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Memorial Day in Iraq; U.S.-Iran Talks; Preventing Skin Cancer
Aired May 28, 2007 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Heidi Collins.
And you can watch events coming live into the NEWSROOM on this Monday morning. It is May 28th, Memorial Day.
Here's what's coming up on the rundown.
Americans are honoring their war dead today. President Bush at Arlington National Cemetery a little later in the morning. We'll bring you the somber ceremony live in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Table talk. American diplomats sit down with Iran to discuss Iraq. The formal meeting the first in almost three decades.
LONG: Gay rights activists attacked, and now Europe is expressing concern over human rights in Russia.
Those stories this morning in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And at the top this hour, Memorial Day in America. Flags, parades, cookouts, all in a nation at war and locked in debate. The future of U.S. troops in Iraq and in harm's way. This hour, the tributes on the home front and on the front lines.
LONG: Pride, sacrifice, service -- watchwords of any day in Iraq. They resonate even more deeply for U.S. troops today on Memorial Day.
CNN's Arwa Damon is with the U.S. troops in Yusufiya, joins us now via broadband this morning.
And Arwa, do tell us about the services going on there today.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Melissa, we're here with the 4th Battalion 31st Infantry Regiment, and this is the battalion that the killed and captured soldiers were with. They honored the five U.S. soldiers, one Iraq soldier that were killed in that May 12th attack. The ceremony lasting about 45 minutes. Everyone remembered for their sacrifice, for paying the ultimate price that they paid for freedom. Now, the troops are only rarely able to have the time where they're really able to grieve for those who have fallen. This is a relentless mission, one that does not let up for personal sorrow. And that is what all of the men and women out here are facing. But today they did honor those that were fallen.
And just to share with you the words of the platoon leader, Lieutenant Morgan Springlace (ph), he said, "These men all fought and died with honor, but now we must look to tomorrow. For the fallen, we will avenge you. For the lost, we will find you."
And the mission, Melissa, to find those two remaining captive soldiers does continue here in all of its intensity. Raid missions were going on while some of the soldiers remembering those who are dead -- Melissa.
LONG: Of course that must be on the mind of the soldiers today of the 10th Mountain Division.
Any update on the search for them?
DAMON: Well, it really does continue. Overnight operations, according to the commander here, yielded another 20 detainees. Amongst them a sniper.
This has really been a very challenging and difficult last 17 days, needless to say, because of the attack and because they are searching for captive soldiers. In many ways, this is the military's worst nightmare, to not know the state of one of their comrades.
These soldiers constantly are telling us about how they feel that they are closer to one another than they are to their families. Much of that derived because of the incredibly challenging and demanding circumstances under which they operate out here really allowing them to form this unique bond. But the military now saying that they believe they are getting close to putting together the pieces of the puzzle of what happened that morning, that they are getting closer to finding those two remaining captive soldiers.
And Melissa, the mission does continue. It does not stop out here for anything.
LONG: Arwa Damon, live for us this morning from Yusufiya.
Arwa, thank you.
Now, adding up the casualty figures for U.S. troops in Iraq, the military says seven Americans were killed Saturday. The fatalities bring the death toll for the month of May to 103. That makes this month one of the deadliest since the invasion in 2003.
The monthly U.S. death toll in Iraq has topped 100 only six other times in the 51 months since 2003. 3,454 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq.
HARRIS: Memorial Day, a time to remember the fallen and to think about those now serving. CNN's Robin Meade, the host of "Robin and Company" on CNN Headline News is live at Fort Bragg in North Carolina this Memorial Day.
Robin, it is great to see you. It is great that you've taken the show on the road to Fort Bragg.
Give us a sense -- give us a sense of what it has been like for you and all those folks around you this morning.
ROBIN MEADE, HOST, "ROBIN AND COMPANY": Yes. So we're joined by a bunch of folks who decided that they would come out here maybe before attending memorial services or doing the kinds of things that a lot of people are going to be doing on this Memorial Day holiday, which is the cookouts and times with their family.
You all want to say hi to Tony?
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Hi, Tony!
HARRIS: Hi. Beautiful! Thank you. Thank you.
Hello, everyone.
MEADE: We have a great crowd out here.
HARRIS: Terrific.
