to fund a longer-term infrastructure program. it would be a great way to get started. i think there would be great bipartisan support for a plan like this. you know, donald trump sees himself as larger-than-life. as you might imagine. you know, it kind of reminds me of looking at a teddy roosevelt. you know, teddy roosevelt, this guy was a lot like donald trump. larger-than-life. when teddy roosevelt became president, teddy roosevelt wanted to do big things. and frankly, he did big things. and i think there is an opportunity in this new political order to do big things. but big things only get done on a bipartisan basis. i went round and round with the president over this in 2011, when i became speaker. if you go back and look historically, big things get done when both parties have their fingerprints on the deal.

so, i think he has that opportunity. listen -- it is going to be an exciting year. if you thought this past year was exciting, just watch what happens over the next 12 months. but just remember this -- we live in the greatest country in the world. a country that there is no limits on what you can accomplish. and the only country in the world where you can be the son of a bartender and grow up and be the speaker of the house. god bless all of you for being here today. thank you. [applause] fred: thank you, mr. speaker. today, we are enjoying a friday forum with john boehner, 53rd speaker of the united states house of representatives. we're about to begin the q&a session with the audience. we welcome questions from everyone.

city club members, guests, students, and those of you joining us via live radio broadcast, webcast, or the live simulcast at the cuyahoga county library. if you'd like to tweet a question, please tweet @thecityclub, and our staff will try to work it into the program. our staff. i want to remind you that your questions should be brief and to the point, and not statements , please. holding the microphones today are content coordinator terry eisenberg and director of program, stephanie jansky. may we have the first question, please? >> speaker boehner, i would like to ask you about a question that was very prominent in the campaign. and that is the issue of trade. here in ohio, with we have people who have suffered because of the trade arrangements. but we also have many people and companies who have prospered.

how do you see that issue working out this year? mr. boehner: it is very difficult to rearrange a trade agreement. presidents talk about it, but it is difficult to do. in the case of nafta, though, nafta is now 20 plus years old. it is probably time for all of the countries involved in nafta to take another look at it. now personally, i am on the other side of this issue. trade has been great for america. frankly, trade has been very good to ohio. yes, there are job dislocations when you have trade. but when you look at it on the whole, in my view, it has been very beneficial to the united states, and, i would argue, very beneficial to ohio. but it does not mean that they should not be reviewed from time-to-time. the second point i would make is this -- is that enforcement of these trade laws is critically important. and i'm not sure we have used the resources we have to enforce the trade laws we have already agreed to.

i do think the transpacific partnership is overdone, dead. it was overdone, dead a year ago, in my view, because four or five provisions decided at the end of the negotiations that could never pass muster in the congress. there probably aren't 10 votes in congress for the transpacific partnership trade deal. i think this u.s.-european conversation is pretty much at a standstill, but i do think there is one opening on the trade front. and that is a u.s.-great britain trade agreement. while they are exiting the european union, they are not part of an e.u. trade agreement. so they are going to have to make their own trade agreement, and i think as our closest ally, as our closest friends, i think discussion between the u.s. and britain on a free trade agreement would be in both of

our country's best interests, and, frankly, would be very helpful to the brits as they negotiate their exit from the european union. >> mr. speaker, great to have you here today. i address the issue of a $19.6 trillion debt, and climbing. what if the new president and his new secretary of treasury and the senate leadership and mcconnell and speaker ryan and ms. pelosi, all of you together, and said to you, what would be your recommendations as how we finally and effectively address the debt before it gets worse? mr. boehner: well, we have spent more than we have brought in as a country for 60 of the last 65 years. i will say this again in case you thought i said this wrong. we have spent more than what we brought in for 60 of the last 65 years.

you can't do this at your home, in your business, and the government cannot do it either. the president and i were on the verge of the grand bargain in july of 2011. we stood in the oval office, the president and i and eric cantor shook hands on a debt reduction deal that was over $5 trillion the first 10 years. over 25 years, it might have been in the $20 trillion to $25 trillion range in terms of the tails that would have existed because of the changes we're talking about. frankly, my greatest disappointment in my years in politics was when that deal fell apart. but you have got big drivers of the debt. baby boomers are retiring at record rates. they are living longer than anybody ever expected we would live. taking up more social security, more medicare, more medicaid. those programs are not sustainable in their current form. and, we're not talking about massive changes.

we're talking about tweaks to put these programs that are essentially to the american people, critical to the american people, a firmer foundation. until that happens, frankly, there is no chance that you are going to reverse the deficit spending that we continue to do. secondly, you are never going to solve this problem without real economic growth that allows the economy to grow, that allows better jobs to be created, allows the american people to earn more, and, frankly, as they earn more, to pay more in taxes. if you don't have economic growth growing economy and controls on spending, you just cannot get there. we were there in the late 1990's. we had a balanced-budget deal with president clinton. and what happened? we had five years of a surplus. five straight years, surplus was about $600 billion over those five years.

