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Israeli Navy Storms Gaza Aid Ships; Israel Raids Aid Ships Killing 10; New Effort to Cap Oil Leak; Wounded Vet Raises His Voice

Aired May 31, 2010 - 10:00   ET

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

(MUSIC PLAYING)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Lionel Richie singing "America the Beautiful" at the 21st Annual National Memorial Day concert there in Washington on PBS. It was broadcast just yesterday evening and the show, they say, focused really on three themes.

Of course the sacrifices of young military widows, Korean War soldiers -- by the way, it was the 60th anniversary of that conflict -- and the service members who died in both world wars.

And America remembers its fallen fighting men and women who paid the ultimate price for freedom on this Memorial Day holiday. And we are bringing you live various observances including Vice President Joe Biden's ceremonial wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns and the nation's hallowed military cemetery there from Arlington, Virginia.

We will also be taking you live -- how unique is this -- to Nazaria, Iraq for another Memorial Day observance being held there. We have a whole lot more for you when it comes to, really, just remembering all of our heroes.

But first let's get to this developing crisis in the Middle East and this growing diplomatic outrage. We have brand-new overnight video, folks -- this just keeps coming in -- of the commandos in the Israeli military storming these six ships.

Almost looks like infrared video here. It's loaded -- the ship, the flotilla, loaded with food, medicine, construction supplies all bound for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. And part of the melee -- here's the number we have now. At least nine people left dead, dozens injured.

The fiasco happened as the vessels were sailing in international waters off the Mediterranean Coast. But let's take a little bit -- closer look here at some of these video of the attack. And again we're getting video here really literally by the minute here. And clearly pandemonium unfolding as Israeli naval troops drop down from helicopters from above from ropes onto the largest of the ships, that being the one from Turkey.

And you can see really just violent clashes back and forth. In some cases you can see guns drawn. I have seen blood. And some of these activists are trying to fend off the commandos with axes, knives. And let's take a step back because the situation in Gaza has been desperate -- you know this. It's been desperate for years. And Israel has maintained this three-year blockade of the strip in an effort to isolate Hamas. They took control of the territory in 2007 and Israel considers Hamas a terror organization.

And in terms of really the people on board those six ships we're hearing about 600 passengers were on board carrying over 10,000 tons of aid. But we are getting conflicting reports about what precisely happened, really, from both sides.

You have the pro-Palestinian passengers. They say they were just trying to get much help -- much needed help to people in Gaza, but Israel coming out saying the organizers are well known for their ties to global jihad and that the convoy had a much more sinister purpose than simply delivering some medicine. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY AYALON, ISRAELI DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: I want to report this morning that the armada of hate and violence in support of Hamas terror organization was a premeditated and outrageous provocation.

The organizers are well-known for their ties to global jihad, al Qaeda and Hamas. They have a history of arm struggling and deadly terror. On board the ship we found weapons prepared in advance and used against our forces.

The organizer's intent was violent. Their method was violent and their results were unfortunately violent. Israel regrets any loss of life and did everything to avoid this outcome.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Now Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has already declared three days of mourning and one of his aids said, quote, "We certainly condemn such an attack. This is a clear manifestation of Israel's determination to undermine the will of the Palestinian people to maintain its siege of Gaza, the largest in modern times."

And already here, of course, backlash really internationally over this raid is erupting. United Nations Secretary-General Bang Ki-moon saying, quote, "I condemn the violence and Israel must explain."

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, as I just said, three days of mourning. And Turkey now stepping forward recalling its ambassador from Israeli as thousands of ralliers take over the streets of Istanbul.

And Octavia Nasser, senior editor of Middle East affairs, joining me live.

And Octavia, if we can just -- let's walk through some of these pictures because I know -- I was just being told in my ear that we're getting some new pictures. You help me as we look at some of the video that's coming, some of the surveillance video, both that looked like from some of the -- some of the ships, some of it from above.

Let's walk through what we're seeing and also explaining, again, what both sides are claiming here.