MEADE: You know, we're doing all kinds of stories out here, Tony. And one of the stories is about two wounded warriors, who anybody might say these guys have a lot to overcome no matter what day of the week it is, Memorial Day or not. A lot of people would say that except them.
And so here's their story about why they want to stay in the Army even though because of their wounds they could retire with full benefits. But they decided to stay in this job and go to a new line of work. And here's their story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were just doing routine night patrol. We were ambushed by a roadside bomb. And the entire front of my leg was blown off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They tried to save my leg during, you know, the hospital visits and all these different things, but it was too much infection because of -- you know, it's kind of dirty over there.
MEADE (voice over): The United States Army calls them wounded warriors, soldiers injured on the battlefield. But for Daniel Metzdorf and George Perez, those injuries didn't force the end of their military careers. These guys re-enlisted. Their mission now, to compete for a spot on the Golden Knights parachute team.
STAFF SGT. DANIEL METZDORF, U.S. ARMY: I just went through the medical board process. And the Army as a team basically took me from being wounded in Iraq to jumping out of planes.
LT. COL. TONY DILL, U.S. ARMY: They receive no special treatment. The same jumps, the same level of training. And when they hit tryouts, they're going to have to be able to pass just like everybody else does.
MEADE (on camera): So, after all this training, is there a chance that Sergeant Perez and Metzdorf won't make it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. This is not an easy thing. I don't want to show up and they're just going to stamp my hand, then you're a Golden Knight. That's not how it works. You're dealing with the best skydivers there are.
MEADE: What does it mean to you to possibly make the Golden Knights?
SPEC. GEORGE PEREZ, U.S. ARMY: Well, first of all, for me, I'm terrified of heights. So my wife knows it, and she'll be pretty impressed if I'll be able to accomplish this mission and make the U.S. Army parachute team.
METZDORF: It's definitely a huge (INAUDIBLE). But at the same time, it's a huge testament to the Army's values and its goals.
PEREZ: I like speed, and I like the rush. And what better way to do it?
METZDORF: It's great. It's awesome. Once I got over here, amazing. Right now, this is what I'm doing and I'm happy doing it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MEADE: Pretty amazing, huh, and inspiring people? We don't know yet if they made the Golden Knights team. They have a chance to make either one of two competition teams or one of two performance teams, because the Golden Knights are the people that you see at air shows.
So, we wish them a lot of luck. Pretty inspiring, don't you think?
HARRIS: That is -- that's tremendous. That really is.
And you know what, Robin? I saw a piece of yours last hour. I was watching your show on the Rafferty (ph) family. And if you don't mind, I'd love for us to run that here maybe in one of hours this morning.
MEADE: Sure.
HARRIS: Is that OK with you?
MEADE: Absolutely. Absolutely.
HARRIS: Yes. That's... MEADE: The Raffertys (ph) are a family who this Memorial day, like a lot of our viewers, is going to be different because they are spending it remembering a loved one.
HARRIS: Yes. It's just such a moving story.
I have to ask you, lady...
MEADE: What's that?
HARRIS: ... we hear you were given a special present today that you're pretty grateful for, huh?
MEADE: You know, I tell you what. That's the thing about military families. They turn the table on you. When you're trying to salute them and their service members, and they turn around and salute you and give you gifts.
One family gave us a folded American flag that had flown over Camp Stryker, and they wanted to give it to us, and just as a thank you. But you know what? All of us are saying thank you to the military members today, because we know that the worry that they go through, whether they've lost a loved one or not, they just want them to come home. And so, I tried to thank them, and I know you did as well, and they're trying to give back to us.
So God bless you all.
HARRIS: Well, it is tremendous. It is tremendous that you're there with the families. I know they love having you there. And we will let you get back to your show, which is on the air right now.
Robin, we appreciate it. Thanks for your time this morning.
MEADE: Everybody say bye.
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Bye.
HARRIS: Good to see you, everybody. Happy Memorial Day.
LONG: Gas prices today, let's take a quick look and see where they stand on this Memorial Day.
The national average for unleaded is now about $3.21 a gallon. According to the AAA Motor Club, that's just a third of a cent less than yesterday, but it is about a 29-cent jump from just a month ago.
