn day, memorial day. living in pittsburgh, there is known as miles south mckeesport, and it is renowned for two things. one, having erected one of the first official vietnam veterans memorials back in 1966, and having over 23 killed in action from a small town near pittsburgh, which is reported to be one of the highest per capita. eras, every all

graduating class from 1965 to 1974 had at least one should often times as many as five -- often times as many as five kia's in that war. we are proud of the veterans and we would like to thank c- span for this opportunity. host: before you leave, tell us about your vietnam experience. caller: my experience was in the latter part of the war in the 1970s. i was in the u.s. navy. the attackn board aircraft carrier, the uss constellation, we were one of the last ships to fly air ops into laos and cambodia during the end of the war. host: joe from san diego, california is next, also a veteran. caller: good morning. i want to say that memorial day -- sure, it is about veterans, but the thing i always understood is about those who have fallen and those who died in war while they were serving country.

i had a few friends who died, maybe -- a friend, close person i worked with, stationed in london. he went to pantomime you was there about a week and he got killed in a traffic accident and he was still serving his country. all those people, i really want to thank. host: you may have missed our first question. how to honor those who are fallen vets -- care to share thoughts on that? caller: without getting too personal, i say we think about them and keep them in our thoughts. that is all you really can do. even with relatives who died -- i was thinking about that yesterday, about relatives i hadn't an seen since i was a kid that patents -- that passed away. everything else is kind of fake. i'm not saying having flags up saying -- having

flags up is great, but really it is deep inside of you when you think about those people that you know that have fallen. i thank c-span for having the show. host: vietnam veterans memorial on your screen right now. as we look at that, we are going to speak to a vietnam veteran from iowa. get, good morning. -- dick, good morning. caller: good morning. happy memorial day to all veterans. the reason i am calling is i want everybody to always respect everybody that has any service for our country, the united states. color.man, whatever whenever war, whatever conflict you want to call it. as i am watching it on tv, the veterans moral -- veterans memorial them i think -- veterans memorial, i can't go to that because i will never be in

the right frame of mind again. ,s i talked to the interviewer he asked me what i wanted to talk about, and i wanted to talk about i was in vietnam from august of '67 and cmae ho -- came home christmas '69. 101st airborne. lost everybody. i don't know where they are. i can't find them through all the publications an e-mails, and every site i go to i can't find everybody. i can't be the only one who is still alive. i was wondering if there was a way i could leave my phone number or my e-mail so if anybody remembers -- they used to call me sergeant rock in our unit. i just want to see if somebody can get in touch with me. i don't know how.

i just wanted to know if i could or couldn't -- host: the best i could do, possibly, and i can't do this, obviously, we will have them put you on hold and take your information and see if somebody comes through. how about that? caller: thank you, and god bless america, and god bless c- span, the best thing that is ever happen, especially since i am retired and at and on disability the last six years. host: again, if you guys can put them on whole hold take information, i would appreciate it. this is the vietnam veterans memorial. you can see many people lined up, and in some cases, what did he was take pieces of paper and pencils and make rubbings of the name to take home with them. bowie,am veteran from maryland started the vietnam memorial fund in 1970 nine. according to the national park service, the most recent estimation of numbers, and this changes from year to year as they advance -- 58,261 names on

the wall. in 1980, it was charles theiss of maryland and john warner of virginia cosponsored legislation to provide federal land on the national mall for the memorial. july 1, 1980, president jimmy carter signed the legislation calling for the memorial to be built between the lincoln memorial and the washington monument. i mentioned the vietnam veterans because fund, only joining us is a member of that memorial fund. he served on the board of directors. this is major general michael now. he -- michael nardotti. he is retired from the service. thank you for joining us. guest: you are very welcome. host: first and foremost, can you tell us about your vietnam experience? guest: yes, i was commissioned from west point in 1969, commissioned in the infantry, trained and airborne ranger, and then when i went to vietnam in