OCTAVIA NASSER, CNN SENIOR EDITOR, MIDDLE EAST AFFAIRS: Yes. First of all, this video seems to be coming to us from the IDF, the Israel Defense Force. And it shows basically that commandos, as you described it -- you see the helicopters and then some Israeli Navy officers drop down on the ship.

What Israel is saying is they were faced with -- what they called lynching, that the people on board were ready to attack them and that they were using paintballs in the beginning, the IDF were, and then they changed -- they switched to live ammunition.

And this is where people are not buying into that, even people within Israel. Even Israeli journalists and -- this is getting this reaction really on social media.

BALDWIN: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

NASSER: Yes.

BALDWIN: Let's talk about that because, Octavia, this is fascinating. And here in 2010, we are looking at a story halfway across the world yet we're hearing about it up-to-the-minute updates on Twitter.

NASSER: That's right. As a matter of fact, those people who organized this flotilla to go to Gaza with the aid on board and 600 people. We're talking about many, many volunteers from many different countries. We're not talking about just Palestinians.

Now obviously all those on board are pro-Palestinian in the sense that they are for sending aid to Gaza.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Freedom for Gaza movement, being one of the big groups.

NASSER: The -- yes. These are the organizers. And what they did, they had a camera o board. And they were doing live streaming. As a matter of fact, before the story became a huge story on Twitter and other social media, we were able to see the development -- how these ships are heading to Gaza and so forth.

And you saw pictures like these where the IDF soldiers got on the boat and you saw some of the scuffles, as you describe. So having those cameras on board, very interesting because they were able to stream all that live as it was happening.

And of course right now we're not hearing anything from that side. But we're getting new pictures from the IDF.

BALDWIN: Fascinating. Amazing just looking at some of the pictures and hearing in this day and age with social media.

Octavia Nasser, thank you so much.

I'm also hearing that we have Dan Lothian with live for us in Illinois.

And, Dan, I'm hearing you have some breaking news. Let me just pass it on to you.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. From Benjamin Netanyahu's office now confirming that he is canceling that trip that was scheduled for tomorrow coming here to meet with President Obama.

Of course, this all comes at a very critical time as the administration has been trying to move forward with Mideast peace talks. Also wanted to sit down and talk with Mr. Netanyahu about the situation in Iran as the United States has been pushing for tougher sanctions there.

The White House releasing a statement earlier this morning in response to the incident saying, quote, "The United States deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries sustained and is currently working to understand the circumstances surrounding this tragedy."

Now I reached out to the White House to get some kind of reaction to whether or not Mr. Netanyahu's trip would be cancelled and what implication that might have. We're still waiting for a response on that -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: So, just to reiterate, you're hearing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelling his trip. He was supposed to be in Washington meeting with the president tomorrow. I know he's in Canada right now.

LOTHIAN: That's right.

BALDWIN: Any idea when he's heading home?

LOTHIAN: No idea yet on when he's heading home.

BALDWIN: OK.

LOTHIAN: But again as we pointed out, he was scheduled to meet with President Obama tomorrow. And in fact, what's interesting is that next week Mahmoud Abbas is expected to meet with President Obama.

So again, you know, this is an important time as the administration really try to push this Mideast peace process forward, try to get these two critical leaders to sit down and talk. And now this incident complicating the situation.

BALDWIN: Unbelievable timing of all of this. Whew. Dan Lothian in Illinois traveling with the president.

Dan, thank you for that. Also want to remind you we should be getting some more reaction from Israel to this flotilla attack about an hour from now. Of course we'll bring that to you live. Live coverage of that news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as Dan was just reporting. He will not, not be going to Washington, D.C.

Meantime, turning our attention to the story we've all been watching here, what for 42 days.

Folks, this is day 42 of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Still no end in sight to the crisis. So right now work is under way to place this custom-built dome over the ruptured well.

We've been seeing all that oil seeping out. Now that effort replaces the top kill effort to plug the leak. And over the weekend, huge news we learned from BP COO Doug Suttles. The maneuver had failed. So it could be several more days before we know -- they said four to seven days before we know if this capping method will work.

