>> thank you to rolling thunder and thank you to the gold star mothers who have made more than one sacrifice for this country.

what would it be like, the fate of the world if it were not this giant country prepared to make so many sacrifices for peace and freedom across the globe. that is what i think of when i think of gold star mothers. i want to first talk to you about vietnam and it seemed through the eyes of a child. a little boy watched his father go off for his second tour. before he was seven, he got word his father had been wounded, so bad he spent an entire year in an army hospital in hawaii. when he came back home he weighed about half of what he did when he went. for three years he tried to recover from those wounds and did it in such a way that he returned to the all-american

division, the 82nd airborne division. as a senior officer. but as a senior officer in the 1970's he was not allowed to wear his uniform off post. last month i visited panel 1w line 21 of the vietnam wall. on that wall was the name of master sergeant danny cicero johnson, united states air force. he was 36. he was a father, a husband and and are forced -- and an air force medic. he was from north carolina. on april 4, 1975, he was looking after hundreds of orphans from saigon. the president of the united states, gerald ford, had ordered

the air force to rescue 2000 orphans before the north vietnamese approached the capital of the republic of vietnam. while master sergeant johnson was carrying for them, -- caring for them, his c5 crashed. 78 children perished that day, 50 members of the united states air force perished with them. a father and a friend was lost, but his life was a testament to the spirit of america we see here today. i was honored to visit that wall 44 years after the event with sergeant johnson's daughter. when america was asleep in the

1970's, something stirred in the thousands of people here. the shameful treatment of our warriors went against everything that was taught by the man who is looking down on us today. in his second inaugural address when he prayed to end the scourge of war, he said with malice toward none and charity for all, let us strive to finish the work we are in, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphan. the attitudes that i described in the 1970's began to change about a decade later, but most veterans still thought not enough attention was being paid to the sacrifices but they had made. so 32 years ago, thousands of you roared through the nation's capitals remind america of the charge given by our 16th

president. the very name rolling thunder conjured up memories of courage and sacrifice during the vietnam war, but it soon became synonymous with healing a nation. by drawing our attention to p.o.w.'s, mia's, those who came back unappreciated, you helped unite a divided nation and make my father's generation whole. i can say your legacy was transferred to generations after. we are still a nation at war. even when the war ends, not every soldier, sailor, airman and marine will come home. him over 82,000 are still missing. 1589 from vietnam, 125 in the cold war.

and i want to say on behalf of the president of the united states that he is here with you in spirit and as he said yesterday, if he has anything to do with it, this will not be the last ride of rolling thunder. [applause] so why -- i want to finish with a bit of a prayer and a story. we are about to celebrate and honor the 75th anniversary of america's assault on hitler's fortress in europe. on the evening before, a great general, a man who commanded the 82nd airborne division in battle in north african sicily and who had planned the invasion with general eisenhower, was tossing

restlessly on his cot, just as the screaming eagles were about to launch their midnight assault. he pulled down the old testament, and he moved to the book of joshua in the old testament and started reading about the greatest battle the hebrew people had ever fought. he asked again for the charge joshua had given -- had gotten from god that night. i will not fail thee and i will not forsake thee. 1986, ronald reagan presented general ridgeway the presidential medal of freedom. this is what he said. heroes come when they are needed and great men step forward with courage it seems in short supply. so i will end with that message to the men and women of rolling thunder.

you have not forsaken and you him have not failed the thousands and thousands of your fellow citizens whose sacrifices ensure that the people of this nation sleep soundly at night, so on behalf of president trump, on behalf of your department of veterans affairs, god bless you on this memorial day and thank you on behalf of of a grateful nation. god bless you. [applause] >> rolling thunder made its final motorcycle procession from the pentagon to the lincoln memorial. the group announced in december

that the yearly event would end after 32 years due to lack of money and security obstacles. rolling thunder is an advocacy group that seeks to bring full accountability for pows and mias. currently a list more than 85,000 mias stating that the world war i. you can watch the entire procession and rally on our website. in the rolling thunder search box on our homepage. >> annual memorial day observances take place monday at arlington national cemetery. we have live coverage including the wreathlaying ceremony at the tomb of the unknowns, followed ceremony at the amphitheater. here's a look at what is coming in tonight on c-span. yellen university history professor joe and freeman talks about her book, a field of

blood. after that, british prime minister theresa may's announcement friday that she is stepping down on june 7 and her appearance at question time several days before her statement. ♪ brian: joanne freeman, what is your book, "the field of blood" about? joanne: it is about physical violence in the u.s. congress between 1830-ish and the civil war. brian: how many instances of violence do you have in your book? joanne: well, i found about 70, which is not the total that there is, but at some point i had to stop researching and i