it is not so much the subject matter as it was my instructor, captain dan bolger. eventually win on to become lieutenant general dan bolger and commanded the first cavalry the navyin iraq and training mission in iraq before -- in afghanistan before retiring. he always made it interesting. he was also the first person ever to make history something i wanted to go sit down and talk to. he didn't really teach history nearly as much as he told stories. isn't that what history really is? it is a story, it is our story. as the story of what got us here today. we commemorate the battle of the crater, which is just one of many chapters and ongoing -- in the ongoing history and ongoing story of our nation. as i said earlier, i am no historian, nor am i great storyteller. i will leave the details of the battle to more qualified personnel than myself. and lewis, that opening introduction of comments, thank you for setting the bar so high. [laughter] very powerful words. it was awesome. i am not going to attempt to tell the story or amplify it or offer any shocking new insight