And even if this new effort to cap the leak does indeed work, it will not fully capture all of the escaping oil.

So let's take a look at what is next, right, in this painstakingly slow process, some would say.

CNN's Josh Levs is here to walk us through this LMRP, this lower marine riser package cap.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's time for us --

BALDWIN: Did I get that?

LEVS: Yes, you've got it. You got the lexicon. You've got the lexicon. Perfect I guess. Time for us to take a look at the next step. In fact what we can do first is just go straight to this video. We have the animation that's showing you what BP is talking about here.

And the reason I want to do that is I want to make very clear what it is that's different this time. You know throughout all this, every time you hear a term -- containment dome, top hat -- there's been a lot of similar concepts. Just put a cap on the thing, right?

So what you're seeing here is what they're going to be trying to do is the lower marine riser package. And they want to put a cap on it. Hence LMRP, and it looks really pretty in the animation. You have a stub, you have a cap that comes on and seals it off.

The problem is that's not how it works. And it's really like performing heart surgery 5,000 feet below the water. It's incredibly hard.

Let me show you what has to be done. I have some images here from BP. This is the blowout preventer right here. And this right here used to be poking upwards, right, up toward land basically. What you have here through this explosion is this is now way down here. And they have these little robot things called remote operated vehicles that are at work right now. They need to make a couple of cuts. The first cut they need to do is this hydraulic shears are going to make a cut basically in what seems like that pipe right there. Then come over here.

Then they have some even sharper. It's an actual diamond wire cutter. It uses diamond. It's that sharp. And it's going to be making a cut right here. And if those cuts go the way they want them to then what you end up with is -- you know, I'm going to make this big, watch that. I'm going to make this big.

And what you end up with is what they're looking for. You end with a stub right here at the lower marine riser and then you end up with a cap that will fit right on top of it. So the idea is you get this cap, you seal it off.

Now let's go back to that animation. What you understand now when you see this animation is what happens at the beginning of it. They're showing you the blowout preventer. Then they're showing you those he two pieces just kind of move away and that's where things are so hard -- right there.

Because you have to be incredibly precise all the way down in order to remove those pieces and in order to create a cap that will fit perfectly. And in the process, you have to make sure that you're not -- think of it like nicking a vessel. Creating more problems that are ultimately going to cause even more oil to gush out.

BP is already saying it could cause 20 percent more in the process as planned. What if it's even more than that?

All right. Let me tell you what you're seeing now. I'm hearing in my ear here. These are live pictures of these remote operated vehicles at work under water. They're not actually doing yet what I told you about.

What I told you is going to take four to seven days before they can start that LMRP process. What they are doing now, we're told by BP, is some preliminary steps to try to get ready for that.

You know if we wait a few seconds you can actually see one of these little remote robots, one of these remote operated vehicles at work underneath kind of sawing away. Before they can even start the process, I was just showing you, they have to get rid of -- just think of it as some extra stuff that comes from the explosion.

So we're looking at these pictures now and we're all following this 24/7 as they are going about this process of preparing it for what we're talking about eventually happening, Brooke, which is preparing it for this process to take place all in the hopes that when it does it ultimately creates a seal which, as you said, is not even 100 percent.

BALDWIN: Right. It's not perfect. Looking at my inbox, BP is saying they're on track, four to seven days, continue to work to make adjustments and prep for cutting the riser.

LEVS: Prep the cutting riser. Yes. I mean that's the goal. The prep work is going on right now. They're laying the groundwork for what I'm talking to you about that surgery there. And again, so many ifs along the way. There's a lot of conditionals about whether this works or not. But at least it's the next thing that they're trying.

BALDWIN: All right, Josh Levs, thank you.

LEVS: You got it.

BALDWIN: Let's also mention -- let's talk about the chemicals here, right? BP using some chemicals. In fact some of the chemicals -- one in particular -- is banned in other countries. So why are the chemicals that are being prohibited in other countries allowed to be used, right, in everyday products in America?

