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Crucial "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Vote Today; Obama Approval Down; 9 U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan; Economists: Double-Dip Recession Unlikely; President Obama Awards Medal of Honor to Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger, 42 Years Later; Charging Up Your Car
Aired September 21, 2010 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Big, big story on Capitol Hill today. Less than two hours from now the Senate plans this procedural vote on ending the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy for gays in the military. It's a vote. Keep in mind here, this isn't a definitive yes or no. This is simply to cut off debate of this defense spending bill.
Republicans need all 60 GOP votes to filibuster. Of course, CNN live coverage of the Senate "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" vote. You can watch it at 2:30 Eastern today.
And on that note, CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with my colleague Don Lemon, in for Ali Velshi -- Don.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It is so good to see you, Brooke. Don't get to see you much. Thanks very much.
You're seeing pictures now of the White House and the Capitol just over my shoulder. The reason, what's about to happen there is going to put the military and the national -- our national security in the spotlight.
Next hour, the Senate takes up the fate of one of the most controversial military policies ever. Talking about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." And right now it is still too close to call. There could be a filibuster, and those who support overturning that ban may not be able to move on with the situation, if there is a filibuster.
Plus, you know, one of our great soldiers is about to receive the highest honor that any service member can get. He saved three of his comrades on a secret mission, and he died doing it. Forty-two years later, his family will take home the Medal of Honor. And you'll see it, right here, live.
First, I want to start now with the president. We -- that town hall meeting the president had yesterday, he took some very tough questions from people who were there. Small business owners, unemployed people, and some college graduates, as well, recent college graduates. So it got us to thinking about the promises the president made as he came into office. Of course, when he first got into office, the very beginning, he had no approval rating until we took one about February of 2009. And here's what it shows: 76 percent of Americans approved of the job he was doing. And then in February of -- or now I should say it is 50 percent down, some 20 points. Down some 20 points.
And look at this brand-new poll of polls. This is not our poll. This shows that it's down 46 percent, down to 46 percent, the president's approval rating. And that's not even our poll.
Also, take a look at this, though. This is all despite some legislative victories that the president has had. Health-care reform. Remember that? And although it was very controversial, financial regulatory overhaul. The stimulus. Plus, two Supreme Court justice confirmations. We're talking about Sonia Sotomayor and, of course, Supreme Court Justice Kagan, Elena Kagan.
So what is the problem here, then? What is the problem? Of course, it is the economy and unemployment, as the president heard yesterday. When he got into office, there was a poll taken around February of 2009. He was at 8.2 percent. And then now 9.6 percent, and some think it's going to go up to 10 percent unprecedented. It will be very tough for the president to recover from that, if that does happen.
You know, this comes as comments like the ones the president got yesterday at the town-hall meeting, that CNBC town-hall meeting. We took those numbers. And I want you to listen to what people had to say about the current state of the economy, and the president and the president's approval and promises when he campaigned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Frankly, I'm exhausted. I'm exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for, and deeply disappointed with where we are right now.
TED BRASSFIELD, VOTER: Like a lot of people in my generation, I was really inspired by you and by your campaign message that you brought. And that inspiration is dying away. It feels like the American dream is not attainable to a lot of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. So let's bring in now our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry, and our senior political analyst, Gloria Borger, to talk about all this -- the president's approval, what the president did yesterday, taking those questions from everyday Americans. If you're out of work, I'd have some tough questions for the president.
So, Gloria, I will start with you. What is the president to do, especially with an election coming up. Is there anything that he can do to get this back on track, especially when so many Democrats are on the line? GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, I was talking with some Republicans yesterday doing House races, and they basically said, look, this mid-term election is bait. OK?
People feel -- they don't feel any recovery. They're disappointed. The change that they've seen, a lot of voters are nervous about it. Because you mentioned before. You know, you mentioned health-care reform, the stimulus package, the bailout. People decided that they didn't like them, or they haven't seen the results from them yet, particularly health-care reform. A lot of it's not going to kick in until 2014.
So what the president can do is try and help out members of Congress where he's still popular. He can raise a lot of money for Democrats but, you know, the Democrats kind of understand that they've got to hunker down. It's just not going to be a good mid-term for them.