september 1970, i spent about eight months on a stateside unit, the fifth mechanized ,nfantry in fort carson colorado, and joined the first cavalry division in vietnam in september 1970. i was assigned as the blue platoon leader. the helicopter assault the two meter for the bravo troop of the first night cavalry regiment. andere the only troops basically we were a quick strike capability to take advantage of opportunity enemy targets and also, more importantly, to rescue downed pilots who went down an aircraft, and the long-range reconnaissance control teams that have stumbled into more resistance than was intended. host: general, if i understand

a crackly, there is a aceto begin anniversary -- there is a significant anniversary on the return of troops from vietnam. guest: that's correct, 40 years ago in february of 1973 that s wererst u.s. pow released from vietnam, and that ,ent on over two months concluding in april. the: your thoughts on significance of that type of anniversary on this today guest: at the time there were a lot of distinct memories, and with respect to the release of prisoners, an incredible range -- incredible range of emotions at that time. for those loved ones who had returned, indescribable joy, but markany others, question still remained.

what happened to my loved one 600 91 pows returned, and that the time there were over 1300 missing in action and 1200 that were believed killed in action, but the remains were never found. many families still continue to have the uncertainty and the pain that goes along with that the loss of a loved one. that continued. -- there were efforts after that to continue to , and remainsssue were identified at a later time, but that is the most distinct memory. host: as far as those who visit the wall and part of the memorial fund, tell us about the significance as a memorial, as many people come visit year after year. guest: the numbers of people

who have continued over time to visit the vietnam wall -- vietnam memorial is a sign of the impact that it has. when you are able to see a name on that wall and know that that person was killed in action and many of us, they were friends. i had 18 west point classmates who were killed in vietnam could at least one roommate did so killed in vietnam. at least one roommate. so many people that we were close to. but with respect to others, other troops to form bonds let -- who formed bonds unlike any other in vietnam, to see the names of their fallen romance as is a very emotional experience. and equally important, the families -- mothers, fathers, sisters, nieces, nephews. it evokes memories that another

type or style of memorial does not when you see the name. in the new project that the vietnam veterans memorial fund has for the education center of wil enhance that even more with the digitized capability that will -- the goal is to put a face with every name and get a picture of every name on the wall. thousands of printers now, but with the pictures and phrases , andiated with the names in terms of memorials from drinks it to the level of a personal that is not been seen before. -- in terms of memorials, it takes it to the level that is -- level of personal hav that s not been seen before. on the occasion when there has been a confirmation of a death

and over the past 40 years, the u.s. return of pows and various times and with our evolving relationship with the vietnamese and the increasing cooperation, there has been more success in identifying remains of people who were listed as missing in action and they can be added to the wall. when they are confirmed death. i cannot give you the numbers, but certainly that doesn't matter. each one is significant certainly for the family, the friends of the person who is added to the wall. there is some finality there. and closure. host: the new project that you wish to add to the wall -- when do you expect that might be available? guest: we are in the process of fundraising at the present time, and it is going to be privately

funded. u.s. federal funds are not going to be used, although we have had some donations from our allies during the fundraising. but we hope -- initially the plan was to break ground by 2014. that may slip to 2015. but we're looking to have it 2016. the current plan ( host: major general michael nardotti, thanks for your time this money. guest: you're very welcome. with we will continue calls this memorial day as we continue to show you pictures from the vietnam veterans memorial. here is jim in louisville, kentucky, a vietnam vet. good morning. -- my name my name las is tim. host: tim, sorry. caller: that's ok good i served

in 1967, 1968, and i can't believe i remember this, but i was in the third battalion, fourth infantry division, first platoon. i'm the proud president of veterans for peace chapter 50 in michigan. i am in louisville playing a volleyball tournament, but memorial day and looking at itr pictures of the wall, just evokes such strong emotions for me. i think about all my friends that i lost during the war, all the friends i lost after the war, all my friends i lost through cancer from agent orange. i'm also a counselor and i work with people that were wounded not only physically, but all those that are mentally suffering from ptsd from that war and other wars. how was the transition to civilian life for you? caller: every day for me, and

maybe i can speak for most combat vets, but every day is memorial day. it never goes away for me. i think of my fellow soldiers that i served with and that didn't make it, and i think of them and their families. i work for 25 years. i'm retired now and i had support from family and friends and i got the counseling i needed. but still it goes on here there is not a day that doesn't go by and i remember events happenings in horrible days in the war. my hat is off to all veterans that serves. when i look at the wall, i think of all of the names that i personally feel should be on it all the people who died of cancer, agent orange, combat zones and people who died of -- i think all the people that died, the veterans that of committed suicide -- there was more people who committed