Watch "TOXIC AMERICA," this two-night special investigation with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. It is Wednesday and Thursday 8:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.

So how mad are the people in Grand Isle, Louisiana right now? They are so mad that a priest will not even say -- won't even utter the word "BP" in church for fear it will make the flock boil over.

But the oil that threatens to destroy their community sustains their economy. This is a complex duo of emotions really for people along the gulf region and Carol Costello will have that story later this hour.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. It is Memorial Day. That's means picnics, barbecues and Memorial Day services and parades, many of which are outdoors.

We're going to run down that forecast for you in just a few minutes. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: All right. It's Memorial Day. Maybe you're in the kitchen, you're getting, you know, burgers ready, the steaks all juiced, you're ready to hit the grill, ready to hit the pool perhaps.

Maybe not all of us can do that because I'm hearing there's a little bit of rain, Rob Marciano. Is that the deal?

MARCIANO: In spots. You know, and other spots, it's looking fine.

BALDWIN: All right.

MARCIANO: You know? I know selfishly for you. Not that you're a selfish person, but you know.

BALDWIN: Hey.

MARCIANO: When it comes to half a day off --

BALDWIN: I want a little bit of time off.

MARCIANO: I hear you.

BALDWIN: Serious guy.

MARCIANO: You deserve it. You've been working hard. All right.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: You know, not every day is meant for pool or barbecue.

BALDWIN: Hey, that's OK. Let's enjoy a little time off with the fam.

MARCIANO: There you go.

BALDWIN: All right, Rob, thank you.

MARCIANO: See you in a bit.

BALDWIN: A Purple Heart winner wounded in Iraq belts out the national anthem before this huge NASCAR race. All the wounds from war definitely could not touch his spirit or his voice.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Using his voice to rise above his injuries of war Corporal John Hyland was severely injured in Iraq. He's a designated NASCAR nut. It's hard.

Hyland was invited to sing the national anthem at Sunday's Coca- Cola 600. Let's listen.

(VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Corporal John Hyland -- there he is -- joining me this morning from Charlotte, North Carolina.

And, Corporal, let me just say I would have been nervous doing that. You did pretty good. Good morning to you.

CORPORAL JOHN HYLAND, U.S. ARMY: Thank you. Good morning. Good morning, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Let me just first begin with -- let's go back in time here. You decide you're 33 years of age, you want to join the military. You were on this dangerous mission in Iraq. The date, oddly enough, was September 11th, 2007.

Walk me through, sir, what happened.

HYLAND: Well, there was actually a combat patrol that had gone out from our fort operating base there in Muqtadiya, Iraq. And that patrol had been hit with an IED -- improvised explosive device. So there was a quick reaction for us. Actually went out to kind of secure that scene.

On their way out they actually got hit with an IED as well. So we got woken up and said, hey, you guys are next. You've got to go take care of those guys. And so we were on our way to actually take care of them.

So I mean, it's obvious, you know, we were pretty -- pretty well set up, I think. But we hit an IED as well. It was a couple of anti- tank mines from what I understand. It blew up pretty much right underneath me.

And you know, it was just a horrible experience, but the other -- you know, all three of us that were in the vehicle survived. The medic helped get me out of the vehicle and they Medivaced me to the Balad (ph) hospital.

BALDWIN: And, Corporal, I know that, you know, we have the explosion and you have, I imagine, a mangled Humvee left behind but there was a little something special that you left that I guess you took with you to war, that was left in the Humvee that you got your buddies to go grab. What was that?

HYLAND: Absolutely. I -- actually had a picture of myself and my wife, Erica. And then I had a picture -- another picture of my two boys, Hunter and Wyatt. And you know, it's a funny story. One of my sergeants, Sergeant Anderson, has actually -- he said, you know, man, I just wanted to knock you out because you kept screaming for these pictures and I -- you know, we were trying to help you get you out of there.