HARRIS: This Memorial Day, a washout in much of the nation's midsection. In the southern plains, serious problems from too much rain. Much of central Texas is reeling from flash floods.
Two men whose vehicles were swept away by high water are still missing and presumed dead. That would raise the flooding death toll in Texas to seven.
More serious flooding problems in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma. This scene at the Hutchinson, Kansas, zoo where a lot of the animals had to be moved to higher ground.
LONG: Poor little animals.
HARRIS: Yes.
LONG: How hard is that to move a bison?
HARRIS: Well, I imagine it wouldn't be easy.
Look who's with us this Memorial Day, Jacqui Jeras in the weather center.
LONG: Good morning.
HARRIS: Jacqui, good morning to you. Good to see you.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Thanks, guys. Good morning.
LONG: We should have planned a Memorial Day cookout here.
HARRIS: How about that?
JERAS: That would be good.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: All right, Jacqui. Appreciate it. Thank you.
LONG: Thank you.
Some signs of hope to talk to tell you about this morning. Delta and Dawn, the mother and baby whales, on the move this morning. Rescue teams are watching them closely as they progress toward the Pacific.
For days the whales seemed stuck about 70 miles upstream in the Sacramento River. Scientists, they tried all sorts of tricks to try to get them turned around. Didn't have much luck though.
Yesterday, the whales started swimming toward the sea on their own. But the concern right now, keeping them away from big ships in San Francisco Bay.
HARRIS: And still to come this morning in the NEWSROOM, a Marine with a guitar and a message.
A little Kenny Loggins feel there. Semper Fi in the NEWSROOM.
LONG: A new eye on wildfires. Firefighters turn (ph) a new technology, trying to stay ahead of the flames, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Hancocks, live in Baghdad.
No breakthrough in those talks between Iran and the U.S., but they are being called an icebreaker.
Coming up in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And a birthday surprise, and it doesn't get much better than this. A mom in uniform makes her daughter's special day even more special.
The story of big hugs and kisses in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: U.S. and Iranian diplomats face to face today. The topic, Iraq.
Paula Hancocks is live in Baghdad.
And Paula, good morning to you. The main focus -- what is the main focus of the meeting?
HANCOCKS: Well, Tony, the main and the only focus, really, was the security of Iraq.
Now, the two sides told each other exactly what they thought about the security of Iraq or lack of it, and the U.S. for the first time had the chance to say face to face the accusations to Iran that it has been saying publicly for some time, that it believes Iran is funding some of the Shia militias here in Baghdad. So, certainly Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, after this meeting ended, four hours of talking between the two, did point out that it was important that it was very open.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN CROCKER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: What we underscored to the Iranians, though, is that beyond principle there is practice, and what we need to see is Iranian actions on the ground come into harmony with their stated principles, because right now the actions that I described to them and that I just described to you are running at cross-purposes to their own policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: Now, Crocker also said that the Iranians did not respond directly to those issues that he discussed during this meeting, but Ambassador Crocker also said there was nothing else discussed except Iraq, none of the other grievances that these two countries have with each other was discussed in any shape or form.
One interesting thing he did say is that there was discussion about a trilateral mechanism for security in Iraq. So, presumably Iraq, the U.N. -- sorry, the U.S., and Iran working together to try and deal with security. He said that is something that would have to go back to Washington, that's something that is more of a political decision. But certainly the most interesting thing that came out of this meeting -- Tony.
HARRIS: Yes.
Paula, do we know of any message? Did the Iranians have any message for Ambassador Crocker? We heard the other side of it.
HANCOCKS: Yes, we certainly did. And the Iranians said once again that they see the U.S. as occupiers. They see it as an occupying force, and they believe that they should leave. But apart from Iraq itself, nothing else was dealt with, none of the other issues.
One issue the Iranians did say is that they were not happy with the way the U.S. was training and funding the Iraqi army, or at least they didn't see any concrete results. They said it has been going on for some time, and still the Iraqi army is not ready.
HARRIS: CNN's Paula Hancocks for us in Baghdad.
Paula, thank you.
LONG: Twenty after the hour on this Monday morning.
Sun smarts. Let's be honest. You know you're supposed to wear sunscreen, but do you actually take the time to put it on?
CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us this morning.
And Elizabeth, there have been warnings. They have been discussing, of course, the benefits of wearing sunscreen for so long. But have people actually been listening?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Not enough people are listening. Year after year, they give the same warnings, and year after year, unfortunately, skin cancer rates go up.
This is especially true among young people who just don't seem to be hearing messages the way they should. In fact, right now the most common cancer in adults ages 20 to 30 is melanoma. Somehow, these messages aren't getting to them the way that they should.
LONG: OK. Why aren't they? What is going on that people aren't heeding the warnings?
COHEN: One of the big problems is tanning beds. There seems to be a bit of a disconnect.
I think some people understand, go out to the beach, you ought to be wearing sunscreen. But somehow people think lying in a tanning bed is OK. Well, it's not always OK. It can also possibly lead to skin cancer. So that's something that people need to remember.
In fact, many states now have restricted tanning beds for people under the age of 18. It's gone that far.
LONG: A lot of kids of course want to have that tanning bed experience before the prom or something like that.
COHEN: Right.
LONG: Exactly.
You know, when you go shopping there's a slew of possible products. How do you know which one is the right to buy?
COHEN: Right. It's hard to know. There's shelf after shelf of all these different SPFs.
LONG: It's overwhelming.
COHEN: It's very overwhelming. The numbers seem to go up to a million.
Dermatologists that we talked to said what you want to look for if you're going to be sitting out is an SPF of at least 30, something preferably over 30, that blocks UVA and UVB. That's very important.
Those are two different kinds of rays. And if you're only protecting against one, you still leave yourself at risk for getting skin cancer.
Also, use a lot. Picture filling up a shot glass with sunscreen.
LONG: That's a lot.
COHEN: That's a lot. People are so surprised. And lather that on. You really need that much. Also, apply every two to four hours when you're out outside, and even more if you're going to be in water.
LONG: All right. Hopefully you're taking all these precautions. Great idea with the shot glass as a way to measure it.
COHEN: Bring a shot glass to the beach. Why not?
LONG: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
LONG: But, OK, what if you do happen to find a mole on your body that you just think may be suspect? How do you know if it's OK to go to the doctor?
COHEN: There are certain things that you want to look for, because not all moles are going to be suspect, but there are certain aspects that you want to keep your eye on. They're called A, B, C, D. An easy way to remember.
First of all, asymmetrical. If you see a mole that's asymmetrical, larger on one end than the on the other, or, as you can see, is kind of a blob on one end, that's something that you want to talk to your doctor about.
Also, border. If it has an irregular border, it's not smooth like this one you see here, also suspect.
Color. If a mole has more than one color within the mole itself, that's a problem.
Also, diameter. If it's bigger than the eraser at the top of a pencil, that's something you want to talk to your doctor about.
But you know, Melissa, when in doubt, just show it to your doctor and get regular checkups. They can just look at your moles. They'll know pretty quickly whether or not it's something that needs to be biopsied.
LONG: It's OK to ask. And then UVA and UVB coverage. That's what you need.
COHEN: Right. Very important.
LONG: Good advice.
COHEN: OK. Thanks.
LONG: Thanks, Elizabeth.
HARRIS: Still to come in the NEWSROOM this morning, Hugo Chavez changes the channel. That sends thousands of Venezuelans into the streets. TV protests in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.
I'm Tony Harris.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
I'm Melissa Long in today for Heidi.
I hope she's enjoying a backyard barbecue like everybody else in the U.S. today.
HARRIS: Yo!
South Carolina, if I remember correctly, is where she and the family are enjoying this Memorial Day holiday weekend.
LONG: Beautiful weather.
HARRIS: Yes, great weather.
LONG: Boy, at least here.
HARRIS: Yes.
We'll check the weather across the country in just a couple of minutes.
But right now let's take you to central Baghdad. A powerful car bomb blows, dozens dead and wounded. Government officials say the blast shattered a busy commercial district. At least 21 civilians are dead and 66 others are wounded. Police believe civilians were, indeed, the intended target.
Earlier in the day, police got into a shoot-out with gunmen who had hijacked two minibuses. Three police officers killed, four wounded.