suicide that are on that wall right now. a lot of that is ptsd. thank you, sir, for participating and giving your thoughts. being from wisconsin, a veteran. dean from wisconsin, a veteran. not stationed in vietnam but i was stationed at the base in illinois, which i flew over twice a week and brought patients back. what islike to discuss never mentioned. once i got out of service, i had a year of unemployment, and after it expired i had no income or anything. i would like to see the government tried to do something more for veterans along the lines like the andrans coming back now, the in wisconsin we have

first base that is mostly medics. the hospitals are so overwhelmed by veterans right now today could use the extra help. why can't we put them in the ,ospitals where they are needed and we pay them -- each individual -- it is all of our responsibilities. there is a group, we can pay them, and one individual we can't. us helplike to see veterans get back to work, but we pay them through the government instead of paying the money to the private sector and have them pay them. caller there that -- we will be taking calls for the remainder of the hour, half- hour right now, until the end of our program. if you want to thoughts on this memorial day, we have divided the lines regionally but we also set aside a special line

for those of you who served during the vietnam era. if you live in eastern and central time zones -- we will try to get as many calls this weekend during the half- hour. as as far as legislators who have served during the vietnam era, we have compiled a short list for you this morning. when it comes to the senate, with several peer dan coats from indiana, tom harkin, john mccain jack reed, john kerry, chuck hagel, karen and former members of congress who served in vietnam. when you go to the house of representatives, the list is longer, considerably.

sanford bishop, punitive phase zero, and others. we will show you that -- peter defazio, and others. we will show you that list could as we should be that list -- as we know through that list, we will bring bill in florida. good morning. i would like to thank all the veterans past and present who have contributed to our freedom today. every man who loves peace, his country i loves and liberty, he cherishes in his heart the union of america and being able to tell you the means of preserved -- being able to value the means of preserving it. thank you. anthony from -- sorry, charles from california. veteran. looking at just your program, and so many of my coworkers made various comments. i'm a little emotional right

now. --ent in the marine corps kind of comical to let you know this -- i went into marine corps in 1963. my my reason for going in the marine corps at that time, i volunteered. i went into impress my girlfriend. when i went to the marine corps is out of san diego, i went through a deal where we were in the rifle range and we were told that if we -- the best shooting expert that we would have an opportunity to call home, and i did. to become one of vietnam plus pressure vietnam -- one of vietnam's first snipers. i had an illness and i had to

spend almost two years here. saw money -- i saw so many of my brothers lose their lives over there. i'm saddened to think that we were told when we came home not even to wear our uniform. people knew you were military because of your haircut, but we wasn't even allowed to wear our uniforms when we got home. i got threatening letters from my friends at uc berkeley. i'm looking at all these people not coming home with these little problems and sadness to see how a person's body is being blown to bits. it is just sickening that men cannot hold themselves to get along with one another. i'm so sad that no matter what, we seem like we can control this world by killing people. host: charles, we will have to leave it there. more pictures from the vietnam

veterans memorial. according to the national park service, the walls from the memorial are made up like granite that came from india -- are made of black granite they came from india. the east and western portions measured 246 feet, eight inches. each corner of the memorial whites exactly to the northeast corners of the washington monument and the lincoln memorial to there are 4 million visitors annually. as you can see and know by experience, visitors often leave remembrances. these items, whether they are medals or autographs or jewelry, their collective national park service and stored in the facility in suburban maryland. as you continue to look at pictures, we will continue on with calls. anthony in sierra vista, arizona, hello. caller: good morning, pedro, how are you? host: i'm well. go ahead, sir. caller: i'm going to open up with happy memorial day to all who served and to share with