LEMON: And, Ed Henry, as you watch the news, if you watch the news; you're standing there in front of the White House. I wonder how the administration is handling this? Those questions yesterday from -- from everyday Americans? If they're looking at it, as, this is a great opportunity for the president to get out in front of people and take their tough questions so that he can feel it for himself? Or is it, man, we should not have done this?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No. I think they feel they've got to be open and transparent. And when you talk to senior aides, they realize, the president's got to take some of this heat. He needs to let the American people vent, if you will. Interesting to me, because I just spent a couple of days in southeastern Virginia for a big piece we're going to do on CNN.com, publishing it tomorrow, about sort of what happened in the Obama mojo.
And we take Virginia, because look, there were all of these Obamacans, you know, Republicans who became Obama fans in 2008. They crossed the aisle because they were inspired, just like some Democrats were, and they thought he was going to change things.
I talked to Democrats, Republicans and independents in southeast Virginia. They were basically saying, "Look," by and large, they were not angry with him. They were saying, "Look, we think he's a good man. We think he's got ideas, and we think he's trying," but they basically said he tried to do too much too fast in the first 20 months or so.
And the second thing they say is it's just a constant political environment, because of the economy. The economic issues you and Gloria were talking about that, frankly, it's a throw-the-bums-out kind of mentality. Take a listen to what a couple of voters that we talked to, a Republican and then an independent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No matter how he spent his time during office and how well he represented his constituency, unfortunately, the majority of citizens that are going to vote for him, constituents that he'll follow along with his voting record are just going to vote for something different. They're going to be knee-jerk reactions, and that's what you're going to see.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think why people are looking to vote out the incumbents is mainly because they're looking for an easy fix. I think they're unhappy with the current situation, as well they should be. It's not a comfortable feeling, and the easiest thing to do is get rid of your representative.
I think, you know, the commitment of two years hardly can be representative of what they can do. And to buy in for another two years is a risky proposition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: And one of those voters basically put it bluntly and said, look, voters are in panic mode right now. And as Gloria was saying, House Republicans think this election is cooked already. And in this case, you have a Democrat. Saw some video of him. He's a freshman Democrat from southeastern Virginia. He's got it all on the line here, because he's got a Republican, Scott Riddle, a car salesman, a political newcomer who's saying, "Look, throw the bums out." And a lot of people are responding to that.
LEMON: And Gloria, you know, that was -- those people said the same thing, basically, with people in the town hall said. So give us the bottom line here, Gloria Borger. What does this mean? What should the president do? What are Republicans going to do?
BORGER: You know, I think what's interesting about Barack Obama, as we look back over the last couple of years is that we have seen more of this president than almost any president that I can remember.
But people still think they really don't know who he is. So that's something the White House really needs to work on, because people don't dislike him. They just feel they're not quite sure who he is. He bills himself as kind of a post-partisan president. They see a lot of partisanship in Washington, and they really don't like that, but in the short term you know, it's very, very difficult for the Democrats right now. This election is about Barack Obama.
Now, Republicans are coming out with this version of the 1994 Contract with America. Some Republicans are a little worried about that, because they don't want to give the Democrats anything to kind of pick on, but, you know, at this point the Democrats have to do hand-to-hand combat in every congressional race, in any Senate race where they think maybe the Tea Party is going to help them out.
As for Barack Obama, he's got a lot of work to do in letting the American public know just who he is.
LEMON: Very interesting after he's written two books and so much has been dealt with, as far as his past.
BORGER: Exactly. LEMON: That's a whole other conversation we could have here. Gloria Borger and Ed Henry, thank you both.
HENRY: Thanks, Don.
LEMON: We've been talking about the economy now. Let's talk about the war. Two wars we're fighting overseas. In particular, it's been a deadly day for U.S. troops in the Afghan war in what has become the deadliest year. Nine Americans killed. Live reports from Kabul right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, this just in. Remember the story in California where the officials there were making so much money, hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and the people who lived there really got upset about it when they found out?
So this is just in. And this investigation. Someone close to the investigation confirms to CNN that eight current and former city officials from Belle, California, have been arrested. They were arrested this morning in connection with a probe conducted by the L.A. County district attorney's office. This is according to the "L.A. Times."
The D.A.'s office is examining whether various financial transactions in Belle amounted to thefts of public funds. It means stealing people's money. The office is also looking into allegations of voter fraud and whether the high salaries earned by city officials and others were legal. We'll check into that. This just in to CNN from Belle, California.