LONG: Fear and intimidation at work in Iraq. The military says U.S. troops freed 42 Iraqis held at an Al Qaeda hideout, one a 14- year-old boy. That hideout north of Baghdad in Diyala Province. An Army officer said the kidnappings were part of Al Qaeda's fear and intimidation campaign against Iraqis. Some of those freed had been held as long as four months and some showed signs of torture.
HARRIS: There is a special place set aside at Arlington National Cemetery just for the men and women who fought and died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Here's CNN's Barbara Starr.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Arlington National Cemetery -- this is Section 60, where the orderly solitude gives way to pictures, mementos, teddy bears and toys -- memories across the nearly 400 graves of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. A constant stream of people stopping to pay their respects.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most important precious gift they could possibly give and that is the life of their child.
STARR: Ray and Leesa Phillipon have found community here at the grave of their 22-year-old son, Lawrence, killed on Mother's Day two years ago in Iraq.
LEESA PHILIPON, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: It's an unbearable pain. Unless you've lost a child, in our case, it's hard to understand the pain. And so we come here.
STARR (on camera): Here at Section 60, there is utter heartbreak and grief. But there also is great love from the buddies who stop by here to visit their friends who didn't make it home alive from the war, to the families -- especially the moms and dads who come here to visit their children, many of whom died so very young.
(voice-over): More than 250 teenaged U.S. troops, 18 and 19 years old, have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Terry and Richard Clifton's son Chad was killed by a mortar in Iraq.
TERRI CLIFTON, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: Chad was 19. The last day I saw him was the day after his 19th birthday.
STARR: Richard remembers a teenager who listened to music from another war while he was on patrol.
RICHARD CLIFTON, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: This war didn't have its own soundtrack in that they kind of had to go back and adopt the soundtrack for Vietnam. And they listened to a lot of that retro music.
STARR: But this teenaged Marine, like his buddies, wanted to serve, but he had an old man's sense of destiny. Terri has compiled a book of Ted's e-mails and instant messages. His last letter home.
T. CLIFTON: If you're reading this letter, it means I wasn't lucky this time. Everyone chooses their path and mine has led me here. I just want you to know there's nothing I can write to express how sorry I am to have put this on you. I know you love me and this will hurt you.
STARR: At Section 60, the children walk, the parents grieve and buddies remember. And one more time, from another war, another generation pauses to say thank you.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Arlington National Cemetery.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LONG: A first step -- U.S. and Iranian diplomats are meeting today in Baghdad. They are discussing security in Iraq and only security in Iraq. Iran's nuclear program is not on the table.
First on the agenda for the U.S. delegation, allegations that Iran is arming militias in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN CROCKER, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: And I laid out before the Iranians a number of our direct specific concerns about their behavior in Iraq, their support for militias that are fighting both the Iraqi security forces and coalition forces, the fact that a lot of the explosives and ammunition that are used by these groups are coming in from Iran, that such activities, led by the IRGC Quds force, needed to cease and that we would be looking for results.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: We need to point out, as well, these are the first face- to-face talks between U.S. and Iran since the Iran hostage crisis.
HARRIS: So, Jacqui Jeras, this is a day for a lot of Americans, when they take in the parades to begin today. And then it's off to friends, relatives, the backyard and fire up the grill. This is the day.
JACQUI JERAS, ATS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HARRIS: How is the weather shaping up across the country?
(WEATHER REPORT) LONG: The Coast Guard is on watch, keeping an eye on small boats that could pose a big problem.
CNN national security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sailboats, motor boats fill the waterways this time of year. The Coast Guard worries that vessels like these could be used for surveillance, to deliver terrorists to a target or, worse, loaded with explosives.
ADM. THAD ALLEN, COMMANDER, U.S. COAST GUARD: You can take a boat and transform it into a weapon itself.
MESERVE: Remember the USS Cole?
When a small boat laden with explosives rammed into it, 17 sailors were killed.
U.S. harbors are full of potential targets -- cruise ships and tankers, chemical plants and other critical infrastructure. They are also full of small boats.
CAPT. BRIAN KELLEY, U.S. COAST GUARD: Just the sheer numbers and the ability to hide among recreational traffic is something that makes it difficult for me to find the threat and to address it.
