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Memorial Day Ceremonies Occurring Across Nation, World

Aired May 31, 2004 - 11:42   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center. Let's look at the headlines on this Memorial Day, 2004. At least five people were killed when a bomb exploded a mosque in Karachi, Pakistan today. More than a dozen worshipers were wounded.
Cleanup is under way in 14 states after a tornado outbreak this weekend. One was killed in the hardest hit community of Marengo, Indiana. The severe weather is moving eastward today with watches from Georgia to West Virginia.

Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide arrived in South Africa today with his family for an indefinite stay. U.S. and French troops escorted Aristide from Haiti in February as rebels closed in. Aristide contend he was ousted in a U.S.-led coup and vows to return to Haiti.

Harry Potter is casting his spell on London. The third installment of the movie series of the Harry Potter series had its European premiere yesterday. It opens worldwide on Friday.

We continue our coverage of the news here on CNN with severe storms and tornadoes taking a deadly toll on the nation's midsection. Three people were killed by the violent weather. And elderly man died when a twisting struck his home in Marengo, Indiana. As many as a 100 homes in southern Indiana, in that community were damaged.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

KAGAN: There are more than 800 of them now on a beach in southern California. They are crosses in the sand honoring the war dead in Iraq. You're looking at a live picture of them right now. Thelma Gutierrez is live with more on what this unofficial memorial is being known as Arlington West. Thelma, good morning.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. You're right. Each of the 810 crosses that you see right behind me symbolizes a fallen serviceman or woman who was killed in Iraq. Each of these families actually had to be notified of the tragic news. The military has a process through which to do it. Those who have made the call say it is definitely one of the toughest jobs in the military.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of the Marine Corps, I regret to inform you that your husband was killed in action. GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Their they're words no military family wants to hear. Delivered by an officer no family wants to see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody's walking up to the door in their dress uniforms, that's something tragic has happened.

GUTIERREZ: But it is an officer's duty. Lieutenant Colonel Russell Ferris remembers the visit he made.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really 8 a.m., early morning, family sleeping. Woke them up. And then went ahead and notified them of what had happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You didn't get a chance to even breathe in a sense because it was one right after another.

GUTIERREZ: Lieutenant John Kinney made seven visits in one month.

(on camera): Did you know any of these people?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew every one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you do get assigned, it's probably going to be one of the most difficult things you have to do in your career.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): These are the Casualty Assistance Calls Officers, or CACOs in training at the Marine Corps air station in Miramar, California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is, for military members the absolute most traumatic, worst information, because you're there to inform them of a death or very serious injury.

GUTIERREZ: It's the military's way of caring for their own. On this day, 75 Marines are taught what to say.

Ma'am, sir, I have some very important information to tell you.

GUTIERREZ: They're taught what not to say.

Do not say, they passed away. Do not say they're no longer with us. Those terms gives them some false hope that they are not dead.

GUTIERREZ: And they're taught to expect the unexpected.

You have to think on your feet and observe. And in some instances duck, step back from the door so you don't get hit with the door as they slam it in your face.

GUTIERREZ: The CACO not only delivers the news, they will had help with the funeral arrangements. And later the complicated life decisions that have to be made.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once there were telegrams. And now we have really concerned compassionate care because we extend that to our families, because, you know, should something ever happen to me, I mean, I would want that extended to my wife and family as well.

GUTIERREZ: The students role play.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was killed in a mortar round attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How -- where is he? When can I see him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care how many times you've done this, you get up there, your knees are shaking, you get a queasiness in the pit of your stomach because you're going to deliver some really tough news.

GUTIERREZ: The students know when this class is over, they may soon get the call to step in as a CACO.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one of those things when you're trained, you just pray that you never have to do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUTIERREZ: Now, the board that you see here has the names of the fallen. Throughout the morning we've seen relatives, friends, members of the public actually write down those names. And they've placed the names out on the crosses out here. They've also placed flowers out on the crosses.

Many of the people have been here have told us this is a very touching, very simple memorial. Some of them have had tears in their eyes. Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: That's a public beach. Can you remind us again of who has set up this memorial?

GUTIERREZ: Yes, it was set up by a group of volunteers for a group called Veterans for Peace. They say it's all been done with donations. They started out in Santa Barbara. And this is the second memorial that has gone up out here in Santa Monica.

KAGAN: Thelma Gutierrez in southern California.

We saw President Bush speaking from Arlington National Cemetery. As for Senator John Kerry, he's in Portsmouth, Virginia this hour for a Memorial Day parade. Earlier he visited the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial He joined the family of a Massachusetts man whose name is being added to the wall.

Kerry worked with the family of William Bronson to get his name inscribed on the memorial. Bronson died in 1976 of complications of a wound that he suffered in Vietnam.

