done his training is in active duty training on the weekend. at the end of his training, he was heading home and back to lexington, his training was and shelby, kentucky. on the 12th of january, 2014, on his way home, he came upon an overturned suv on fire. with no regard for his personal safety, he went to the vehicle. he saw the driver who was unconscious and still strapped in. assisted by two of his kentucky army national guardmen and army veteran that stopped to help, sergeant mehltretter took charge of the situation and went into action to extract the driver from the vehicle even while it was burning. he wanted to make sure there were no more injuries caused. so he began to organize the effort at the crash site.

the driver, who was a canadian citizen, as he came out of the vehicle, this combat medic, sergeant andrew mehltretter, he used combat skills and destabilize the patient and he stayed with that patient until the ambulance arrived. when the driver came back to consciousness, he looked up and andrew said you are ok emma we a are here with you. many folks especially the first is a responder's say that andrew saved that gentleman's life anders commander said his dedication to duty and selfless service warrants recognition. his extraordinary heroism establishes him as a professional, as a leader, as a mentor of soldiers.

ladies and gentlemen, the 2014 uso national guardsmen of the year, sergeant andrew mehltretter. [applause] ♪ >> and now ladies and

gentlemen, we present to you the 2014 uso service members of the year. [applause] ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, please

welcome back asiha tyler and the vice president of monster, steve coker. [applause] >> i just want to say if i have not made it clear what an honor it's been to share this night with you. all night, people have thanked me for being here. i keep telling them how much of an honor it is for me and how grateful i am. that's not casual conversation. i said yes immediately when i was asked. the best part of my job is all that is not all the bull you read about -- the best part of this job is to give back and it's incredibly high honor to serve that there is no higher honor than to be of service to those who serve. i am so, so grateful to be here with you.

an incredible night for me. thank you. [applause] >> thank you and great job. >> except for the zumkunft thing -- that was bad. >> was that the only thing? >> that was the only thing. >> on behalf of monster military.com i want to thank you all for attending this evening. it is truly an honor to support the uso and their mission to lift the spirits of american troops and families and to jd -- jay-z and the uso staff, what an inspiring program you put together tonight. thank you for creating such an extraordinary event. to those who are honored this evening, i am in awe. i speak for everyone in this

room when i say we are humbled by your stories. your courage and dedication in the service makes me proud to be american. you are what makes our country great. you have my sincere thanks and appreciation. [applause] >> we have come to the end of a remarkable evening. as i've said, it's been -- yes, there is always something afterwards. hold on. [laughter] it's in a real pleasure to serve as the head of ceremonies tonight and hear the stories of these incredible service man women and their families. you are incredible and we are so grateful for everything you do. i think -- there is one other thing -- >> there is one other thing. >> it feels like we did not plan it. [laughter] >> the after party is getting started upstairs in the -- general spencer is still here?

i hear we might have a wrap. [applause] it may just motivate everyone to go. he's given us the thumbs up so we will see you upstairs, thank you. >> thank you for joining us, good night and god bless the united states of america. 's next, from last week veterans conference, we will en who served.ma on newsmakers, a look at the affordable care act. she now heads the nonprofit organization and role america. here is a portion. >> i have seen a preview of how -- have adjusted the

application. it is much more streamlined. , consumers would have to reenter information that they entered before. bit year, it looks a little different for different consumers because of the application process that is -- built to accommodate your specific situation. for a lot of consumers, they will see the number of screens reduced. that speaks to how much more streamlined this is, how much more user-friendly it is. the other thing to know is that we always talk about the website, we talk about how user-friendly that is. we found that a lot of consumers really want in person assistance. something that i always went to make sure we do not lose track of. there are in person the sisters across the country prepared to sit down with consumers and help them through the process. >> you can see that entire newsmakers interview, sunday at

