henry svala's body has never been recovered.'s a wound in the heart of his family that has never been fully healed. it's also a reminder that as a nation, we must never forget those who didn't come home, or are missing in action, who are taken prisoner of war. we must never stop trying to bring them back to their families. henry was awarded the distinguished service cross, but his family believed that he had earned this nation's highest military honor. they contacted their congressman and his staff who made it their mission, and we thank representative bill pescrall for making this day possible. henry's parents and brother did not live to see this day, but two of his sisters, dorothy and sylvia, are with us. dorothy, sylvia, you remind us that behind every american who wears our nation's uniform stands a family who serves with them. and behind every american who lays down their life for our country is a family who mourns them. and honors them. for the rest of their lives. every day, for nearly 60 years, you have lived the poet's

private first class henry svala and prirs first class henry kawaha. they did not grow old. were just 19 and 20 years old. age did not weary them. in the hearts of their families, they remain forever young. loving sons, protective brothers, hometown kids who stood tall in america's hometown, in america's uniform. today we remember them and we hop honor them with the highest military decoration that our nation can bestow, the medal of honor. we also honor our families who remind us that it is our extraordinary military families who also bear the heavy burden of war. we are joined by members of congress who are here. we're very grateful for you. we're also joined by leaders from the army and armed forces including chairman of the joint chiefs of staff admiral mike mullen and the vice chairman general jim haas cartright. there they are right there. and this is not in the script, but let me just acknowledge that without the leadership of bob gates, mike mullen, haas cartright, today and yesterday would not have happened. and their steadiness and leadership has been extraordinary

two american families who six decades ago gave our nation one of their own, private first class henry svalafice when they were just 19 and 21 years old. age did not weary them. in the hearts of their families they remain forever young. loving sons, protective brothers, hometown kids who stood tall in america's hometown. >> you heard the president say this is a good day for america in his remarks at the top of this ceremony which, again, is designed to give the medal of honor to two veterans who sadly did not come home to receive the medal, both of them lost on the field of battle in korea. and in both cases it has taken people to fight to have the investigation completed resulting in this ceremony today. general barry mccaffrey is with us, decorated combat veteran and, general, i'm sitting here looking at the recipients of the medal of honor in the front row. what will the american public take away when we learn all the details there are to learn about this special forces raid that resulted in the death of bin laden, do you think? >> well, brian, among other things, it's a great reassurance