MESERVE: One way to deal with that threat might be to require licenses for all boaters in all states or to put transponders on recreational boats so authorities can track their location. Both ideas are being floated by the head of the Coast Guard.
ALLEN: What we're trying to figure out is how to bide down the risk in our ports.
MESERVE: But neither idea sits well with boaters -- and there an estimated 70 million of them in this country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not going to be safer, and the reason is because the only people that are going to get licenses are law- abiding citizens like myself.
MESERVE: Some say the Coast Guard should, instead, be more aggressive about establishing security perimeters, places where small boats simply can't go.
MIKE SCIULLA, BOAT U.S.: They need to establish secure zones. They need to put the manpower and the resources into establishing those zones and making sure the boating public knows what those zones are.
MESERVE: Though state and local agencies often help police the harbors, the Coast Guard isn't much bigger than the New York City police department, making it a daunting challenge to find and deter any threat among the tens of millions of tiny boats.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, on the Severn River.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: Charles Nelson Reilly -- whacky, outrageous -- a perfect fit for 1970s TV. Remembering the man and his larger than life persona ahead in THE NEWSROOM.
LONG: And helping children cope -- helping the kids of fallen troops deal with their devastating loss. A closer look in THE NEWSROOM.
COMMERCIAL
HARRIS: OK, you already know to catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 until 12:00 Eastern.
But you know what?
A lot of folks are off today. So this is a great opportunity for you to be gently nudged to pick up the pod cast. You can download it right there on your iPod anytime. The CNN NEWSROOM pod cast, available to you 24/7 on your iPod.
Check us out.
LONG: Memorial Day -- a lot of people enjoying some time with family and friends today. It's also a time to remember.
Especially tough, of course, for children. And one program is helping kids cope with loss.
Brianna Keilar has our next story.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the greatest show on earth, guaranteed to get smiles and laughs. And on this day, performers from Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus are helping their audience forget for a moment the reason they are all here.
LETITIA IMEL, UNCLE KILLED IN AFGHANISTAN: My uncle was killed in action in July. My dad was -- died four year sago, so my uncle was more like a father figure to me after that.
KEILAR: This is 17-year-old Letitia Imel's first year at Good Grief Camp -- a weekend long seminar put on by the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, a support organization for military families who have lost a loved one.
The Halls -- Tyler, Tori, Trishcha, Tanner and Tony -- have been coming for several years. They lost their dad in a training accident in 1998. TORI HALL, FATHER DIED IN TRAINING ACCIDENT: My dad would come home from work and he'd start doing push-ups. And he'd put us on his back while he was doing them.
KEILAR: The younger kids struggle with knowing dad only through photos. At Good Grief Camp, they have found ways to cope.
TONY HALL, FATHER DIED IN TRAINING ACCIDENT: I deal with it -- at the end of the day I write a letter to my dad and say how the day is going. And I read it to my mom and it helps me talk about it and not be able to, like, go and cry in a corner.
KEILAR: Kids pair up with mentors, many of them active members of the military. And they find solace in the company of people who know exactly how they feel.
IMEL: You know that they are on the same level as you and that they went through the same things of you. At school, everyone looks at you differently and they don't really understand.
KEILAR: They share stories, they share laughs and today, they take a break from their grief, putting on their very own circus, a small step as they try to move forward.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Arlington, Virginia.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
HARRIS: A great story.
If you watched TV in the 1970s, chances are you remember Charles Nelson Reilly. Yes. In fact, years after he retired his huge eyeglasses and colorful ascot, he boasted being a fixture of that decade and the one that followed.
Reilly said the game show fame eventually overshadowed his stage, where he had won a prestigious Tony Award in the 1960s.
Reilly's over the top antics also put him center stage with Johnny Carson almost 100 times.
Reilly died Friday at the age of 76.
LONG: The story of the three little pigs never sounded like this. Tony, a foreclosed homeowner lets them go hog wild inside his home.
HARRIS: Uh-oh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That red frame door -- they were looking right out of that, three of them. Three little pigs in the house, huffing and puffing, blowing that house down.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LONG: Home wreckers, coming up in THE NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Oh, man.