well, what happened? spending only grew at about the rate of inflation. revenue was growing at 4% or 5% above the rate of inflation. so you have got more income coming in, holding the line on spending. and the result was we had a surplus. you can do it, but it is going to be tough to do. members do not want to vote to make changes to social security, medicare, or medicaid. they just do not want to do it. even some of the most conservative members who want to talk about balancing the budget, if they actually have to vote on the specifics, they would be shriveling like a flower on a sun-parched sidewalk somewhere in august. so, don't hold your breath. >> mr. speaker, in a remarkable act of diplomacy, the pope accepted your invitation to

address the joint session of congress, but then not too long thereafter, there was also a memorable situation where a campaign nominee, trump, took on the pope in a back-and-forth conversation. that made me wonder, does he need to repair a relationship there and, if so, how? mr. boehner: no, i think pope francis will forgive him. [laughter] [applause] mr. boehner: i have to tell you -- you might have guessed i grew up catholic. went to catholic grade school, catholic high school, catholic university. i was an altar boy when i was growing up. and i go to congress, and we have some world leaders who come and address the joint session of congress, the house and senate. and so, 1995, when we had a new pope, i sent him a letter and asked him if he would come and address a joint session of congress.

i was junior member of the republican leadership. we were a brand-new majority. and of course, i heard nothing, heard nothing. so, then the next pope comes along, i invite him to come. it did not happen. so when pope francis got elevated, i sent him a letter. and luckily for me, one of his close allies in the united states was the archbishop of washington. and so, the cardinal was trying to convince him to come to the u.s., and the pope said no, i am going here and here and here. but he said, i got this letter from your parliament, and he said i am somewhat intrigued by this. and so, the cardinal said, well, holy father, it was written by john boehner. he is the speaker of the house. he is really involved in helping kids in d.c. get an education. i have a number of programs i'm involved with in washington, d.c., helping kids of all stripes get an education.

and the pope looks at him and says, all right, i will come. so the cardinal runs out of the room, calls me, and says, boehner, you cannot tell anyone, but he is coming, he is coming. so he comes september 24 a year ago, and it turns out, at the same time this meeting happens, my daughter tells me she is pregnant with my first grandchild. so, the cardinal and others began to work the vatican over to get the pope to baptize my grandson when he is here. and so, you might guess -- you might not know this or think about this, but the vatican has this 2000 year head start on bureaucracy over the united states. they are really good at this. [laughter] mr. boehner: so after months of conversation, they finally came to me and said, listen. the pope will be happy to bless your grandson, but we really don't want to do a baptism. all right, fine. so we get to september 24, 2015. the pope comes. and it is a big deal. i have every camera in the world in my office.

i greet the pope. we finally get all of the media out of the room. and my chief of staff, who happens to be catholic as well, and here are seven cardinals and a pope. i looked at my chief of staff and said, what are we doing here? [laughter] mr. boehner: so then i had a nice meeting with the pope. and the meeting begins to break up. but my family is in this adjoining room. they start to come in, and the pope and i get up, and the pope all of a sudden turns to his assistant and says, get me a glass of water. no, really? so i watch his assistant go get a glass of water, bring it back. the pope takes in his right hand, puts it into his left hand, and i am waiting for him to bless it. and he just took a drink. [laughter] mr. boehner: the greatest head fake you have ever seen in your life. [laughter] mr. boehner: i was absolutely convinced he was going to baptize him right then and there.

having the pope there was -- i guess i have to say it was the most memorable experience of the 25 years i was in the congress. i have never seen members of the house or senate, democrat or republican, more excited to have someone of the capital than the pope. i have a lot of pope stories. a lot of things happened that day. but unbeknownst to me, the next morning, i decide i am going to retire. you can google "boehner holy spirit" and get the rest of that story. [laughter] >> mr. speaker, thanks for being here. i am a little sheepish about this question following that story. but you were gracious regarding the president. i recall your comment about the budget deal in 2011 that fell apart. there was a really interesting expose in the "new york times"

the following spring that got into the inner workings of the back-and-forth of that. putting aside the substance of that, i was fascinated by how the deal fell apart kind of in violation of classic rules of negotiating, where you keep your counsel and you kind of keep things to yourself before things were done. you seemed beyond frustrated with that in that expose. i am wondering, with the benefit of the years that passed, can you tell us more about that, and maybe more importantly, is there a lesson to be learned from that for the people that need to cut the next deal? mr. boehner: well, frustrated does not even begin to describe how i felt about the deal falling apart. i had spent six months with the president, trying to work through this, and trying to work through these numbers. and my staff came to me about a month -- sometime in july of 2014, and my staff sat me down and i thought, what did i do wrong. they looked at me, and they said, listen, you are about to risk your job if you continue

having your conversation with the president. i said, listen, if i can get this deal done and begin the process of getting america back on a more sound financial foundation, so be it. but bob woodward, the former "washington post" writer, writes a lot of books. and he writes a lot of washington books. and he wrote a book about this. it is 98% correct, in my view. and so, all of the facts were there. but, you know, my world, when you shake hands and cut a deal, it is a deal. you may have regretted it later, but if you shake hands on a deal, it is a deal. --ave to till you i was just i have to tell you i was floored when the president decided to walk away from it. and let's put it this way. i do not think the president was

well-served by his own staff. i will just say it that way. >> welcome to cleveland. is there something hillary clinton could've done that would have changed the outcome of the election? mr. boehner: i don't think so. you know, donald trump ran against 16 people in the republican primary. and, you know, 12 or 13 of them were good opponents. i won't talk about the others. [laughter] mr. boehner: it ran away with him. donald trump had a better understanding of what was going through the minds of the american people -- a majority of the american people than anybody else. bernie created a movement, for god's sakes. all right? and he was frankly closer to