We were getting shot at. We were -- and, you know, all I would talk about was getting back these pictures.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Yes.

HYLAND: And I wanted them. There was no way I was going to leave those pictures behind. I did not want the insurgents to get ahold of them. There was just no way. And I do have them. They're in my possession and I've got them locked away tight now.

BALDWIN: And not only that. Not only do you have the pictures but of course you have your little boys and we were able to get some of the footage from -- sir, when you came home. And we'd love to just play that of you seeing your boys for the first time, wheeled out there. I mean that had to be so memorable for you -- coming home.

HYLAND: Absolutely. I mean it -- you know, it's a special time for anybody that -- any soldier to come home from war, but certainly when you get injured, you know, like I did, it was pretty special to see their faces. Absolutely. It was something I missed.

BALDWIN: And so you're home and you've got your boys. And let's talk NASCAR, shall we?

HYLAND: Sure.

BALDWIN: Because I hear it's a kind of an interesting story how you got into NASCAR as a young child. Talk to me about that experience that you had that day at that race in Charlotte.

HYLAND: Well, you know, NASCAR to Charlotteans is like football to Texas, I think.

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: That's what I hear.

HYLAND: It's in our blood. And, you know, I actually took a job as a teenager to work at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in one of their suites as a banquet server, pretty much so that I could get in the race for free.

I couldn't probably -- you know couldn't afford it at the time, I guess. And -- but I was able to sneak down every chance I got to the fence there at the track and actually Dale Earnhardt Sr. --

BALDWIN: Wow.

HYLAND: When he was still alive spun out right in front of me. And you know, he gets out of the car and he walks over and he's got this angry look on his face and I guess I'm just a wide-eyed young kid, sitting there going, there's Dale Earnhardt, Sr. right in front of me.

And, you know, he just looks at me, he sees me standing there, gets a smile on his face and he says, hey, how you doing, kid? And, you know, we talked for what seemed like a lifetime to me but it was probably just about a minute in real time.

And it's just one of a series of great examples of how incredible everybody is that's within the sport of NASCAR. They love their fans.

BALDWIN: Absolutely.

HYLAND: And they take time for their fans. And that's what's so great about it.

BALDWIN: Awesome memories, great memories, you can pass it along to your little ones.

Corporal John Hyland, we thank you for your service and we thank you for your singing as well. Happy Memorial Day to you.

HYLAND: Thank you. Thank you very much, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Thank you.

Well, continuing along on our Memorial Day coverage, we're going to take you to Arlington National Cemetery shortly. We're waiting on remarks from Vice President Joe Biden, of course, honoring the fallen on this Memorial Day.

LIEUTENANT JEREMY AHO, U.S. ARMY: My name is Lieutenant Jeremy Aho from Salt Lake City, Utah. I want to say hi to my parents and everyone back home.

I'm really proud to be serving here on Memorial Day. It's good to be here serving the same cause of all those who have been here before us are serving.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Memorial Day. Of course is not just a day for politicians or military brass at Arlington. It is for the families of the servicemen and women who gave our lives -- their lives for us.

CNN's Barbara Starr joins us with that story from Arlington. And Barbara, looks like you're joined by a bunch of family members remembering loved ones. Good morning to you.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Brooke. We are here at Section 60 of Arlington, where so many of the fallen of Iraq and Afghanistan are buried. I am joined here this morning by many of the family members coming to visit their loved ones. These are representatives of many, many families of the fallen. I have to tell you these are becoming people we see every year that we know.

One young widow, Nikki Bunting, has agreed to speak a little bit to us this morning about what all is going on here. Nikki, you're here with a new member of the Bunting family this year.

NIKKI BUNTING, MILITARY WIDOW: Yes. He's relatively new. He's about seven months old. This is Cooper. We have an older son, Connor. Cooper was born about eight months after my husband was killed. I was four weeks pregnant when he was killed. And at the time, I wasn't aware of. So, we found out just days later, and it was the greatest news we could possibly have.