COMMERCIAL
LONG: A live picture from Washington, D.C. Of course, the Vietnam Memorial this morning. They gave their lives for our country. And a little later today, President Bush will honor the fallen. A wreath laying live, about 10:55 Eastern time. And we'll bring it to you here, in THE NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Marine Corps Major Mike Corrado spent a year in Iraq. He sent us dozens of photos of his time in Fallujah, along with a song he wrote.
Have a look and listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. MIKE CORRADO, U.S. MILITARY COMMANDER (SINGING): I come from an island in the Carolina sand, where I was booked out and built to be for a fighting man. And my blood runs red, white and blue. And I'll bring (ph) the cold, the rain, the pain and the bullets. So you don't have to -- to worry about me. I'll be all right. Just care for your children. Sleep tight. I'll keep you safe on my watch tonight.
It's a long, long way from that island and a long way from home. With all of you standing behind me, I could never be alone. There's a promise I need you to make while I'm gone. And you take care you'll take care of the love and I'll deal with the hate. Don't worry about me. Don't worry about me. Just sleep tight. And I'll vouch (ph) tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COMMERCIAL
HARRIS: Fire season in southern California -- firefighters now armed with something new. It could cut damage and danger.
Kara Finstrom takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KARA FINSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Griffith Park, Catalina, Gorman -- one roaring wildfire after another scorching southern California -- and the fire season has barely begun.
Firefighter Steven Robinson has battled the blazes up close. Now he's helping revolutionize the way L.A. attacks these wildfires with new high tech maps -- maps that can help predict how fast and where flames are spreading, maps that helped pilot Scott Bowman during the Griffith Park fire.
SCOTT BOWMAN, L.A. CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: There was a hill straight in front of us. It had 40, 50 foot flame lengths coming off it.
FINSTROM: Today, Bowman swoops us through the park's charred hillsides.
(on camera): You were this close to the flames?
BOWMAN: Yes.
FINSTROM: Can you feel the heat inside of the helicopter?
BOWMAN: You can feel the heat. That's when you get buffeted around, is when you get really close to it.
FINSTROM (voice-over): By getting that close, Bowman was able to make the water drop that saved firefighters trapped near a bridge.
BOWMAN: And as I rolled in on it, I saw the fire go up over the bridge. And they were right there and I punched the water off.
FINSTROM: Bowman largely credits that drop to sheer luck.
But Robinson's maps are helping air and ground firefighters execute more direct strikes. Robinson worked with technology experts to create a souped up camera system that flies in with pilots. It captures the sprawling fire as it burns.
STEVEN ROBINSON, L.A. CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT: So if you can imagine this particular fire area, we're clipping that area out, keeping its spatial reference.
FINSTROM: Back on the ground, Robinson, himself a career pilot, uses the images and huge databases to create maps with layers of lifesaving information.
ROBINSON: I'm going to turn on streets and I'll go through. If I wanted to see population values, our LAFD battalions, fire hydrants...
FINSTROM: It's light years away from how firefighters have been tracking blazes.
ROBINSON: Before there were simply hand drawings or radio traffics or field observers.
FINSTROM: The maps first proved themselves during the 2005 Topanga fire, alerting firefighters that flames would reach homes and families hours earlier than expected.
Saving lives is not only a firefighting mission for Robinson, it's also a personal one.
ROBINSON: And that's where we ended up crashing the aircraft.
FINSTROM: In these same hillsides in 1998, Robinson nearly died during a horrific helicopter crash that killed a child and most of his crew. He suffered serious injuries that are keeping him from the throttle, at least for now. The crash transformed Robinson from pilot to pioneer, in a new age of high flying firefighting.
In Los Angeles, Kara Finstrom for CNN.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LONG: Good morning.
I'm Melissa Long in today for Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And hello and happy Memorial Day to everyone.
I'm Tony Harris.
Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Here's what's on the rundown.
American diplomats call the talks businesslike. They sit down with Iran to discuss security in Iraq -- the first formal U.S.-Iranian talks since the Carter presidency.
LONG: Memorial Day in America -- the nation pauses to honor the men and women who gave their lives in war. And President Bush live at the Tomb of the Unknowns, next hour.
HARRIS: Mom's home from war and boy is someone happy to see her. Surprise reunion on Monday, May 28th, Memorial Day.
You are in THE NEWSROOM.
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