where donald trump was in terms of understanding the frustration people were feeling, more so than hillary was. >> you ended by talking about how great america is, yet we have a president-elect that got elected largely by talking about how great america is not anymore and promising a lot of things that may or may not be able to be done. so, how accountable is he going to be and who, whether it is congress or the media or voters, who will hold him accountable? mr. boehner: well, this is donald trump. he said a lot of things in the campaign. the next day he would say the exact opposite. so, the president-elect is going to be the president-elect. and, you know, the media will probably point out these things when he changes his mind about immigration or a few other

things, which i would expect. but, his voters do not really care. that is the amazing part. they don't really care. so, we are in -- when it comes to this trump administration, i would urge all of you to do this. do not pay any attention to what he says. just watch what gets done. i tell people all the time, if you see a politician who looks good, they are probably not telling you the right thing, all right? so don't listen to what they say, watch what they do. because it is what they do that really matters, and i am going to tell you right now, donald trump is going to surprise you and a lot of other americans. listen, this guy was never in politics. does not take long -- it does not take long being in politics to realize it is not good to have people angry with you,

upset with you, or afraid of you. so my guess is that trump will move quickly to calm people's nerves. i predict right now, he will be the immigrant's best friend. just watch. can we get to the next question, please? [laughter] some of us will be first-time voters. how will congress make college affordable? mr. boehner: congress can't make college more affordable because they do not control the prices that universities charge. this problem is so far out of control, i would not even know where to begin. right that universities charge. now tn worth of student loan debt.

over the next year, i saw a report this morning from the government accountability office, is that we are about to lose $208 billion of that which will be written off because it cannot be repaid. so, something needs to happen to the student loan debt already out there. do think that we're going to -- to think that we're going to allow it to get bigger is probably not going to happen. i think colleges and universities have a responsibility in terms of what they charge. in terms of how they are running their organizations. and what you are going to see, longer-term, more online schools that, frankly, do a very good job without all of the brick and mortar and the expense. you will see more and more of that going on around the

university systems already. i think, frankly, you will see a lot more of it. i don't think there is a whole lot congress can do to help college more affordable. politicians will tell you they can but i do not know that that is the truth. >> speaker boehner, your remarks today were very insightful, but the question i have is, we have in this election, the minor political parties received record numbers of votes. is that more a reflection on the candidates from the major parties or is that a change will forward and potentially the democrats and republicans offer each one a set of views on the issues whereas, you know, these minor parties offer a different set of views? mr. boehner: i think the third-party candidates that ran, they mostly get protest votes. if you look back over the summer when people were upset with both candidates, their numbers were pretty high, and as the fall

went on, their numbers continued to dwindle until election day when they did not get much of the vote at all. we are fortunate in the united states, in my view, to essentially have a two-party system. if you look around europe, they have 5, 10, sometimes 12 political parties. not one political party could ever get a majority. so they have to compromise who they are to form a government with some other parties. and by the time they come to an agreement with two other parties of former government, they have -- they believe in nothing and do nothing. we are fortunate that we essentially have a two-party system. now, within those parties, i can go through all of the divisions in the democrat party or all the divisions within the republican party, we'll get lumped in there better here than, friendly, it works anywhere else.

but i do not see any decline in the two-party system as long as it is open and transparent. you know, they start to play a lot of games, you could see the rise of a third party. but not anytime soon. >> hello. mr. boehner: hello, i like your hair cut. >> thank you, i like yours, too. [applause] mr. boehner: thank you. >> was a lot of pressure you felt as speaker of the house? mr. boehner: no, i gave up pressure about 20 years ago. all of that stress and pressure does nothing for you except kill you. it does not help you make better decisions. and so, no. i just decided i was not going to do it anymore. i flipped a switch and i didn't. you know, there was more

pressure standing up here today giving a speech than i've had in the last five years. because i've not been a lot of these for a while. and, no, i just -- it is not good. it gets in the way of making a good decision. i used to watch some of my colleagues in leadership and some of my staff running around like chickens with their heads cut off when things were falling apart, but it was easy for me to just sit there and say prayer and not worry about it. >> hello. can you speak to the rise of the alt-right within the republican party on can you speak to the cabinet the president-elect is putting together? mr. boehner: i am not sure what you're speaking about when you say the alt-right. >> the white supremacists. mr. boehner: i don't think they are part of the party. they may have voted in this election like a lot of people,

but i don't know. talking aboutwere some of the neck will used to work with. [laughter] mr. boehner: i better stop myself right there. the second question was about the cabinet. i think so far the president-elect has made some good choices. and, i expect they will continue to make good choices. this is not going to be anything like anything we have seen before, all right? we have not seen anything like this election in our lifetimes and we are not going to see anything in this coming year like we've seen before. but you're going to see trump stick more to the teleprompters of the is less like himself. and, you know, the choices he is making is, you know, there are some patterns and a reason why these people are being selected. so, you know, he is not going to be milquetoast.