STARR: You told me a little while ago that your son really is the spitting image --

BUNTING: Absolutely. He really is. It's my husband's face, just shrunken down. It's absolutely amazing. I love it.

STARR: For a minute here, tell everyone about Brian Bunting and what he means to your family.

BUNTING: Bubba, we called him. Bubba was kind of one of the rocks of the family. He just wanted to -- family was of the utmost importance to him. He wanted to have a big family. He wanted to carry on in his family's tradition, which is a very tight-knit family, as you can see. We're all here today together as we often do come here together. He wanted to carry on the tradition and have a big family of his own. He was just an absolutely remarkable person. STARR: I also see for the Bunting family, like many other families here, there is going to be perhaps a bit of a toast later today.

BUNTING: Yes, of course. Bubba always had some sort of toast. He was quite a whiskey connoisseur. He liked his beers, too. Those are chilling now.

(LAUGHTER)

BUNTING: As his wife, I always made him wait until 4:00. So, he'll wait until 4:00 before he gets that Guinness.

STARR: All right. Well, Brooke, I want to just remind everyone, Memorial Day is not about the swimming pools and the golf course or the big ceremonies. It's really about remembering the fallen. Again, behind me, not just the Bunting family, but many members of many families who have come to Section 60 today behind me, remembering their loved ones, remembering the fallen, Memorial Day 2010. Brooke?

BALDWIN: Nikki Bunting, four weeks pregnant when she learned her husband died. Takes your breath away.

Barbara Starr, thank you and thank her for sharing her story with us.

Also, we are not only remembering our men and women here at home. We're going to take you to Iraq and hopefully talk to soldiers serving overseas coming up from Nazaria, Iraq. Stay here. CNN NEWSROOM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Want to get you up to date on some top stories now, including a fast-moving story from the Middle East.

Israeli commandos stormed six ships overnight. In fact, this is some of the surveillance video we now have obtained. The ships were loaded with about 600 pro-Palestinian activists. In terms of the latest number, we're hearing at least nine people dead, dozens wounded. These ships were loaded with food, medicine, all for Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. Israel maintains it was defending itself.

Also, let me add we have now learned Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, cancelling his trip to Washington tomorrow and will not be visiting with President Obama.

Also, some tense moments aboard Aeromexico flight from France to Mexico City. It was actually diverted yesterday to Canada. U.S. officials say a person of interest was on board. That's what we hear, a person of interest. They were arrested in Montreal on an outstanding warrant.

And as far as the oil spill, here we go, day 42. Live pictures underwater of this thing. BP trying to cap the leak after we heard the big news over the weekend. Remember, COO Doug Suttles saying the top kill failed. Could be a couple more days, 47 days (ph), before we know definitively whether this next effort of cutting that riser and placing that custom-fit cap on top of the leak, if it will work.

Now, it's possible the oil could gush most of the summer. And that is certainly catastrophic news that just gets worse and worse for people in Grand Isle, Louisiana. On one hand, they're furious, right, that the spilled oil is destroying their way of life. On the other hand, oil is a huge part of their life, their livelihood. It is a conflicted kind of anger.

Here now with that side of the story is CNN's Carol Costello.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESOPNDENT: Parishioners came to Our Lady of Grand Isle Catholic Church to ask God for the strength to deal with what might come next, a black tide that could destroy the community.

It's been difficult for Father Michael Tran to offer comfort. The level of anger is so high he fears it may spiral out of control.

COSTELLO (on camera): You don't invoke BP's name in church?

FATHER MIKE TRAN, OUR LADY OF THE ISLE CHURCH: I try not to, yes.

COSTELLO: Because you don't want to incite people any more than they already are?

TRAN: Correct. They are frustrated and I don't want to make it worse.

COSTELLO (voice-over): But that intense anger belies the complicated relationship with BP and big oil. On one hand they are ready to throw the bums out, but on the other hand they need big oil to fuel the Gulf's economy.