them a phrase that i think is appropriate, and that is wars never rest, only the warriors. when i make that statement, i'm saying that because those who are lying and rest now who can never speak again, lying in grades, marked and unmarked , we oweut the globe them a great deal of honor, especially those of us who are veterans who are still living. they made the ultimate sacrifice. it is said that less than one percent of americans never served -- only served in the military and 99% don't. i was a wounded warrior up to 28 years, 10 months, nine days are in my 2.5 years as a wounded warrior, i did everything i could to lead other wounded .arriors back to society

i challenge them with this. if you are serving on active duty, you find 99 people who are serving on active duty and told him to go find 99 people who have never served on active .uty, and let them know we did we make it look easy because we enjoy serving our nation in combat arms. .ost: anthony from sierra vista this is ron in pennsylvania, vietnam veteran. hello. to thank want everybody visiting the vietnam memorial. i didn't hear -- hello, certain? host: you are on, go ahead. caller: ok. i want to thank everybody's visit to the vietnam memorial, and say that it is a wonderful thing. i was really surprised about how impressive it was. host: have you been yourself? caller: yeah it i had to go for

a job down in washington for a while. i did go down there several times. there is 20 -- 28 names on the .all that i recognized i graduated from high school in 1966 in arizona. and what, nine guys went down after -- nine guys went down on the fourth of july and signed up. three of them came back. iere is those people -- wasn't -- that wasn't what i wanted to do at the time, like dick cheney or whatever. i wanted to do something else, but later on i got drafted and went over to vietnam -- host: what did you do over there specifically ech? uss newports on the

news. we went up and down the coast and shut things. -- shot things. there was a time -- the tour at blue -- turret blew up, second turet. 20 people died. what amazed me is that they never -- i don't think to the state they've really given a good explanation that to this day they've really given a good explanation. ammunition.tive they never really investigated it. i was surprised. they should have. ron, calling us about his experience not too far away from the washington monument. the vietnam veterans memorial. another perspective shot as people gather to look at it and in some cases you can see on your screen that people are leaving mementos are making etchings from the law.

-- making etching from thew all -- the wall. president obama heads to arlington for the reef laying ceremony, rush the wreathlaying ceremony, would she can watch on c-span. on c-span.u can wash the event will start about 11:00 this morning with the president and others in attendance. west virginia. good morning. caller: good morning. my thoughts are pretty sad today. 2 brother denny, he served tours. he got hooked on drugs over there. and then when he got home, it was a very hard time to that off of them, and he ended up in prison, and we can't even visit , because he is in north carolina. hope he is listening

and tell him i really love him and tell every one of you to thank you for serving. day for me.al i wish somebody would help him out of there. he is in north carolina and we are in west virginia and we cannot even go and visit him. host: thank you for sharing your thoughts this morning. she is from wheeling, west virginia, calling about her thoughts on this memorial day, about her brother specifically. there is the wall as it stands right now. at 10:00 we will conclude our program. another "washington journal" coming or date tomorrow. -- coming your way tomorrow. if you're just joining us, we have divided the lines into three lines specifically, one for eastern and central time zones --

here is john from chicago. he is a vietnam veteran. caller: good morning. i spent 404 days in vietnam in 1970 and 1971, all in combat. i was a mortar man and infantrymen most of the time. occasionally we shot some mortar's. i come from a small town in 17nesota, and we lost .riends during that time employment by the veterans and ministration -- i started there about a year ago, -- veterans administration. i started there about a ago, and i'm so proud to be able to g give back to the country again

and serve our veterans. you can't imagine. it can't imagine how good of theo see all veterans coming in and their families and espouses -- and their spouses, and the love that these people give to each other. this is theto say, greatest country on earth, and i don't care what your political party is. you need to remember that the employees of the federal government spent all of their time trying to do well for this country. work extremely hard, and the veterans administration is a great place and has the finest healthcare in this country, and i am proud every day i walk into that building, proud to say that i'm giving something back to my country at the veterans administration. i hope everybody remembers today

for what it is, for the people that gave their lives for this country so that we can live like we do. thank you. from chicago, illinois. he is a vietnam vet joining us on this day as we take calls on this issue. joining us to talk a little bit about those missing in action or a chief withwar, the national league of p.o.w.- mia families. she serves as chairman of the board. thank you for joining us. guest: thank you for having me. the lighted, -- delighted, especially as i'm talking to you from the white house where i am at the breakfast meeting for the national celebration of memorial day. tell us about the events there, especially when it comes to pow and mia issues. intentionis what the