The doctor is in the movies. You'll meet a young doctor who is branching out on to the big screen. That plus a "Daily Dose" of health news coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: Checking health news now. Researchers say that a longer drive could mean a larger waistline. A study examining the travel behavior and weight of more than 10,000 Atlanta commuters. Researchers found that for every 30 minutes that commuters drove each day, they had a 3 percent greater chance of becoming obese.

Remember that commercial where the guy says I'm not a doctor but I play one on TV? Well, we're going to introduce you to a doctor who plays a different role, not in television, but in the movies. His story now from Holly Firfer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. PAVAN GROVER, PAIN MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST: We'll see you later. Thanks.

HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Doctor by day, serial killer by night.

GROVER: I believe in giving something back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like what?

GROVER: Pain.

FIRFER: OK, not a real serial killer, but this practicing physician plays one in a new movie with Dennis Hopper called "Unspeakable."

Ironically, Dr. Pavan Grover is an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist who dreamed of being an actor all his life, but his mother had other plans for him. So they made a deal, when he established his medical practice, he could be a movie star.

GROVER: I think the combination of the two keeps me totally balanced, because if I'm dealing with serious stuff all day at work, for me this is kind of a release.

FIRFER: Grover did more than learn how to act, he wrote the screenplay that would catapult him to stardom. He says his brother's death in 1994 at the age of 26 inspired him to write and study pain management.

GROVER: Because he went through a lot of pain before his death and a lot of suffering. So in a way, if I'm able to help somebody, a patient with that, it's you know in a way I just feel I'm helping my brother in some way. But that kind of, you know, is I think the most rewarding thing that I have in medicine.

Hi, Lorna, how are you?

FIRFER: His patient, Lorna Harrison's car, was hit by an 18- wheeler and left her in excruciating pain. Doctor after doctor couldn't help her.

LORNA HARRISON, PATIENT: In January did a procedure, a surgical procedure and completely removed every single ounce of pain that had ruined my life for three years.

FIRFER: Dr. Grover isn't hanging his hat on his success, however, he is already working on his second film.

GROVER: You should never be satisfied with what you have done, you know. And that's kind of like you know my goal is always try to improve. I mean like you know I want to get -- become a better doctor, I want to become a better actor. I mean it's just a better writer. I mean just kind of going forward, then I don't really look back.

FIRFER: Holly Firfer, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online log on to our Web site. The latest medical news, a health library at cnn.com/health.

That's going to do it for me, kind of. I'm Daryn Kagan. I'll be back here at 5:00 p.m. filling in for Wolf Blitzer.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired May 31, 2004 - 11:42   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center. Let's look at the headlines on this Memorial Day, 2004. At least five people were killed when a bomb exploded a mosque in Karachi, Pakistan today. More than a dozen worshipers were wounded.
Cleanup is under way in 14 states after a tornado outbreak this weekend. One was killed in the hardest hit community of Marengo, Indiana. The severe weather is moving eastward today with watches from Georgia to West Virginia.

Former Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide arrived in South Africa today with his family for an indefinite stay. U.S. and French troops escorted Aristide from Haiti in February as rebels closed in. Aristide contend he was ousted in a U.S.-led coup and vows to return to Haiti.

Harry Potter is casting his spell on London. The third installment of the movie series of the Harry Potter series had its European premiere yesterday. It opens worldwide on Friday.

We continue our coverage of the news here on CNN with severe storms and tornadoes taking a deadly toll on the nation's midsection. Three people were killed by the violent weather. And elderly man died when a twisting struck his home in Marengo, Indiana. As many as a 100 homes in southern Indiana, in that community were damaged.

(WEATHER UPDATE)

KAGAN: There are more than 800 of them now on a beach in southern California. They are crosses in the sand honoring the war dead in Iraq. You're looking at a live picture of them right now. Thelma Gutierrez is live with more on what this unofficial memorial is being known as Arlington West. Thelma, good morning.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. You're right. Each of the 810 crosses that you see right behind me symbolizes a fallen serviceman or woman who was killed in Iraq. Each of these families actually had to be notified of the tragic news. The military has a process through which to do it. Those who have made the call say it is definitely one of the toughest jobs in the military.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On behalf of the Marine Corps, I regret to inform you that your husband was killed in action. GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Their they're words no military family wants to hear. Delivered by an officer no family wants to see.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody's walking up to the door in their dress uniforms, that's something tragic has happened.

GUTIERREZ: But it is an officer's duty. Lieutenant Colonel Russell Ferris remembers the visit he made.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really 8 a.m., early morning, family sleeping. Woke them up. And then went ahead and notified them of what had happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You didn't get a chance to even breathe in a sense because it was one right after another.

GUTIERREZ: Lieutenant John Kinney made seven visits in one month.

(on camera): Did you know any of these people?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I knew every one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you do get assigned, it's probably going to be one of the most difficult things you have to do in your career.

GUTIERREZ (voice-over): These are the Casualty Assistance Calls Officers, or CACOs in training at the Marine Corps air station in Miramar, California.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is, for military members the absolute most traumatic, worst information, because you're there to inform them of a death or very serious injury.