he is picking people who can ofry out the kind administration he wants to have. remember, he is going to do think things in my view. or attempt to. [laughter] of >> i am a little bit -- [laughter] >> mr. boehner, if there's one thing you could do over in your political career, what would it be? mr. boehner: you know, i can tell you i have not one regret. i decided early in my political career, i was a township trustee and i thought, 20 years from now people are not going to care how how i voted other than me. so i made a commitment to myself that i never violated my entire 35 years in public office, and that was, at the end of the day i was going to vote in such a

way that i believed was right for my constituents or my country, or both. there is not one vote in my entire political career i would do over. there were probably five or 10 votes over those years that i could go on this where that way, but i finally made a decision and look, after all of those votes, five or 10 was the maximum number i ever had a problem either way on. but i made that decision and i have to tell you, looking back, it was one of the best decisions i ever made because i am the one who had to live with the votes that i cast. and i wanted to be able to look at myself in the mirror the morning and say, you did what you thought was right. not what you thought was politically correct or would get more votes. and frankly, there is not enough of that today in terms of doing the right things for the right

reasons. it is not rocket science. >> how are you doing, speaker boehner? mr. boehner: good. i am doing real good because this is almost over. [laughter] 113th and114th congresses are some of the most polarized i can remember. what did you do personally to combat bad and what can the new congress due to combat the cultural and political polarization that is affecting the country? mr. boehner: i and that -- fellow republicans believed in something different. finding common ground was not easy. finddly, when i did try to common ground, people did not want me to cut any deals. any deal i cut with the president was bad. it was bizarre. but that is what people thought.

and he was under the same heat from the last. -- from the left. one of the great things about this election is that that has all gone away. we have donald trump. you know, tim ryan from hisgstown, donald trump won district. so here is tim ryan going, oh, gee, you know, i am a democrat and i am going to do x, but then there are people who voted for donald trump in the district. right wing republicans, i am being kind here, you know, who, they don't want to do anything because unless it is perfect whatever perfectness, they are not for it. all of a sudden they're looking up, they got a bunch of these trump people in a majority of their district. so if donald trump is for it, they are going to have a hard time being against it. and we do not have a president that has any ideology. left wing, right wing, there is not.

so when it's late to get ready for a ride, this is -- so when i tell you to get ready for a ride , this is going to be a ride. all of the rules we have seen, you know, ground rules that sweeney and i had for many years, those are all gone. so get ready. your seatbelt on, it is going to be a wild ride. [applause] >> that brings us to the end. thank you. we are now adjourned.

washington journal is live every day with the news and policy issues that impact you. on wednesday, a discussion of the records of the men that donald trump has tapped to lead his cabinet and the shape of those agencies. also discussed, what will happen to obama-era policies. then, nicholas, from the thetage foundation, and league of conservation voters senior vice president will look ahead at energy and environmental policy during the

days of the trump administration and the aunt. watch washington journal and join this discussion. abe ina met with shinzo what may be his last bilateral meeting. fromwill deliver remarks pearl harbor. it is the first visit by a japanese minister since it was attacked in 1941. back at thea look attack from the american artifacts series.

each week, we take you into museums and historic sites. planes from six japanese aircraft carriers attacked an island in hawaii, targeting the pacific fleet and the air defenses. 2400 were killed and 1200 were wounded. and vessels and aircraft were damaged. the surprise attack led to the u.s. entry into world war ii. the sites, asf parksf the national

service, including several stops within the pearl harbor naval station. my name is daniel martinez. is the home of the arizona memorial. we are taking a guided tour of and the resources here are unbelievable. at groundnding here zero, where it all began. earlier atunfolded , at the time and

everybody remembers, the attack happened here. below me is the bomb crater. it is a circular pattern with shrapnel scraps on either side casual where most we have here. bombss dropped 500 pound on the ramp. over my shoulder was anger number six, which was destroyed during the attack. following up, the zero fighters and they were led by the lieutenant commander. the created half wreck on havoc.ct -- they created

when the bomb hits, it through shrapnel along the path here. for thosee this and who love history, you can see the shrapnel in every direction. not only that, but the scraping that took place here is visible. to give you an idea of the damage these fighters can inflict, here is where the hangar doors are and the japanese zero fighter fired two types of weapons, the machine guns on the wings and the canon aircraft.eling of the

75 years after the event, they are as fresh as the day that they struck. what the ramped was. we are standing on it. patrolre long-range planes used to scout the island. a tractor would tell the airplane and, when there, they would get into the water and detach the beaching year and they would take off. upon the return, they came into the water here and they would attach the gear. towardse would go up the hangar. that is your explanation.

going to the uss utah and the memorial. there are only two ships left. the utah is very special. behind me is the uss utah. she was the first ship torpedoed and was struck by two torpedoes. they did catastrophic damage to the ship and she capsized, taking 58 members of the crew. mode.ip is in a salvage this is as far as they got. it was capsized. you can only see the bottom of the whull. later that afternoon, they rescued the only member from the

ship. this is a remembrance. aspirationl was an for the surviving crew of the utah. to1971, he came here dedicate this ground and he said these words, which still haunt me to this day. who gave their last full measure of devotion and i willand pray that the time come where we dedicate memorial to those who live in peace to all nations and all men. the groundbreaking of the utah, 1971. the memorial was dedicated on memorial day of 1972 and this violent is, a

testimony. it is the forgotten ship. it is the forgotten memorial. they are not allowed to come here. of the parkeam service that people can visit this memorial and the next memorial we are going to, the oklahoma memorial. the crew of the utah, the crew of the oklahoma had a memorial to remember the marines and officers lost. it represents the second greatest loss of life in pearl harbor. 32 were rescued the following she was raised and placed here for scrap. and thenot make it

oklahoma and the memorial is a place where you can have pillars of marble. nexte going to go to our chief petty officer bungalows that were part of the naval station here. general area of the petty officer bungalows. this was housing that was important to the families that worked and went to school here. this is unique to the island and it was important because these homes are in proximity of battleship row. ships,ey torpedoed the they flew over these houses.

