after graduation though, my dad went to the united states air force academy in colorado springs. they dated long distance. he would go back to spokane, to their hometown, for breaks from school or to visit him at the academy. they continued to date after my dad graduated from the academy and was accepted to training school at wilson air force base in phoenix. while he was there, he discovered something unexpected. he discovered that he loved to fly. not only did he love to be commanding an aircraft at 30,000 feet, he was really, really good at it. he had the endurance, the confidence, and he loved the sheer adrenaline. he ranked so high in fact that coming out of high school, he was selected to fly only one of eight assignments. the most ultimate, supersonic aircraft of its time, the largest single seat, single engine fighter bomber in the united states air force history, the f 105d, also known as the thunder chief. so my mom and dad have been dating long-distance all this time. by now it's the late 1960's, and the conflict in southeast asia is heating up. my dad loved flying. he

ago, myuple years sisters and i were able to go to the united states air force academy. they did a special celebration in honor of the graduates from the academy that had spent time in captivity. this is the statue that they did. this shows the torture room. we went on my dad's behalf. it was very special to be able to go and meet some of the other prisoners. their names are all listed on the side here. some of them did come back and some of them have since passed, but we were able to meet about 20 or 25 of them. at the southeast asia vietnam memorial at the air force academy. the man who did the relief took very special care. if you look up here, you can see the barbed wire, which signifies the hanoi hilton barbed wire they had going all around the camp. they also had shards of glass everywhere and they had guards with ak-47s posted at every tower. it was a very frightening place to be. this is the torture room that i described. you can see here that the prisoner is giving them the middle finger. that is of course an intentional. because it celebrates the usnessce and t

united states air force. >> secretary wilson, we really appreciate having you here we looked into some of the statistics you are the first pilot to be named secretary. you are the first graduate of the air force academyo be named secretary. we really appreciate you being here, and we hope you come back soon >> member of congress too, right? that's where you really -- >> that ruins my reputation. >> and roads scholar >> and we all want to help anecdotally, are things improving at the v.a. from what you can tell >> i don't spend a lot of time in the v.a., but our focus on it is to make sure if any airmen is -- does leave the service with a disability, they're always a part of the family. they're an airman for life, skps we need to i that care of them >> thank you, secretary. >> thank you >>> coming up, when we return blockbuster media deal talks disney considering that purchase of 21st century fox. those talks stalled, but what does it mean >>> we're going bring you the esenpridt's comments from overnight from seoul squawk begins with two big hours in just a moment shield annuities from brighthouse financial, allow you to take advantage of growth opportunities. with a level of protection in down market