[applause] >> without further ado, i'm going to welcome craig horn who will be our mc throughout the day, to introduce our first panel. thanks everybody. craig: good morning. my name is craig horn. this is my 20th year as well with the annual american veterans conference. we are going to begin an adventure as we look back so that we can see further ahead. it has often been said that ignorance of the past can create irresponsibility in the present and recklessness in the future. this morning we are going to begin with the battle of midway. it is my pleasure to introduce richard frank, a historian of the second world war. he was a consultant for the hbo world war ii special on the pacific and in that he wrote, "the pacific war will inspire a long overdue reawakening of the strategic importance, sheer scale, and unsurpassed savagery of the wars unleashed by japan. the battle of midway was the turning of the tide." please welcome mr. richard b. frank. [applause] richard: thank you for those kind remarks. we are here on the 75th anniversary of the battle of midway. it is on the perennial l