one can only wonder what it was like for luis. she remembered this vividly, this sunday morning that was shattered by bombs that struck the ship. aree structures behind me reconstructed and, on the other side, there is the hope for the national parks service. return this to the neighborhood. the next stop will be battleship row, the main battle line of the pacific fleet. blocksme, concrete represent -- this battleship started at the

ahead, the arizona and the repair ship. andng up here, tennessee west virginia. the missouri is, the maryland and the oklahoma. a little further down, the california. that made uphips battleship row. missouri, whohe was commissioned in 1944 and saw action in the pacific. surrender at tokyo day. this museum ship is key for those who come to pearl harbor.

where the at a place oklahoma was sunk and history is remembered and revisited. behind me and is battleship row and you can see the arizona memorial. we are at a historic site. this is an event that is often neglected by documentary films. the nevada. behind me is the memorial. i would like to share with you a chinese is where american photographer took pictures of the ships that went into the port. the face a was in

year before it was lost here at pearl harbor. the drama of pearl harbor unfolded here. we are at the uss nevada memorial here, placed by the navy league. the uss nevada had witnessed the beginning of the attack at 7:55. struck by the japanese navy and part of that was a torpedo. six bomba suffered hits and a torpedo hit. was frightened and it it decided by the crew and with itemely fortunate

normally taking 2.5 hours for a ship to get underway. thomas, he directs the quartermaster to wheel out and pull away. at that same moment, chief hill goes over and drops the line up and down battleship row and they look as the bowel starts to swing out. one remembers this, like a football. the cheering and the movement is stymied by the japanese attack coming over diamondhead. , it is nowbattleship a prime target. a hive, the bees of japan nevada.ented on the

dive bombers send bombs into the ship, from the bow to the midship. she will now be ordered to pull will bring here bow and the tradewinds will move her. she will be side by side along hospital point and the movement of the nevada is over. before that last act, the nevada .s right next to the uss shaw it is as if the drama extinguished the horror of what happened.

in 1983, it was decided that a memorial would be placed here. working with a local construction company, this memorial was placed here and this denotes the history of the edwin hill was given a medal of honor posthumously and helped to coordinate that to get the ship underway. fires working to put out and the bomb came and he literally disappeared. whoother is the machinists passed out several times.

the ship could move forward. iscontribution to this story that there are a number of ships that went by and you could actually have tourists come by and those in the navy would see the monument and not know what it was. i wanted to have the name embossed here in black as the title. everybody would notice what it is and they did that. now, this monument and the memorial with the pearl harbor , it is now at here destination point for those who seek at the history of the pearl harbor attack. for the uss nevada

go to the arizona memorial, one of those secret places that few get to see and we are taking you there. rowre just above battleship and this is a memorial to honor those who died. you can see the inscription above with the note, in recognition to the eternal memory of those who gave it full measure of devotion to their country. humbly to the sacrifice and defense of our freedom. if you look at the artistic impression, you see the ship of and the many faces of

those who died that day. this rock is very special and it was brought here. , it is a veryrock special rock. whoever picked it, they made sure it had the relevance to the hawaiian culture, with sacred reference.fer -- reverence. we are moving ourselves to the memorial that was dedicated in 1962. it is one of the most revered memorials in the united states.

we have just come from the overlook and we are at the arizona memorial. this was a dream for many years 1000, 177 officers -- 1177 officers were lost. the memorial started to come the an idea and a design in of0's with the initial plan a platform being placed on the arizona and he had hoped that there would be something more formal later and the pacific were commission one ford to

build the memorial -- went forward with the design to build the memorial. was a refugee and he had come here to escape the not cease who occupied the country. the war breaks out, he is an enemy alien. that he is not an enemy of the state, but a willing immigrants who was ready to help the navy. after the war is over, he and he his own firm becomes one of the architects designasked to submit a for the arizona memorial. his design becomes the winning submission and it calls for the

memorial to go through the span of the wreck of the arizona. it was effective and it was designed as a suspension bridge. and suspend the memorial the design is one that reflects what happens at pearl harbor and, the only purposeful design in the memorial was the openings , in our we found thatrch, many years later, this represents peace and harmony. this is a war grave and a final resting place for those who perished and a war memorial. behind me are the names of the and the marine detachment,

they represent the great loss of life and there is nothing like this in america. survived,e those that many of them had asked for the ashes to be brought back to the ull. and placed into the hall over here, a marine named fincher. i looked at his record and found that his father had asked if there would ever be a memorial builds to honor who fell here, in particular that his son would be remembered. 1943. written in the memorial is visited by 1.6 million visitors a year with

