pay attention to the mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters to those who have fallen and let them know as a pledge we're with them. one of the causes or the events that i'm particularly interested in mr. and mrs. an organization that raises money for the sole purpose of helping the children of police officers and marines who have fall in the line of duty but they deserve special remembrance and we need to take care of the the children and recognize veterans tangiblely. in my case i was able to complete my education on the gi

bill. the first house i bought he 83 at that mortgage i was helped to we need to impress ourselves in tangible ways like that. i've said this is as much about the future as the past. because it's a statement that those who serve we honor as special people. and we recognize that sometimes, people say it's a great sacrifice that's not it all. it's an opportunity and privilege to serve and at the same time sometimes, people get hurt balanced and we need to recognize that and support them wholeheartedly. sometimes, i think as we support

particularly w0u7b9d conveniences who are fighting and come back we have to remember ourselves not just it's a great chapter but recognize those are people who have developed special leadership capacities they've gone through the affair and know how to handle stress their potential leaders. we need to recognize that and reach out to them in that sense. it's about the future has much as the past it's saying to future generations that this memorial stands for the fact we honor our conveniences we honor those who served in combat and those who have been injured and fallen not to forget them and their children. it's a profoundly megs -

message. so i want to ask you will have you to stand up and join me in a good strong salute to our veterans >> thank you (clapping.) i've noticed we had another individual join us here in the audience and if i could ask former former mayor willie brown junior. >> (clapping) >> our next speaker in that morning is our current mayor.

mayor edwin lee as i said i feel so proud to have you as our mayor so mayor will you come up and sigh is a few words (clapping.) thank you general and let me convicting add my thanks to you. good morning, everyone this is a great occasion. i'm glad that former former mayor willie brown joined us i can formerly congratulate him on it's 20th birthday yesterday (clapping) and let me asked if i may to i think the wonderful comments that secretary shuflz is given i want to recognize we're joined by president chiu a norm yee.

i am also grateful to the veterans not only of the city but across the country and that i do think people a lot to what san francisco is doing on everything from technology to health care to housing. but i also want to signal that we're a city that remembers our veterans as well so as long as i'm mayor, i want to make sure we introduce and welcome the coast guard here as well we're working together to make sure that our returning veterans are also taken care of that as we begin the groundbreaking for the memorial in the 80 years because the memorial committee that has

been garnishes with their time and energy we want to thank them 82 years ago today, we should have had this designed appropriate but several others who have mentioned to me while it took us 82 years we have the benefit of modern indulge and perhaps technology to accompany us with the design so the committee is anxious to get done and i hopewell i will make sure that public our kraushths get done by this october to have triple celebration because that's is an honor during the fleet week we pissed that last year and we're anxious to have a

glorious fleet week this year and have a great edition to have this done. let's make sure we have it done our city family but also to let you know in addition to honoring our past veterans we're making efforts to honor the returning veterans that's important as well. i'll confidentially to you a very good toward we've reduced the housing needs of many of our veterans by thirty percent. that's not enough we need to take care of are one hundred percent of our returning veterans to make sure they have housing and services as they come back. if we can reduce by thirty percent those needs in the last couple of years uncertain certainly with the hope of

looird pelosi and feinstein i'm going to contempt x condominium we can get them jobs in the that economy and get them skill sets that in san francisco we're a welcoming city to our veterans we'll work very hard to get that done. i want you to know i'll be excited to be here with you and the war committee to make sure we've done everything to get this project done in honor of our veterans. congratulations and happy birthday to former mayor willie brown and our war memorial committee. i commit to work hard with you and the rest of the city joining in this effort. thank you and congratulations

>> thank you, mayor thank you mayor ed lee. nova is going to recite a poem. it's titled the young dead soldiers. this particular poem will be inskrind in stone in the san francisco veterans memorial when it's completed. arching balanced wrote this poem in the middle of the last century when he was a larger than four is larger than congress. as a young man he severed in embattle in world war i and witnessed suffering and death. air force world war ii when the congress held a service for all the staff members who died in the war he contributed this poem

tonl not only to commemorate the dead by those who survive bear a special responsibilities to make the deaths of those soldiers meaningful so as the poem is being resided live up to that responsibility of making the deaths of our american soldiers and mooerpz and coast guards make it meaningful. noah. >> young dead soldiers do not speak. nevertheless, they are heard in

still houses. who has not heard them. they have a silence this speaks to them at night and the clock counts. they say we were young, we have died remind us. they say we have done what we could but until it is finished it is not done. they say our deaths are not ours they are yourselves they will mean what you make them. they say whether our lives and our deaths were for nothing we can't say.