10 a.m. eastern on c-span. military veterans gathered last week get the u.s. navy memorial and washington, d.c. for a conference honoring their service. among the speakers, members of the fame tuskegee airmen. they recount these aggregation and discriminatory practice think out of while in service. this is about 45 minutes. [applause] >> good morning. fingers crossed, aspiring aviator. i have the honor of introducing veterans of the first african-american unit, the tuskegee airmen.

these men overcame segregation and discrimination to serve their nation. we have the pleasure of hearing from these dedicated and to -- and to determine men. including jim, a former radio operator. anderson, bill, a former pilot cadet. and finally, stephen mccoy, chairman of the speakers bureau. ladies and gentlemen, pleas help theelcome these brave men, tuskegee airmen. [applause] >> good morning. how are we this morning? excellent, excellent. i would like to thank the wonderful introduction. i would like to go ahead and give her a round of applause.

[applause] i would like to thank cadet nicole for her wonderful introduction of us. the tuskegee airmen seated here and i would like to welcome you to this panel discussion. this is about the history and legacy of the tuskegee airmen. we're grateful to speak with you this morning and this wonderful venue. we wish to express our special thanks to our contact within the american veterans -- wes smith. i would like to start off with a brief introduction. seated before you, you have ivan ware and major anderson. they are representing the 16,000-19,000 men who are part of the tuskegee airmen story.

it is often referred to as the tuskegeee experience. i would like to start with the definition of a tuskegee airmen. woman,ny person, man or military or civilian, black or , who served at tuskegee locationor any other between 1941-1949. all these individuals are considered tuskegee airmen. experience was a unique and important development in race relations in the history of our country for black citizens and the nation as a whole. it established, in 1941, the political and legal maneuverings -- america's ability to be enlightened and challenged.

significance the tuskegeest did h experience it is necessary to be , viewed in the context of the racial climate in america and the time it was executed. the impetus began at the beginning of world war ii. of blackequence discontent, and specifically the denial of opportunities to serve our country in a military in jobs other than service or labor. in the face of strong resistance from the military establishment and most officials in the war department, a relentless effort was carried on by a number of black organizations and a sympathetic white minority to accept blacks in the army air corps.

after considerable debate on the subject, the government agreed to establish a program in which blacks would be trained in military aviation. tuskegee, alabama was selected to conduct the flight training for pilots. the first class, designated 42 c, began with 12 cadets and one military officer. of the 13 students that begin the initial training, five graduated from the final training and received their wings. on march 7, 1942. the first black u.s. air force general was among the graduates.

second lieutenant curtis. second lieutenant charles. second lieutenant roberts. second lieutenant ross. one of the key evolutions of getting to this point was in 1941. eleanor roosevelt, at the first lady urgings of her close friend and social activist mary, moved to expand the program in tuskegee. she not only visited the field but incredibly, and against the advice of her secret service detail, she asked the chief flight instructor to take her on a flight. this single act of flying the

first lady for more than an hour had great symbolic value to the advocates of black military aviation. it brought a visibility to tuskegee's pilot training program. this help to open the door for blackpointment of military aviation units to the european theater. unfortunately they were still in , segregated units. in total, there were 2483 pilot trainees that entered training in tuskegee, alabama. of which 992 graduated, earning their wings as pilots. from 1942-1946. there were 352 pilots that the ploy to the european theater of operations. they included peter dirty nine,

the 40, p 47, and finally the people the one mustang. the enlisted personnel were recorded together in world war i separated from the main base. part of the barracks was provided as a space to eat, sleep, and study. at the onset, it was under the direction of a white staff and commanders. after a couple of false starts, the army air corps chose a to commandcolonel the unit.