According to a University of Florida study, oil and gas interests account for $124 billion a year, or 53 percent of the money generated in the Gulf region. It's one of the people that Meagan's Sno Balls stand say they are mad at BP, but not the whole oil industry, even though their business has melted away because of it.

TAMMY FORET, MANAGER, MEAGAN'S SNO BALLS: You work in the oil field or you are a trawler or fishermen. That's how they live down here. That's what we live off of. And that's pretty much the way of life.

COSTELLO: A way of life that is now threatened by BP, a partner many blame for failing to take care of this beautiful place so everyone can profit from its riches. Back at Grand Isle's Catholic Church, the partner's name BP may inflame, but that doesn't mean people aren't praying for them all the same.

COSTELLO (on camera): Your feelings about BP? LAURA FAKIER, GRAND ISLE, LOUISIANA RESIDENT: We're a community that thrives on sea food but oil as well. And so we want it straightened out and want them to play by the rules and do it right.

COSTELLO (on camera): And there is a real sense that if President Obama continues this moratorium on new deep water drilling, it will begin to affect the oil industry. So much so that oil industry workers will lose jobs, and that too will affect Louisiana's economy.

Carol Costello, CNN, Grand Isle, Louisiana.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Carol, thank you.

Now, we have a brother and sister -- imagine this -- going through life. They're also going through their late father's things, and they find this treasure. It's a poem their father wrote about his World War II experience. Now they know dad in a whole new way. This is a remarkable Memorial Day story. We'll bring it to you in a couple more minutes here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: And for us this Memorial Day, we have CNN's Fredrick Pleitgen. He is live in southern Iraq in Nazaria for a very special ceremony that, Fred, I'm hearing should be getting under way any moment now. If you will, just walk me through this special memorial there.

FREDRICK PLEITGEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brooke. Absolutely. This memorial will be getting underway in just a couple of minutes. As you can see, the troops are gathering, getting final instructions for what they will be doing.

It's the main Memorial day ceremony here on (INAUDIBLE), which is one of the biggest American bases in southern Iraq. What we have been seeing for the past 12 hours is that all the names of the American service members who lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 have been read here. This is something that took almost 12 hours.

Now what's going to happen is that the formal part of the ceremony is going to begin. You will see the colonel speak, you're going to see the chaplain speak. There will be a moment of silence, of course. This memorial will get underway, and as you can see, a lot of soldiers are gathering for this. They will be here to witness this.

We have been seeing services like this throughout the past two days on base. Smaller ones from other units. This is really the biggest one that's going to be taking place on this base. But certainly, it's been a very important, very special Memorial Day weekend for all of those serving here.

One thing I can say is a lot of people are doing their third and fourth tour here in Iraq. A lot of them have seen combat. So of course, this is a very, very important day, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Indeed it is. We think of them from far away here in the U.S. Fred Pleitgen for us in Nazaria. Fred, thank you.

And how about this for a unique story? Rob Linehan (ph), who's gotten to know his father in a whole new way. His own father, James, was a World War II veteran in the European theater. He saw combat, killed a German soldier and it tormented him. But he didn't actually really talk about it with his family. In fact, after he died, Rob and his sister found a poem their dad wrote describing the whole experience. It was like his dad's therapy, and it revealed a side of his dad that Rob said he didn't really know.

And Rob, good enough to join me with this incredible story. And Rob, just first begin with --

ROB LENIHAN, DISCOVERED WWI POEM WRITTEN BY HIS FATHER: Good morning.

BALDWIN: This is kind of an ah-ha moment. How did you and your sister find one random piece of paper?

LENIHAN: My sister's bedroom had been turned into a storeroom. And after my father's death, we were cleaning the room out. We found a box and this file with all these papers. There were several typewritten sheets with this poem on it. And looking at my sister and she's looking at me, and we found it hard to believe that our dad wrote poetry.

BALDWIN: That your dad wrote poetry. I imagine you're kind looking at it. What are you thinking when looking at a piece of paper? Are you thinking, no way, this can't be something my father wrote this long ago?