of the day is, to honor those who sacrificed their lives. i represent the vietnam war but also all of the earlier wars now, a case of trying to account unreturnedurned -- veterans. they are all veterans, it's just that there is still uncertainty about life or death, and while there most likely no longer living, it is about being able to account for them. that is why we were invited here and that is what i'm doing today, representing all the pow mia families. how many veterans are still listed as uw or mia? guest: technically, and assertively, zero come up but it ,s 1647 from the vietnam war ,20 from the cold -- 73,000

half of which were lost in ships sunken during the second world war. the world war ii issue is much different than the vietnam war and the korean war. there is uncertainty in both of those issues. as far as world war ii, obviously, not much uncertainty, particularly for the 40,000 or so who were lost in ships at sea. host: how does the federal government go about finding information about those missing and bring that to the families? it is a competent a process, and there are 600 people working nationwide involved directly in the accounting effort. it is different depending on the war. in the vietnam war and has been a matter of access to families such as vietnam, laos, cambodia, trying to get access to the archives as well as the witnesses, conducting interviews

conducted by specialists that both work for the defense- intelligence agency and what is mia known as the joint pow- accounting to man, the group tasked with for all those listed as missing or prisoner. those who are less known to be alive but have not been returned is our or dead, that objective and we are rational about it because from the beginning, when we formed in 1970, it was to achieve the fullest possible accounting. in that war, not everyone is to be accounted for. it is an objective that is too far. sense, howgeneral open are these governments to providing the information? has evolved. initially there was very little openness or cooperation, and it is a matter of an evolutionary , having a specialist who not only speaks filling much

but knows how to deal,relationship and the each of thef countries that we deal with. as that has developed, there is more willingness to provide the archival records that we need. certainly when it comes to the vietnam war we have always known the extent to which the vietnamese could provide archival records that would help clarify what happened to .ost of those that are missing it was the controlling influence in all countries, not only their own country unaccounted for, but along the borders of laos and cambodia. host: since you are at the white house, is it my understanding that a pow-mia flag flies over the white house? guest: yes, that is correct. six days a year, and memorial day is one of those days. that is been by law for many years now. it started in the reagan administration and has expanded ever since.

every state has a pow-mia flag capitol, and many have visitors and restaurants and welcome centers and certainly at the va, department of defense, countless military installations around the world, as well as ships at sea. , where wembassies have the old missing, it is our and this flying everywhere at the white house today. and as it is at the department of defense and department of energy affairs -- department of veterans affairs and state department. as far as your organization is concerned, i suspect that you have specific events highlighted to bring awareness to this issue? not on memorial day so much as we do on national pow and mia national recognition day. on memorial day it is more about honoring those who have

sacrificed their lives. grateful nation it's pressing its gratitude. honor and remember its is great and well earned and deserve, but our job is harder than that. our job is trying to get answers and bringing these veterans home alive or dead. that is tougher challenge than honoring and remembering. , fromann mills-griffiths the white house, chairman of the board of the organization for pow and mia families, thank you for your time. guest: thank you for bringing attention to this issue. it is beautiful here, and the white house being the people's house, it is is always a privilege to be here as well. , ma'am.ank you for the remainder of our time, just a few minutes now, we will take calls and look at the vietnam veterans memorial. don't forget, later on this morning, 11:00, arlington

national cemetery. the tomb of the unknowns is where the wreathlaying will take place. as you look at it, we will go to our next call. this is peter in washington. served as a vietnam veteran. hello. caller: good morning. going to try to be very quick here. i'm preparing to go to our local memorial services this morning. 2 messages out, one to the mac and people and one to veterans. to the american people, please hold your politicians accountable, almost all of which have never been in combat and know nothing about it. hold them accountable, don't let send our latitudes kids to this meatgrinder we are in now and probably will be in the future. the second thing is to the veterans. please go to the disabled american veterans american legion, vfw, some organization and get help trade they have people who know how to navigate the va system. go and get help.