it is you who must say this. we leave i our deaths give them their meaning. we were young they say we have died remind us. (clapping.) >> thank you noah. we'll new dot actual groundbreaking before we do i'd like to thrill about the soil in the outlook gone it contains so i would say from american from battlefields where americans have shed blood from around the world so we're going to merely turn the soil over we are going

to take the soil from the octagon into the construction process and it will be included in the actual veterans memorial when it's completed. i want to have the folks who are going to join me for the groundbreaking come in front of the color graduate and facing this way secreting shurlts, mayor ed lee, former mayor willie brown. city administer naomi kelly and wishes to speak who co-chaired the san francisco veteran memorial committee. there's a shovel for each of us and we're going to do this experiencing in a military manner and i'll give the command shovels up and on the count of 3 put our shovel in the ground.

and then everybody can clap >> shovels up. all 3. 13 - 1, 2, 3, (clapping) we're going to leave the shovels

in there. all right. thank you all so many. we're going to ask you to go back to our seats, please. >> congratulations. >> thank you. >> hey folks we have a special take away for our citizen veteran square feet shurlz he gets a special shovel it's a little small one and i'm going to ask someone who's worked with us on the committee if you jenny lopez will this over and present it to secretary schuflz.

>> (clapping). >> our closing speaker is no one other than the former mayor willie brown junior please say a few remarks, please (clapping.) thank you, sir. general thank you for your kind words and secretary of state and mayor ed lee and the assembled dignitaries to my right on on behalf of the steering committee of this memorial we're just delighted that so many of you

participated in the groundbreaking ceremony. san francisco is notorious notorious for taking a long time to do anything. i'm certain that the person in 1932 that made this commitment actually assumed he or she was going to be here to shovel the sand and break the ground but that was 1932 we're not in 2014 and some successors people are here for that purpose and we're delighted, however, i walked in you veterans i ran into a veteran buddha of mine and george a man who gave to his country in had dramatic way as a member of the marine core and it was awarded with the position of

a congressman when they were not electing republicans congressman pete celebrated his commitment to everything having to do with veterans. general you mentioned that the citywide which is there should be looked at you're absolutely correct but think as mayor ed lee said in about six or seven months you're going to be able to come back and see the memorial promised in 1932 and finally delivered in this administration and there are 3 members singularly responsible. about 4 years ago the general the secretary and max started talking about producing for the veterans and they have preceded to get everyone involved so i'm

proud mayor ed lee of san francisco's effort and i'm proud of those 4 warriors that have done what needs to be done and choorlt told if he wanted to do something wonderful you've got to be dramatic and you've like that and i'm going to show you that i don't need that damn cane (laughter) (clapping) >> thank you. (inaudible) >> and you've got a great future out there (clapping.) we've guaranteed it. >> happy birthday to former mayor willie brown.

>> happy birthday to you. happy birthday to you. happy birthday dear willie. happy birthday to number 80 if you can believe that (clapping.) okay folks that's the end of the ceremony i wonder if i can get the shovelers back here we'll get one more picture >> thank you for coming and stand but for the >> so what brought you out here for the bike ride today?

>> i grew up in san francisco but i have been living in new york. i wanted to see what san francisco is doing with infrastructure. >> cities are where people are living these days. the bay area is doing a lot with construction and the way to change the world starts here. >> we are about to take a bike ride. we have 30 cyclist. i'm really excited to hit the road and see what the city has in store.

>> i definitely recommend it to people. it's a fun afternoon and you learn so many things. >> this is so much fun. i go to parts of the city that i don't come to. this will make the city a more susta >> the renovation of balboa park, the oldest in the city of san francisco, and now it is the

newest part in the city of san francisco. through our partnership, and because of public investment from the two thousand eight fund, we are celebrating a renewal and an awakening of this park. we have it safer, happier, more joyous. >> 3, 2, 1, [laughter] =--[applause] >> it is a great resource for families, to have fun in the city, recreation. >> this is an amazing park. we have not revitalized it without public and private investment.

the critical piece of the process of this renovation was that it was all about the community. we reached out to everyone in this community. we love this park dearly and they all had thoughts and ideas and they wanted to bring their own creativity and their personality to bear on the design. what you see is what the community wanted. these ideas all came from the residents of this community. as a result, there is a sense of ownership, pride and responsibility that goes along with what is going to be an exciting park.