colonel parrish applied his knowledge of racial problems and concerns during his command of the base. he devoted his heart and soul to providing a fair opportunity for military aviation in the cadet trainees. colonel parish's job was extremely difficult. he had to comply with the war department's regulations requiring segregation. he also had to maintain some level of segregation to keep the white complement contented as well as the population that surrounded the base. the cadets were subject to rigorous military training and discipline similar to that experienced by cadets at military academies. the mental and physical stresses

that were prevalent were specifically designed to test each candidate's respect for authority, commitment to duty, and honor. it prepared them for the biggers -- rigors they would experience later in their military careers as well as in combat. colonel parish was able to remove the first doubts about black performance in the air corps. it was a resounding success. blacks could be taught, trained, to fly and fight and maintain aircraft to the same standards that the air corps applied to all of its aviation units. moving on to the combat record. the airmen's combat achievements included the destruction of enemy aircraft. destruction of airfields rail , traffic, ammunition depots, as

well as the destruction of one destroyer by machine gun fire. the outstanding performance of the ground crews, armorers, and other technicians as well as the administration staff was critical to the success of these pilots in combat. to give you an idea how effective they were, while operating with the 12th air force, they flew 6381 sorties. from 1944 -- excuse me, june, 1943 to may, 1944, they flew combat sorties in support of the 15th air force. they flew 169 escort missions for bomber escort.

the key to remember with this is during that era, the loss of a single bomber was 10 men lost. the u.s. at that time could put together aircraft quickly. the loss of highly trained individuals to man and operate those aircraft in combat was the real loss. the tuskegee airmen fought to ensure that that capability was maintained by war fighting forces. there total combat sorties were 15,533. total aerial kills were 112. i would like to ask everyone here a question at this point in our presentation. how many of you have heard that the tuskegee airmen never lost a bomber under their escort? ok. gentlemen? education time.

ladies and gentlemen, i am here to tell you that the myth of never losing a bomber is false. the total number of bombers lost well under escort by the tuskegee airmen was 27. this is going through air force records both on the enemy side in our side. by comparison, the average number of bombers lost by other pvd once quadrants was 46 over the same. even though they lost aircraft, their effectiveness did show that they were above the standard of the typical p-51 unit. feel free to pass that information along. [laughter] date, 66 tuskegee pilots gave the ultimate sacrifice and were killed in european and north african combat zones.

additionally, 32 were shot down and captured and later repatriated. a little-known side note was that the air corps also had a bombing group made up of black airmen. the trained black pilots, navigators, bombardier's, radio men, and ground support staff. on the operation and maintenance of the twin engine b-25 bomber. the unit was program to deploy to the pacific theater, but they never deployed due to the end of the war. i would like to touch base on another aspect that does not get a lot of light. women's contributions to the tuskegee airmen.

most of us see what hollywood takes the test geeky airmen as. in reality, it was different. as the tuskegee airmen fought, they were supported by a dedicated and often forgotten cadre of women. they were nurses, mechanics, supply and ferry pilots. and secretaries. they nursed injured bodies and injured souls. they packaged and repackaged parachutes. cleared land for runways. delivered supplies. they did many other duties to keep the base operational. when black activists urge president truman to desegregate the military, they pointed to the heroism of the red tails. their air crews, ground crews, and a support staff. many of those personnel where women.

the actions of black servicemen and servicewomen proved they were eligible for the privileges enjoyed by all races. this is what i would love to carry away with you. without sheer stubbornness of her friend and visionary eleanor it is doubtful they , would have come into existence or have been successful as they were. at this point in time, i have a few questions for the gentleman on our board. i would like to ask mr. pride to please come down. mr. pride is one of our

distinguished -- ok, that is fine. excellent. i would like to ask the first question. >> i'm the youngest guy up your. -- i am the youngest guy up here. [laughter] mr. fauntroy? please give us one moment, folks. >> ok. >> mr. fauntry, where are you from? >> washington, d.c. columbia hospital for women is where i was born. >> not too long ago.