don't button it up for 40 years like i did and find out you needed help. thank you very much. host: larry from philadelphia, pennsylvania, you are up next. caller: hello, good morning. thank you for taking my call. yes, i am not a vietnam veteran, but i am a veteran, and i am listed -- i in listed in february 1967. i just want to say thank you to all veterans, those that have gone before us, those that are living with us now. all veterans. thank you so much. i remember when i first went to , i was so overcome in just looking at it on the tv, it just -- i still have that feeling. host: how long has it been since you visited? caller: i try to go there at

least once a year. and i haven't went this year yet, but i am due to go. ever since they put it up i tried to go once a year. when they open up the new world war ii greatest generation, i came to that. host: we've got a few colors this morning talking about the ways to honor fallen veterans on the state specifically. did you want to share any orughts on that? caller: yes that's why i am saying thank you to all of them for having the courage and the nirvana will -- the courage and the nerve and the will to step across the lines. oklahoma city trying to serve as a -- frank served as a vietnam veteran. caller: thank you for c-span and thank you for taking my call. i am a vietnam vet. i work with the disabled

american veterans and i've been a chapter commander. allnt to say thank you to the vietnam vets and welcome them home and thank all the young men and women better serving -- that are in harms way to preserve rights and freedoms that we do have. , was a helicopter mechanic and i would like to give a shout vets andl them vietnam thank them for their service and welcome them home. host: how many years did you serve in vietnam? caller: a little over three '71., from '65 to kind of bad timing but we all try to do the best we could. we were doing what our country

asked us to do. kind of a tough time for everybody, a tough 45 years later for all the vietnam vets. you have a blessed day. host: before you go, what was it like as far as your transition to civilian life? caller: it was kind of tough to there was a lot of anger and resentment. most of us got out. there was not awol other people .ho wanted to talk vietnam vets i was fortunate enough to go to work at the post office, and everybody looked at me as a disgruntled vet, disgruntled postal employee. it wasn't easy socializing. but it's better now. i work with the disabled mac and american-- disabled veterans and their the honor guard of oklahoma and we go out

and give funerals all over the state. free of charge. , once again, thanks to all the veterans that have served and the ones who are serving now. frank from oklahoma city joining us as we are finishing up calls on this a moral day. -- on this memorial day. some of the close-ups there, those that are visiting the memorial today. you saw some of the mementos left as well. just a fewere minutes ago that those are taken in by the national park service and archive and held onto for anything that is left there at the wall. .arietta, georgia, hello caller: i heard the man call in from pennsylvania earlier this morning. my best friend in vietnam was killed over there, denny shallot.

today i would just like to honor the guys that died for our country. andwe still remember them we will never forget them. i would like to say that as far a lot of the navigators were taken to russia and we never got any of those people back. that is something that the government needs to look into. one other thing about the vietnam veterans memorial fund, while we love all our veterans, i would appreciate it if you adjusted the vietnam veterans memorial for the vietnam -- if you just keep giving him veteran memorial for vietnam veterans instead of putting up pictures of the dead from iraq and afghanistan there. veterans day is a day we honor our veterans and memorial day is a day we honor our dead. today we honor our dead.

,t has affected a lot of us and it's just a sad, sad thing. host: we will take one more call. that was mike. this is virginia. good morning, go ahead. are moderating today. i would like to remember the fallen veterans, and i would also like to thank them for -- the living veterans. may they be blessed in this country that they fought for. and i would like to pray for our future veterans. also, i would like to pray for god's protection of our country. the best way to honor veterans today is to be united. north and south from east coast and west coast, boston, new york, and divided we fall. let's stop the falling. ,hites, blacks, muslims, jews

and christians, let's show the world how united we can be. the last call we will take on this topic. for tomorrow's program, which starts at 7 a.m., we will be joined by the former director of the irs exempt organizations division. he did that for 10 years, from 1990 to 2000 and he is going to talk as the former head of the tax-exempt division about the process of tax-exempt laws and how organizations go for tax- exempt status, especially concerning stories of the last few weeks concerning the irs. at 8:30, ken then ken walsh will join us. life oftalk about the u.s. presidents in the bubble. that is tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. us.k you for joining we will see you tomorrow.