nearly 2 million in the visitor center. it is one of the most visited sites on the island. foreign guests who come here, in particular, the japanese, at this point, we do not look back at the war with ater, rather, we look back the war for those who served and gave their lives and we now celebrate nearly 70 years of peace between the united states and japan. this memorial is a remembrance of the war the japanese were involved in and the friendship that they have with the countries that were formerly enemies. peace.orial represents

me is a gunter it that sat on that and it is the most visible portion of the ship to come out of the water. bets of the ship will exposed. plaqueme is the first ever placed on the arizona and, when they built the memorial, they made sure that it was dedicated to the eternal memory of shipmates on the arizona who gave their lives in action in 1941. arizona,bit shows the as she was on the morning and this shows you what it looked like from above with the

remaining gun curates. you can see what we just showed you a few moments ago. above water and you can see how the memorial stretches across and you can see the deterioration from the explosion and you can see that this is almost intact, but not quite. exploded and blew smoothness was not as smooth as you might think it would be. the arizona was struck and the nearly 50d this ship her.out and fractured

she settled down and she sank. she rests in water and mud. damagedona was so badly that she never served the country again. in one way, she serves with the symbolism that she invokes. this portion of the memorial is commonly referred to as a dedication well. in 1963 and here wanted to be the first aboard this memorial, standing here next to -- >> we will break away and take theto pearl harbor for

anniversary of the bombing of pearl harbor. the firstobama with japanese prime minister to visit since the attack. live coverage. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> president obama, commander andis, ladies and gentlemen all american citizens, i stand as the pearl harbor prime minister of japan. closely, we can make the sound out of waves breaking and retreating, a calm

inlet in the warm sun. a white form that is the arizona memorial. obama,r, with president i paid a visit to the memorial, the resting place of many souls. broughtplace that silence to me. there, the names of the servicemen who lost their lives. marines hailing from california, new york, michigan,

texas, and various places, serving the noble duty of protecting they homeland that they love. they lost their lives. daydst the flames that when aerial bombings tour toregh the arizona -- through the arizona, even 75 arizona, now at rest, is the final resting place for a number of sailors and marines. listen again, as i focus my

senses. rumble,e breeze and the i can almost discern the voices of the crewmen. voices of lively conversation, upbeat, at ease. it was a sunday morning. servicemenoung talking to each other about the futures and dreams. voices calling out the names of loved ones in their final moments. prayed for the

happiness of children. each and every one of those servicemen had a mother and a father who was anxious about .afety many had wives and girlfriends that they loved. children they had would have loved to have watched all of that has brought grow up. -- all of that was brought to an end. when i contemplate that solemn rendered entirely

speechless. peace -- rest in peace, precious souls of the fallen. sentimentoverwhelming , i cast flowers on behalf of the japanese people upon the where those sailors and marines sleep. , the people of the united states of america, and people around the world, as the prime minister of japan i and everlasting

condolences to the souls of .hose who lost their lives here and, also to the souls of the innocent people who became innocent victims of the war. we must never repeat the horrors of war again. thevow the solemn people of japan have taken. we have created a free and democratic country that values the rule of law and we have resolutely upheld our vowed to never wage war again.

japan, willle of continue to uphold this unwavering principle while harboring quiet pride in the past we have walked as a peaceloving nation since the war has ended. to the souls of the servicemen who lay in each turn a rest aboard the uss arizona, to the american people, and to all of the people around the world, i vow here as the prime minister of japan. forerday, at the murray base, i visited the memorial marker for an imperial japanese

navy officer. who was fighter pilot hit during the attack. died.t back and createdthe japanese who the marker where his plane crashed. it was u.s. servicemen who had been on the receiving end of these attacks. they applauded the bravery of ectedead pilot and they er a stone marker. he was a lieutenant in the japanese imperial navy.

they showed respect to a serviceman who gave his life for his country. the brave respect the brave. ambrose bierce wrote this in a famous poem. they showed respect to an enemy and try to against understand the enemy that they hated. ofe in lies the spirit tolerance embraced by the american people. and japan wasnded a nation in burnt out ruins, as far as the eye could see,

, it was theverty united states and the good eatle who sent us food to and close to where. -- clothes to wear. people survived and made their way to the future, thanks to the fritters and milk from the american people. whoas the united states to theup the path international community after the war. under the leadership of the wased states, japan

able to enjoy peace and prosperity. goodwill and the assistance that you sent to the japanese, the enemy you had fought so fiercely, together with the , were etchederance deeply into the hearts and the minds of our grandfathers and .others we also remember them, our ,hildren, our grandchildren they will continue to pass these memories down and never forget what you did for us. the words pass through my mind, memorial inin the

washington, d.c. i visited it with president obama. none, with towards all, let us do all to achieve and cherish a lasting peace .mong ourselves and all nations words of abraham .incoln on behalf of the japanese people , i wish to express once again my heartfelt gratitude towards the united states and the world

for the tolerance extended to .apan it has been 75 years since pearl harbor. japan and the unites states fought a fierce war that will go down in human history and they have become allies with strong ties that are rarely found in history. will tackles that the many challenges covering the globe. hours is an alliance of hope that will lead us to the future. what binds us together is the power of reconciliation made

spirit ofhrough the tolerance. what i want to appeal to the people of the world here at pearl harbor, together with power of this reconciliation. of warday, the horrors have not been eradicated from the surface of the world and there is no and to the spiral hatred creates hatred and the world needs the spirit of tolerance and the power of reconciliation now. especially now.