[laughter] >> what was your inspiration when you first left home? >> we had an officer in the police department here. he was an all-american football and basketball player. you could look at me and see that i was interested in basketball. >> no doubt. >> i idolized that gentleman. after my father, he was the greatest man i knew. he joined the tuskegee airmen shortly after the war started. graduated and was killed in an airplane accident in michigan. he was my inspiration. i was just 15 years old when the war started. by the time i turned 17, i had decided i didn't want to go to the navy.

i went to 11th in new york avenue to the bus station where they recruited. in the army. with the permission of my mother, i asked if i could go into the army air corps. they give me a test. apparently, i passed it. to my mother's surprise. [laughter] i went off to bowling field to take a physical, psychological, and some other tests. i was sworn in the army air corps reserves. may of 1945, i was sworn into the army air corps because i had turned 18 in march. i took more tests.

to my surprise, i passed and was sent to tuskegee army airfield. i was a pre-aviation cadet. i stayed there until may of 1945. i was in class 45 i. you mentioned 42. well, that was my class. for your folks that don't know it, the war ended when they found out 45 i was being trained. that's not true, but that's what we like to think. i was able to go through three of the four phases being trained as a pilot before they just glared -- declared a surplus. i was discharged. i was discharged on november 8, 1945.

thing about my training is the gentleman who went before me came back and taught me. my instructor in basic flying was lieutenant captain leonard jackson out of fort worth, texas. he taught me how to fly and do combat fighting, night flying. cross-country. those men came back and taught me well. they taught us well. my other claim to fame is, my first check ride, after 20 hours of flying, they are going to give you a test.

it is for you to prove that you learn what your instructor was supposed to have taught you. my first check ride was with chief alfred anderson, who happened to have taken mrs. roosevelt up. i did not know this until after i came out of the service. man, was that a big deal when i found out that was the man who gave me my first check. i am very proud to be associated with the tuskegee airmen. all these gentlemen are idols of mine. to you young people, my god. i did not do it alone. thank you. [applause]

>> i would like to ask, mr. pride, what was your inspiration when you were growing up? where are you from? >> i am from washington dc. my inspiration was african-american newspapers. there would be a photo of a tuskegee airman. when i was 16 years old, i decided i wanted to be one of them. i wanted to fly. like everybody else at that time, we all wanted to serve our country. our country at the time was 160 million people. 16 million went to war, 1/10 of them.

i am proud to be a tuskegee airman. >> thank you, sir. thank you. [applause] >> my next question is for dr. ware. please tell us where you are from and also, did you dream of joining the military when you were are young? if not, what were you inspiring to be? >> what was the question again? [laughter] >> did you dream on joining the military when you are young? >> no, i did not dream on joining the military when i was young. i found out my grandfather had

been a military person in the civil war, but i found that out later. i had a military heritage. i was just unaware of that. i was in junior college, my sophomore year. that is when the war broke out. our whole class of six guys went down to the reception center, it was a place where you could sign up. we had not been drafted. we were enlisting the military services in the 1940's. there was nothing unusual. we thought that this was the way most young americans reacted. we were all athletes. we played baseball in the summer and football in the fall. the normal things that young men did, that is what we thought we

were doing. the exception came when you completed high school. it was compulsory to complete high school. if you had any ambitions -- practically everybody had ambitions to go on -- it was beyond high school. there were many problems. there were not that many schools. if you had to go some distance, then you had to maintain yourself while you are going to school. i selected, not out of choice, to go to a junior college. it was only seven miles from home. it gave you everything a regular college gave you academically. in my my sophomore year there, i got my call to active duty. it was an honor to me to join the enlisted reserve corps. we first started up because there was a war going on.

you wanted to be a part of something. they said, no, get your college training. get as much education as you can, and then you will be of more use to the service. i tried to do that. however, in my sophomore year, my final year, i was called to active duty as an enlisted reservist. that's what i got for joining to enlisted reserve corps, stay out until i completed my education. only twollege is years. at the end of my sophomore year myself and the other four gentlemen, we went down and reported for active duty. we had all joined the enlisted reserve corps prior. i was in the service about three weeks when they gave us an opportunity to ask questions and get whatever answers we needed.