GUTIERREZ: It's the military's way of caring for their own. On this day, 75 Marines are taught what to say.

Ma'am, sir, I have some very important information to tell you.

GUTIERREZ: They're taught what not to say.

Do not say, they passed away. Do not say they're no longer with us. Those terms gives them some false hope that they are not dead.

GUTIERREZ: And they're taught to expect the unexpected.

You have to think on your feet and observe. And in some instances duck, step back from the door so you don't get hit with the door as they slam it in your face.

GUTIERREZ: The CACO not only delivers the news, they will had help with the funeral arrangements. And later the complicated life decisions that have to be made.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once there were telegrams. And now we have really concerned compassionate care because we extend that to our families, because, you know, should something ever happen to me, I mean, I would want that extended to my wife and family as well.

GUTIERREZ: The students role play.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was killed in a mortar round attack.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How -- where is he? When can I see him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't care how many times you've done this, you get up there, your knees are shaking, you get a queasiness in the pit of your stomach because you're going to deliver some really tough news.

GUTIERREZ: The students know when this class is over, they may soon get the call to step in as a CACO.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one of those things when you're trained, you just pray that you never have to do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GUTIERREZ: Now, the board that you see here has the names of the fallen. Throughout the morning we've seen relatives, friends, members of the public actually write down those names. And they've placed the names out on the crosses out here. They've also placed flowers out on the crosses.

Many of the people have been here have told us this is a very touching, very simple memorial. Some of them have had tears in their eyes. Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: That's a public beach. Can you remind us again of who has set up this memorial?

GUTIERREZ: Yes, it was set up by a group of volunteers for a group called Veterans for Peace. They say it's all been done with donations. They started out in Santa Barbara. And this is the second memorial that has gone up out here in Santa Monica.

KAGAN: Thelma Gutierrez in southern California.

We saw President Bush speaking from Arlington National Cemetery. As for Senator John Kerry, he's in Portsmouth, Virginia this hour for a Memorial Day parade. Earlier he visited the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial He joined the family of a Massachusetts man whose name is being added to the wall.

Kerry worked with the family of William Bronson to get his name inscribed on the memorial. Bronson died in 1976 of complications of a wound that he suffered in Vietnam.

The doctor is in the movies. You'll meet a young doctor who is branching out on to the big screen. That plus a "Daily Dose" of health news coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAGAN: Checking health news now. Researchers say that a longer drive could mean a larger waistline. A study examining the travel behavior and weight of more than 10,000 Atlanta commuters. Researchers found that for every 30 minutes that commuters drove each day, they had a 3 percent greater chance of becoming obese.

Remember that commercial where the guy says I'm not a doctor but I play one on TV? Well, we're going to introduce you to a doctor who plays a different role, not in television, but in the movies. His story now from Holly Firfer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. PAVAN GROVER, PAIN MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST: We'll see you later. Thanks.

HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Doctor by day, serial killer by night.

GROVER: I believe in giving something back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like what?

GROVER: Pain.

FIRFER: OK, not a real serial killer, but this practicing physician plays one in a new movie with Dennis Hopper called "Unspeakable."

Ironically, Dr. Pavan Grover is an anesthesiologist and pain management specialist who dreamed of being an actor all his life, but his mother had other plans for him. So they made a deal, when he established his medical practice, he could be a movie star.

GROVER: I think the combination of the two keeps me totally balanced, because if I'm dealing with serious stuff all day at work, for me this is kind of a release.

FIRFER: Grover did more than learn how to act, he wrote the screenplay that would catapult him to stardom. He says his brother's death in 1994 at the age of 26 inspired him to write and study pain management.

GROVER: Because he went through a lot of pain before his death and a lot of suffering. So in a way, if I'm able to help somebody, a patient with that, it's you know in a way I just feel I'm helping my brother in some way. But that kind of, you know, is I think the most rewarding thing that I have in medicine.

Hi, Lorna, how are you?

FIRFER: His patient, Lorna Harrison's car, was hit by an 18- wheeler and left her in excruciating pain. Doctor after doctor couldn't help her.

LORNA HARRISON, PATIENT: In January did a procedure, a surgical procedure and completely removed every single ounce of pain that had ruined my life for three years.

FIRFER: Dr. Grover isn't hanging his hat on his success, however, he is already working on his second film.

GROVER: You should never be satisfied with what you have done, you know. And that's kind of like you know my goal is always try to improve. I mean like you know I want to get -- become a better doctor, I want to become a better actor. I mean it's just a better writer. I mean just kind of going forward, then I don't really look back.

FIRFER: Holly Firfer, CNN, Houston, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: To get your "Daily Dose" of health news online log on to our Web site. The latest medical news, a health library at cnn.com/health.

That's going to do it for me, kind of. I'm Daryn Kagan. I'll be back here at 5:00 p.m. filling in for Wolf Blitzer.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com