In the meantime, let's go overseas now and talk about our men and women in uniform. Nine of them lost their lives today in a helicopter crash in the southeastern part of Afghanistan. This all happened just days after parliamentary election where the Taliban had so much violence, and were able to close down polls and keep people from the polls there; and also one year from now we're expected to pull out of Afghanistan and to start pulling out.
Nine U.S. service members killed. Officially, we don't know what happened, but the Taliban is taking responsibility. To the ground now in Kabul and CNN's Ivan Watson. Ivan has said this is the worst violence we have had in that war this year.
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This has been an escalating war, and this case, Don, of a helicopter going down, you usually get a spike in casualties when these types of accidents take place.
A military spokesman here is saying they saw no evidence of hostile fire. They're still investigating the cause of the crash. A Western defense source telling CNN's own Atia Abawi that this resulted in the deaths of nine U.S. servicemen. As you pointed out, that makes it the deadliest year yet of this nine-year conflict Afghanistan for U.S. troops and coalition troops. And if you look back over the years, the casualty list has gone up year after year. A hundred fifty-five dead in 2008. American troops. Three hundred thirteen American troops killed in 2009. And now 350 and the year is not through yet.
Now, when you ask Western military commanders why are the casualties going up, they say because there are more troops on the ground and more battles as a result with Taliban insurgents.
U.S. troops on the ground increased by 30,000 this year as a result of a decision by the Obama administration, but one consequence of that is more violence and more civilians caught in the cross fire. Take a listen to what this analyst had to say here in Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDACE RONDEAU, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: The violence in this country has risen exponentially, and it's really affected Afghans, obviously, in the biggest way. Obviously, there's also been a lot of casualties on the U.S. and NATO side, but I mean, you've got thousands this time of civilian casualties, and it keeps going up. I mean, there's some 30 percent increase in violence in this last while in civilian casualties. And that's really significant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WATSON: And, for example, Don, just today we're getting reports from Afghan officials of five Afghan construction workers killed by a roadside bomb, northwest of the Afghan capital -- Don.
LEMON: Ivan Watson, Kabul, Afghanistan. Ivan, thank you very much for that.
Technically, we may be out of a recession. The recession. They say we got officially out of the recession last summer, but is there a so-called double dip on the way? A new CNN poll of economists says they aren't so worried about it. We're going to explain that to you, and why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. Here's what we heard yesterday. The recession was officially declared over as of last June. Do you believe it? You know what? But this year the economic performance has stoked fears of what's known as a double dip. You've heard Ali Velshi talk about it, when he has that thing, the "W," and he talks about the double dip.
Let's go down to CNN.com. Paul LaMonica, he joins me now.
Paul, what are the odds of slipping into another recession here? Of course, we don't want that.
PAUL LAMONICA, CNN.COM: We obviously don't want that. Fortunately, the odds are not that high that we're going to go into that double-dip recession, according to a survey of 31 economists that CNNmoney.com has conducted. The average expectation is about a 25 percent chance. So that's obviously good news that it's not higher than that.
But unfortunately, the bad news is that just a few months ago the consensus opinion was about a 15 percent chance of a double dip. So the economists that we surveyed definitely think there is a greater chance now than just a few months ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAKSHMAN ACHUTHAN, ECONOMIC CYCLE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: The reason for the disconnect, I think, between anyone listening and saying, "Hey, it doesn't feel like a recovery. What is this guy talking about?" Is that 9 percent, only 9 percent of the jobs lost in the private sector have been recovered, and so there's a big disparity where 70 percent of GDP has recovered. However, only 9 percent of jobs has recovered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAMONICA: Yes. I think what Lakshman just said is a perfect example of, you know, how many consumers feel. It doesn't exactly seem like a recovery. So even though we can say that the recession is technically over, that doesn't matter to a lot of people if the recession is, in their minds, still something that they're feeling.
LEMON: They're still feeling it, and a lot of them are thinking it's getting worse now. The recovery of the economy has a lot to do with the way consumers feel, consumer confidence, the way people in America feel. So given the way Americans feel, how likely will their attitudes help to lead to the possibility of a double dip?
LAMONICA: Yes. That's a very interesting question. And unfortunately, a lot of times bad economic news can be somewhat a self-fulfilling prophecy. If consumers are worried they're going to hold back on spending.
And while that's good news for the long term, because remember, the reason we got into this Great Recession in the first place, was because a lot of people, not just consumers, businesses as well and even the government, we overspent. We binged on debt. And that's something that came home in a very bad way in 2008.