LENIHAN: This long ago, and -- yes. Describing an incident about killing someone. I mean, he told many, many war stories, but he never actually said he killed a man. It's something you don't tell your children, obviously.

BALDWIN: And so, if you will, sir, would you mind reading that poem to me?

LENIHAN: Certainly. Thank you. It's called "Murder So Foul."

"I shot a man yesterday, and much to my surprise, the strangest thing happened to me. I began to cry. He was so young, so very young, and fear was in his eyes. He had left his home in Germany and came to Holland to die. And what about his family? Were they not praying for him? Thank God they couldn't see their son and the man that had murdered him. I knelt beside him and held his hand. I begged his forgiveness. Did he understand? It was the war, and he was the enemy. If I hadn't shot him, he would have shot me. I saw he was dying, and I called him brother, but he gasped out one word, and that word was mother" --

BALDWIN: Oh, gosh. LENIHAN: "I shot a man yesterday, and much to my surprise, a part of me died with him when death came to close his eyes."

BALDWIN: Rob, he held his hand, he called him brother. What do you think when you hear those words, and your father went through this? It was either him or this man.

LENIHAN: Exactly. I'm stunned. His stories always talked about the people he got to know and love. The other aspects, he rarely discussed. Certainly nothing like this. This was really something.

It was quite a find. I joke around with people. My sister, Joan and I, were sometimes like archaeologists in our home, digging and digging and finding these things.

BALDWIN: It's amazing. My grandfather had some letters as well. And let me just ask you, on this Memorial Day, as we've been asking a couple of different people, how are you honoring your father? How are you taking a moment today?

LENIHAN: Oh, I prayed to him this morning. I carry my parents' Mass cards with me everywhere I go. I held on today and said, Dad, here we go. You know?

BALDWIN: "Dad, here we go." Rob Lenihan, thank you for sharing that poem. What a poignant poem to us and to all of our viewers at CNN. Sir, Happy Memorial Day to you.

LENIHAN: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And CNN NEWSROOM will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: On this Memorial Day, we want to recognize a grim milestone in Afghanistan. The family of Jacob Leicht says the Marine corporal became the nation's 1,000th military death in that war. Now, CNN has not verified the claim, simply because of some of the confusion over the Pentagon's reporting in terms of the numbers here. But there is no doubt the story of the 24-year-old is truly remarkable.

Listen to this. He had been there only days because he spent the last two years recovering from combat injuries in Iraq. Here is what his brother shared.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSE LEICHT, BROTHER OF DECEASED MARIE CORPORAL JACOB LEICHT: Very proud. He did the ultimate thing. It's people like him make it so I can go out to eat with my friends, that I can live here on this piece of property with my family, that I can wake up in the morning and go to work.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BALDWIN: Military service is a tradition of sorts for the Leicht family. In fact, Corporal Leicht was born in a Navy hospital on the 4th of July.

And on this day when we honor those who serve, we want to tell you about a segment you will see every day and online at CNN.com. We're calling it "Home and Away." We want to invite you to send in iReports on the sevice men and women who gave their lives both in Iraq and Afghanistan, just like this one.

Let's take a look. This is from Shay Laguin for staff sergeant Melvin Glazer. He was killed in Fallujah, that is in Iraq, back in December of 2004. Let me read this to you. "I never knew Melvin personally, but my husband did. We named our son after him because of the bravery he showed and the eternal sacrifice he made for this country. I know his family, and he left an amazing wife and two amazing children. Every person that knew him knew he had the biggest heart ever. I wish I had met him, but part of me knows that my son, having his name is one of the biggest tributes I could have given him. Thank you, Blazer, for all you gave. He will be always in our hearts."

And if there is someone you would like to honor, head to our Web site. Again, that is CNN.com/homeandaway. You can click on a town and pull up short bios on service members who gave their lives --

Actually, let me go away from this and take you to Arlington National Cemetery. We've been waiting for this moment. This is the wreath-laying at the Tomb of the Unknown. Let's take a moment and watch.