states,d the united which have eradicated hatred and and trust friendship on common values, are now, especially now, are taking demonstrating for to the world the importance of tolerance and the power of reconciliation. why theprecisely japanese in united states alliance is an alliance of hope. the inlet that gazes at us is tranquil, as far as the eye can see. harbor -- it is beautiful,

aimmering like pearls, as symbol of tolerance and reconciliation. it is my wish that our japanese and president obama, you are american children, -- and, president obama, your american children, and people , willound the world continue to remember pearl harbor as a symbol of reconciliation. we will spare no effort to continue our endeavors to make reality. in reala i hereby make my steadfast

pledge. thank you very much. [applause] president obama: thank you. prime minister, on behalf of the american people, thank you for your gracious words, your presence here today. that a historic gesture speaks to the power of reconciliation and the alliance between the americans and japanese people's. people.can and japanese even the wound of war can give .ay to friendship

distinguished guests, members of the armed forces, and survivors of pearl harbor and their loved loha. a l two americans who call hawaii home, this harbor is a sacred place. we toss flowers into waters the still weep, we think of 2400 american patriots, the fathers, the husbands, wives, the daughters, at the rails of heaven for all of eternity and we salute those who pull themselves a little straighter

on december 7 and we reflect on the heroism that was shown here. as the dawn broke on that december day, paradise never seemed so sweet. the water was warm and impossibly blue. the sailors had food in the mess hall and readied themselves for white shortsed in and t-shirts. the ships, at anchor, they floated in neat rows. the california, the maryland, tennessee, thehe west virginia, and the nevada. arizona, thef the navy band was tuning up. ranks on the the

shoulders defined them less than the courage in their hearts. , americansisland defended themselves however they shells,iring training working old. action rifles -- old bol t-action rifles. stewart fired and antiaircraft gun until he ran out of ammo. americans like jim, a goner, first class on the west virginia. before he raced into the harbor with his new bride, a verse of scripture. eternal god, there is no refuge. underneath, the everlasting

arms. jim fought to save his ship and he gathered the names of the following, to give closure to their families. he said, it is just something you do. harryember americans like , a fireman from honolulu, who, in the face of withering fire, se flames, until he gave his last full measure of devotion, one of the only firefighters to receive the purple heart. we salute americans like a chief petty officer who manned a machine gun for two hours and , earninged 20 times

him our highest military declaration, the medal of honor. reflect onthat we how war tests the most enduring values. japanese-americans were deprived of liberty during the mostone of decorated military units in the history of the united states was regiment andtry the infantry battalion, the japanese-american. friend, served my proud daniel, a man who was a senator hawaii for most my life and with whom i would find myself proud to serve in the senate chamber.

he was a man who was a recipient of the medal of honor and the medal of freedom. he was one of the most distinguished statesman of his generation, as well. here at pearl harbor, america's first battle of the second world war roused the nation. here, and so many ways, america came of age. incneration of americans, they did grandparents, did not war, but shrink from it.

shrunk,e survivors have with time, the bravery is etched in our national heart. our pearlk all of harbor and world war ii veterans who are able to to please stand or raise your hand. a grateful nation thanks you. president obama: the character of nations is tested in war, but defined in peace. after a horrific chapter in took nottory, one that

tens of thousands, but tens of millions of lives with ferocious fighting across this ocean. -- night states and japan ocean, the united states and japan chose peace. the alliance has made an international order, preventing another world war and lifting more than one billion out of extreme poverty. the alliance between the united states and japan, bound rooteded interests and in common cause, serves as the cornerstone of progress around the globe.

our alliance has never been stronger. bad, we ares and there for each other. five years ago, a wall of water came on japan and the happened.meltdown america was there to help our friends. across the globe, the unit states in japan work to strengthen the security of the asia-pacific and the world, combating disease, slowing the spread of nuclear weapons, keeping the peace in the wa r-torn lands. near pearl harbor, japan joined with two dozen nations in a maritime exercise, including our

d by admiral harris, the son of an american naval officer and a japanese mother. yokoska. born in you would not know it from his tennessee twang. ournk you for y outstanding devotion. this sense, the connection is not just between our government, but our people. reminds us of abe what is possible between our nations. wars can end and bitter ad the

series can become strong allies. can becomedversaries strong allies. the fruits of peace outweigh the plunder of war. this is the truth. it is here that we remember, even when a hatred burns, a tug primal,lism at the most we must resist the urge to turn inward and resist the urge to demonize those who are different. made here, the us toh of war, it reminds seek a divine spark that is common to all of humanity,

insisting that we try to be with the japanese call -- other.h lesson of callahan from the missouri. even after the attack on the ship, he ordered the japanese pilot be laid to rest with military honors, wrapped in a japanese flag sewn by the american sailors. it is the lesson of the japanese pilot who returned to this harbor, befriended an old marine bugler and asked him to play roses here attwo

the memorial, for the american fallen and for the japanese. a lesson learnt every day in the most ordinary of ways. unraveling cancer or climate stars., exploring the it's a baseball player like a stadium in g up pridebuoyed by the shared of two people's, japanese and united in friendship. s nations and as people, we cannot choose the history that we inherit. lessons to e what draw from it. use those lessons to charter

our own futures. welcome you here in the spirit of friendship that japan have always welcomed me. send ahat together, we to the world that there is more to be one in peace than reconciliation carries more in awards than retribution. here in this quiet harbor, we and we give e lost thanks for all that our two have won together as friends. in his hold the fallen everlasting arms, may he watch all those terans and that stand guard in our behalf, all.god bless us thank you.