So if consumers hold back, that could, though, be something that's bad for the short term, because we need consumers to spend again. That's what companies are waiting for in order to justify decisions to start hiring people back again.
LEMON: Yes. And consumers are waiting for companies to start hiring again. So it's a catch-22. Paul LaMonica, thank you very much. And Paul, of course, is part of the best financial team on television. You can see more of them on "YOUR $$$$$," Saturdays, 1 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3 right here on CNN.
Time now for your top stories on CNN.
Republican Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell is denying allegations that she misused campaign funds. A campaign watchdog group has filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission, and the U.S. attorney in Delaware says O'Donnell improperly spent $20,000 in funds from her previous campaign after that campaign was over.
A government report says 16 percent of all traffic deaths last year were caused by distracted drivers. Transportation experts, safety advocates, and police officials are holding a summit in Washington today to discuss that problem. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood describes distracted driving as an epidemic, and he called for additional laws to ban texting while driving.
Today is World Alzheimer's Day, and a new report confirms what many families already know. Caring for people with dementia can be a huge financial burden. A group called Alzheimer's Disease International says more than 600 billion dollars will be spent around the world this year. It also says the cost per patient is highest in the United States: $40,000.
You know, it's been more than 40 years, but a hero of the Vietnam era is finally getting recognition. Live pictures now of the ceremony. We'll go to that. Going to get a Medal of Honor. That ceremony is going to happen at the White House, and we're going to profile the man behind this medal. So stay with us. A story you won't forget, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: In just a few moments, an American hero will be honored 42 years after he died. Air Force Chief Master Sergeant whose name is Richard Etchberger was killed helping to evacuate injured comrades from a mountain top in Laos.
Well, President Obama will present the Medal of Honor to Etchberger's sons in the East Room of the White House today. And what you're seeing behind me, people getting ready to go into that room. Live pictures of the East Room.
Before that ceremony starts, though, we want to find out a little bit more about Sergeant Etchberger's background and his fascinating story. I want to go to our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve.
Jeanne, it's very interesting to hear about how he saved, you know, three of his comrades, at least, and then he was on his way to safety and then gets killed. And it's a whole secret mission that they couldn't honor him because the U.S. was afraid to do it.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don. Even his own children didn't know this story until the 1980s.
He was in the Air Force, was a radar technician. He was asked to go to Laos and man a radar installation on a mountaintop there. Now during the Vietnam War, Laos was officially neutral. U.S. servicemen were not supposed to be there.
So he resigned, as it were, from the Air Force, donned civilian clothes, and he and others went to this very remote radar installation at the top of a very tall cliff in Laos. From there, they helped vector in American aircraft for bombing of North Vietnam and some of the communist-controlled parts of Laos.
And then in March of 1968, unexpectedly, some North Vietnamese soldiers were able to scale up this incredible cliff, which is about 3,000 feet tall. They attacked these men, many of whom were just technicians.
And Etchberger, according to accounts, picked up an M-16 that he had barely any training on and started firing to protect his men. Several of them were killed. Two of them were wounded.
Eventually, an Air America helicopter came in to rescue them. And he, it is said, braved enemy fire in order to get his men on the hoist and up into that helicopter. He got two of them. Another wounded man emerged from the shrubbery. He got him up in the helicopter too. Went up himself. He was uninjured, unharmed, but as the helicopter pulled away, there was ground fire. One round pierced that helicopter and hit him, and he was killed.
But the American government didn't want to make this all public, because the American military wasn't supposed to be in Laos. So he was secretly awarded the Air Force Cross. At the time it was discussed, should he get the Medal of Honor? It was rejected, we're told, because U.S. officials didn't want to make the operation in Laos public.
Only in recent years was there a movement to give him this honor, and indeed, that's coming to a culmination today. Several of his children, three of his sons are supposed to be there in addition to some other family members, and we're told one of the men he rescued plans to be there.
LEMON: Yes. One of the men he rescued, as we look at live pictures f this where they're about to have this ceremony.
One of the men he rescued said, "You know, I live with it every day, because I saw -- I saw him get shot. I saw the blood." And he said, every single day, he thinks about that his life was spared and the man who helped save him, you know, died.
Listen, you mentioned his three sons are going to be there today. One of them is Cory Etchberger, Jeanne. And I know you would know a lot about the story. He said he was in third grade, in 1968, when he was told that his father had died in a helicopter accident in Southeast Asia. And not until he was 29 did he learn, until they declassified this information. Imagine what an emotional day it's going to be for them.