i wanted to find out how i could get from the army to the air corps. the answer was, forget it. that was the best advice they could have given me. there was no way to get out or change at that time. in a short time, i was on the atlantic ocean in november. we were fired on twice on our way to england. we landed there. the majority the ships made it through. we were not the exception. after about five months in england, we were about ready to hit the channel. finally, general eisenhower gave the order. the largest assembly of ships in the history of warfare and mankind took off and headed for france.

i don't know what went on there. we were just standing in line, day after day, waiting for your outfit to be called. the third week, we got our call. we went to southhampton and boarded up to go to france. we did not know where we were going. we landed at the primary landing point for american gis. there were several beaches, americans had omaha and utah beach. we landed at omaha. the british had their beaches. not a difficult thing as a young man to adapt to the military life. it was demanding but we had somewhat of a family history. my grandfather had been in the service. i didn't know too much about that. we were just responding to the things that went on around us.

the rest of our buddies were signing up. it was only natural to be a part of what was going on. i did not intend to be a professional military person. after world war ii, coming back to school, i needed to have as much fun in order to not take a full-time job. there was the government's package for gis. they would give you a certain amount of money but it was not enough. they took care of the payments to the school but you had to live off of $60 a month. a growing male or female for that matter would find it very difficult to manage on 60 a month.

i took rotc, which gave me additional money, i enough to make ends meet. with my military service -- rotc was something that i enjoy doing. it was expanding what i had learned from scratch. that when i was taking rotc the tremendous leadership , among the men i had served with. a young first sergeant, 27 years old, was our leader. everything i learned -- sort of learning by experience. as i said i never looked forward , to having a career in the force. but once i got out of college and had a commission and

examined my possibilities, used the experience i had, 3.5 years of service to start with -- to go back in the service, not as a staff sergeant but a second lieutenant -- i knew all about lieutenants by that time. [laughter] it was not a difficult choice. i have never regretted it. i would recommend it to all of you. i'm inspired as a lookout and i see so many crisp young uniforms. i was not the neatest soldier. we were a medium automotive maintenance company. we repaired trucks. if it had wheels on it, we could repair it. we did that for 2.5 years in europe. we did not win the war, but we made our contribution to the war

effort. we were proud of that. some of the edge was taken off when we got back to the states. we had to readjust to what we had left in the states. that is what everybody had to bear. it was not unusual. i think i have said enough. we need to hear from you, sir. [applause] >> my next question goes to major anderson. the good thing is, you never lose your rank, major. please tell us where you are from and also, when did you decide to get involved with the military? >> my name is major anderson. major is my first name. [laughter] not a military rank.

the name my parents gave it to me. i was born march 5, 1925. which makes me 89 years old today. i am happy to be here with you today and to speak with you. >> while in the military, i was an enlisted. i consider myself representing the enlisted men in the services. i recall vividly in boot camp, during world war ii, we called it basic training.

in basic training, the man i feared the most was my sergeant. i didn't care about the officers or majors or colonels. i never came in contact with them anyway. it was the sergeant. the sergeant said, private anderson, you don't address a noncommissioned officer as sir. yes, sir, sergeant. that is what it was with me. in 1941, when the work began, all eligible men 18 and older were required to sign up for the draft. to be drafted into the military.

when the war began in 1941, i was 15. when i became 18, i signed up. i was obedient to the law. i signed up. within three months time, i was drafted into the military. i began my boot training in mississippi. boot camp, basic training, i was sent to illinois for aircraft maintenance training. for your information, the pilots, they were sent to tuskegee, alabama. they had the tuskegee institute for classroom study.

they have the fields there for the pilots to be trained how to fly the planes. the enlisted personnel like myself went to a field in illinois not too far from chicago for our training. my training was as an aircraft sheet metal worker. my occupation was to repair bullet holes. our job was to keep the plane flying. i was stationed in kentucky. most of my time in the military was spent at the field in kentucky. 1944-1945. the unit of the group that i was