[applause]

[applause]

[applause] [applause]

nnouncer: there you see president obama and the prime minister minister of japan in a of remarks at pearl harbor and meeting with a couple veterans of the attack of pearl harbor, both the president minister.rime earlier today prime minister abe president obama led a wreath at the site of the u.s.s. arizona memorial.

announcer: of course, the actual anniversary of the attack was on december 7 and on that day this year, the national park organized this memorial. it's about an hour and a half here on c-span.

>> good morning, ladies and to today'snd welcome joint national park service, navy national pearl harbor remembrance day ceremony. commander robert franklin, deputy chief of staff naval surface er group pacific, i'm truly honored masters of today's ceremonies on this historic 75th anniversary. theme is honoring the past and inspiring the future. pay tribute will to those members of the greatest eneration who paved the way here in pearl harbor for current nd future generations throughout the world will the guests please rise for the arrival of the official party.

today's ial party for ceremony includes ms. jacquelyn superintendent, world war ii valor in the pacific national parkent, service. director, pacific west region, national park service. tolling) >> the middle pacific group arriving. [whistle) ♪ ♪

ringing] and bell united states pacific command arriving. [whistle] ♪ ♪ >> please be seated.

ladies and gentlemen, it is on december 7 that we observe a moment of silence at commemorate the beginning of the attacks on pearl harbor. 0755, you will hear the ship's whistle. in se join me at that time bowing our heads for a moment of ilence to remember those who courageously fought and those who died here on december 7, 1941. completing the moment of silence from the 22 raptors executingth squadrons missing man flying formation over the memorial and over fort island to honor those who gave heir lives in defense of their country here 75 years ago today. you may see one aircraft pull away from the formation and fly to honor the clouds the lives lost on december 7.

the gap in the formation fallen comrades and demonstrates to all we shall their sacrifice.

>> please rise as able for morning colors and the singing anthem by petty officer third class steven monica as the united states band and our state song. bugeler, sound attention. guard, parade the colors. ♪ ♪

our national anthem. ♪ ♪

stripes and bright stars perilous fight we watched mparts streaming allantly and the rockets' red glare ♪ the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night our flag was still there oh, say does that star banner yet wave oer the land of the free

of the brave ♪ [cheers and applause] > please remain standing for state ging of hawaii's song. ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ please be seated. [applause] you will see the destroyer.ile u.s.s. this morning, hallsy rendered honors to the u.s.s. utah memorial. 7, 19 had 41.

and utah are the only two ships that remain in servicemembers still entombed. survivor gil meyer represented fellow utah survivors who are here with us today, bill hughes and lewis utah ood as well as all servicemembers. t is customary for ships passing the u.s.s. memorial to pay respects by rendering honors. in addition to rendering honors to the u.s.s. arizona memorial, render honor to the pearl harbor survivors who have gathered here with us today. donald stratton he is courted by petty offer first chief uan rodriguez and historian mr. daniel martinez is eady to return honors as a representative for all pearl harbor survivors. mr. stratton is a former of the u.s.s.

arizona. when the attack started then, seaman old first class stratton had just finished breakfast. saw the japanese planes topside, he ran to his battle station even before the general alarm sounded. during the attack, don stratton suffered severe burns on over 60% of his body. following the attack, mr. stratton spent nearly a year from his injuries, yet chose to return to sea as soon as he was able. stratton reported as a gunner's mate and continued his service until the end of the war. he made the journey back to his family to th honor his fallen crewmembers and friends.t with old he is five known remaining pearl u.s.s. survivors of the arizona and he stands on stage today for all pearl harbor survivors. survivors and other world war ii veterans are invited to stand as able. mr. stratton will now return the

u.s.s. hallsy. [cheers and applause] >> pearl harbor survivors and please beii veterans, seated. u.s.s. hallsy and the fighter squad rons tore in today's g ceremony. hawaiian culture, the

or spiritual er dvisor, we have having a hawaiian blessing. hawaiian]in

heaven,ternal father in father.ning, heavenly blessing reator, my this day is for the sacred resence of our pearl harbor survivors who are physically

here. prayer also is dedicated to lost their roes who who are also spiritually here sitting and us.king among heavenly father, i come before to make ly and ask hings right finally and righteous and to ask for pain and s for the and ring has been so long there shall be a this ment beginning from peace,r peace and in this it shall translate to world

peace. gracious and heavenly father, on thisf wars, for here -- sared day, we come before you humbly and we ask to we are another until received into your fold, allow at peace. humbly i ask and say these thy sacred name, amen and amen. >> for the past 35 years, the religious committee for world federation has offered a prayer for peace on this occasion. we are honored to once again ave them here as part of this ceremony. the reverend will offer the by the english

maya perry.by miss japanese]ng in

in 1982, our organization, he japan religious committee for world federation participated in a religion conference in new york city and also visited pearl harbor at the time. year to offer h prayers for peace and consolation to the arizona memorial. this year, commemorates the 75th anniversary of pearl harbor and the