MESERVE: Yes. He was absolutely stunned when his mother finally gathered the sons around and told them the truth, that, in fact, her husband, their father, had not died in a helicopter crash, but in fact was a hero of the Vietnam War.
Interestingly, one of the mementos that he has is the watch that his father was wearing when he was killed. You can see that the crystal on it is broken. Cory told us that his father, because he was left-handed, would wear this watch on his right wrist and would wear it with the face inward facing to protect it. And today every member of the family is going to be wearing their watch on their left wrist with the face facing inward, so sort of a silent tribute to this man who's being honored today.
LEMON: Jeanne Meserve, stick around. I want to tell our viewers, because that ceremony is about to get under way. And we always like to honor our heroes, and of course, one of our biggest heroes now being honored today with the highest honor that you can get from -- from the military, which is the Medal of Honor. His name is Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Richard Etchberger. Richard Etchberger.
So we're going to take a break. But you know what, Jeanne? We're not taking a break now, because we're going to get started.
So listen, this is fascinating. It makes one wonder about how often things like this happen as we watch and listen and things get underway. Of course, it's going to be -- he's going to be handed this honor, his family, by the president. So we will wait for the president to come up, but I wonder how often this happens, Jeanne? Do you know?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the vice president of the United States.
MESERVE: Well, we don't. But here, the ceremony is about to begin.
LEMON: If you're just joining us here on CNN we're waiting for a ceremony about to happen in the East Room of the White House. I'm joined by CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve, and we're about to watch a hero get honored 42 years after he died and after he saved colleagues during Vietnam.
And his name is Air Force Chief Master Sergeant Richard Etchberger. His three sons are there, and they're going to accept this honor on his behalf 42 years after this death.
Jeanne, the person said the president of the United States is coming. There's a bit of a delay. So we'll keep talking, talking about -- you said we don't know how often this happened, because these were declared top secret.
Let's listen to the ceremony.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States and Mrs. Michelle Obama.
(MUSIC, "HAIL TO THE CHIEF")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let us pray.
Dear Lord, how grateful we are for the privilege of living in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.
We thank you for those throughout our nation's history who have left the comfort and security of our shores to stand between their loved homes and the war's desolation, pledging their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to establish and maintain our precious freedoms.
Today, we offer special thanks for the sacrifice and service of one of America's finest airmen, Chief Master Sergeant Richard Etchberger, who on that fateful day in March, 1967 demonstrated enormous courage and valor beyond the call of duty.
As the sons of this brave Air Force warrior receive on his behalf our nation's highest military award, the Medal of Honor, we know that they will stand just a little taller and so also shall we, a very proud and grateful nation.
And now as we honor this American hero and the family who loved and supported him we humbly ask that you grace our time together with your presence and blessing. In your holy and wondrous name we pray.
Amen.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Amen.
Please, be seated.
Good afternoon, and on behalf of Michelle and myself, welcome to the White House.
And I thank you, General Ceer (ph), for that wonderful invocation.
Of all the military decorations our that our nation can bestow, the highest is the Medal of Honor. It is awarded for conspicuous gallantry, for risking one's life in action, for serving beyond the call of duty.
Today, we present the Medal of Honor to an American who displayed such gallantry more than four decades ago, Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger.
This medal reflects the gratitude of an entire nation, so we are also joined by Vice President Biden and members of Congress, including Congressman Earl Pomeroy and from Chief Etchberger's state of Pennsylvania, Congressman Tim Holden.
We are joined by leaders from across my administration, including Secretary of Veterans Affairs Rick Shinseki, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Jim "Hoss" Cartwright, and leaders from across our Armed services, including Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Chief of Staff General Norton Schwartz.
I want to acknowledge a group of Americans who understand the valor we recognize today, because they displayed it themselves, members of the Medal of Honor Society.
Most of all, we welcome Dick Etchberger's friends and family, especially his brother, Robert, and Rick's three sons, Steve, Richard and Cory.
For the Etchberger family, this is a day more than 40 years in the making. Cory was just 9 years old, but he can still remember that winter in 1967 when he, his brothers and his mom were escorted to the Pentagon. The war in Vietnam was still raging. Dick Etchberger had given his life earlier that year, now his family was being welcomed by the Air Force chief of staff.
In a small, private ceremony, Dick was recognized with the highest honor that the Air Force can give, the Air Force Cross. These three sons were told that their dad was a hero, that he had died while saving his fellow airmen, but they weren't told much else. Their father's work was classified and for years, that's all they really knew.
Then, nearly two decades later, the phone rang. It was the Air Force and their father's mission was finally being declassified and that's when they learned the truth, that their father had given his life not in Vietnam but in neighboring Laos. That's when they began to learn the true measure of their father's heroism.
Dick Etchberger was a radar technician, and he had been handpicked for a secret assignment. With a small team of men, he served at the summit of one of the tallest mountains in Laos, more than a mile high, literally above the clouds. They manned a tiny radar station guiding American pilots in the air campaign against North Vietnam.
Dick and his crew believed they could help turn the tide of the war, perhaps even end it, and that's why North Vietnamese forces were determined to shut it down. They sent their planes to strafe American as they worked, they moved in their troops. And eventually, Dick Etchberger could look through the binoculars and see that their mountain was surrounded by thousands of North Vietnamese troops.
Dick and his crew, at that point, had a decision to make -- ask to be evacuated or continue the mission for another day. They believed that no one could possibly scale the mountain's steep cliffs and believed in their work, so they stayed; they continued their mission.
There were 19 Americans on the mountain that evening. When their shift was over, Dick and his four men moved down to a rocky ledge on a safer side of the mountain. And then, during the night, the enemy attacked. Somehow, fighters scaled the cliffs and overran the summit. Down the side of the mountain, Dick and his men were now trapped on that ledge.
The enemy lobbed down grenade after grenade, hour after hour. Dick and his men would grab the grenades and throw them back or kick them town down into the valley below, but the grenades kept coming. One airman was killed and then another; a third airman was wounded, then another. Eventually, Dick was the only man standing.
As a technician, he had no formal combat training. In fact, he had only recently been issued a rifle. But Dick Etchberger was the very definition of an NCO, a leader determined to take care of his men.
When the enemy started moving down the rocks, Dick fought them off. When it looked like the ledge would be overrun, he called for air strikes within yards of his own position, shaking the mountain and clearing the way for a rescue. And in the morning light, an American helicopter came into view.
Richard Etchberger lived the airmen's creed -- to never leave an airmen behind, to never falter, to never fail. So as the helicopter hovered above and lowered its sling, Dick loaded his wounded men one by one, each time exposing himself to enemy fire. And when another airmen suddenly rushed forward after alluding the enemy all night, Dick loaded him, too, and finally himself. They had made it off the mountain.
And that's when it happened, the helicopter began to peel away, a burst of gunfire erupted below, Dick was wounded and by the time they landed at the nearest base, he was gone. Of those 19 men on the mountain that night, only seven made it out alive. Three of them owed their lives to the actions of Dick Etchberger. Today, we're honored to be joined by one of them, Mr. John Daniel (ph).
Among the few who knew of Dick's actions, there was the belief that his valor warranted our nation's highest military honor, but his mission had been a secret and that's how it stayed for those many years.
When their father's mission was finally declassified, these three sons learned something else. It turned out that their mother had known about Dick's work all along, but she had been sworn to secrecy and she kept that promise to her husband and her country all those years, not even telling her own sons. So today is also a tribute to Catherine Etchberger and the reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices that our military spouses make on behalf of our nation.
Now this story might have ended there with the family finally knowing the truth, and for another two decades it did. But today also marks another chapter in a larger story of our nation finally honoring that generation of Vietnam veterans who served with dedication, courage, but all too often were shunned when they came home, which was a disgrace that must never happen again.
A few years ago, an airmen who never even knew Dick Etchberger read about his heroism and felt he deserved something more. So he wrote his congressman, who made it his mission to get this done. Today, we thank that airman, retired Master Sergeant Robert Dilly (ph), and that congressman, Earl Pomeroy, who along with Congressman Holden made this day possible.
Sadly, Dick's wife, Catherine, did not live to see this moment. But today, Stephen, Richard and Cory, today your nation finally acknowledges and fully honors your father's bravery, because even though it has been 42 years, it's never too late to do the right thing and it's never too late to pay tribute to the our Vietnam veterans and their families.
In recent years, Dick's story has become known in Air Force bases have honored him with streets and buildings in his name. And at the base where he trained so long ago in Barksdale, Louisiana, there's a granite monument with an empty space next to his name and that space can finally be etched with the words "Medal of Honor."
But the greatest memorial of all to Dick Etchberger is the spirit that we feel here today, the love that inspired him to serve -- the love for his country and love for his family. And the most eloquent expression of that devotion are the words he wrote himself to a friend back home just months before he gave his life to our nation.
"I hate to be away from home," he wrote from that small base above the clouds, "but I believe in the job." He said, "It is the most challenging job I'll ever have in my life." And then he added, "I love it."
Our nation endures because there are patriots like Chief Master Sergeant Richard Etchberger and our troops who are serving as we speak who love this nation and defend it. And their legacy lives on because their families and fellow citizens preserve it.
And as Americans, we remain worthy of their example only so long as we honor not merely with the medals we present, but by remaining true to the values and freedoms for which they fight.
So, please join me in welcoming Steve, Richard and Cory for the reading of the citation.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress March 3, 1863, has awarded in the name of the Congress the Medal of Honor to Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger, United States Air Force. For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, Chief Master Sergeant Richard L. Etchberger distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism on March 11th, 1968 in the country of Laos while assigned to Ground Radar Superintendant Detachment 11043rd Radar Evacuation Squadron.
On that day, Chief Etchberger and his team of technicians were manning a top-secret defensive position at Lima Site 85 when the base was overrun by an enemy ground force. Receiving sustained and withering heavy artillery attacks directly upon his unit's position, Chief Etchberger's entire crew lay dead or severely wounded.
Despite having received little or no combat training, Chief Etchberger single-handedly held off the enemy with an M-16 while simultaneously directing air strikes into the area and calling for air rescue. Because of his fierce defense and heroic and selfless actions, he was able to deny the enemy action to his position and save the lives of his remaining crew.
With the arrival of the rescue aircraft, Chief Etchberger without hesitation repeatedly and deliberately risked his own life exposing himself to heavy enemy fire in order to place three surviving wounded comrades into rescue slings hanging from the hovering helicopter waiting to airlift them to safety.
With his remaining crew safely aboard, Chief Etchberger finally climbed into the evacuation sling himself only to be fatally wounded by enemy ground fire as he was being raced into the aircraft.
Chief Etchberger's bravery and determination in the face of persistent enemy fire and overwhelming odds are in keeping with the highest standards of performance and traditions of military service. Chief Etchberger's gallantry, self-sacrifice and profound concern for his fellow men at risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
(APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let us pray.
And now, O Lord, as we close this Medal of Honor ceremony and our hearts have been stirred by the account of Chief Etchberger's story of bravery and sacrifice, we pray that we may respond with a renewed devotion to the cause of peace and freedom.
We also pray for your blessing and protection to be upon America's sons and daughters who stand in harm's way today and for their loved ones who prayerfully and patiently wait.
May our efforts, Dear Lord, lead to a more secure and prosperous world, a world in which all people will one day live in harmony with you and one another.
Amen and amen.
OBAMA: Amen.
Thank you very much, everyone.
VELSHI: There you go. Very emotional speech given by the president on behalf of Master Sergeant Richard Etchberger who lost his life 42 years ago in a secret mission during Vietnam.
His three sons were there today to receive the honor for him, highest honor from the military, the Medal of Honor, Steve, Richard and Cory. Cory, nine years old at the time, 1968. Was told his father had died, didn't know why, didn't know he was a hero, but today he certainly does.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK, let's do "The Big 'I'" now. We've been talking is a lot about conservation, green energy, all the of that. I want to talk to you about an electric vehicle charger. You've seen some of these around places.
Hey, I'm just going to show you this little bit. This is how -- just a regular car that we have, the one that uses combustible gas, you put it in and put the gas in and the red line here and it goes to a combustion engine, right?
OK, so this is what happens with an electric car. You have a household plug or plug somewhere where in case you run out of energy you can go plug it in. You plug it in and it goes to a battery first, which is rechargeable, then it goes to the controller and from the controller it goes to the electric motor. So that's supposed to be able to conserve energy and all of our fossil fuels, as they say.
Let's walk over here and talk to this gentleman who -- his name is Andy Kinard. And you are the person who came up -- this is the president of the Car Charging Group. So tell us, is this it? How does this happen? Do you -- can -- what do you do with that thing?
ANDY KINARD, PRESIDENT, CAR CHARGING GROUP: Well, this is a combination 220-volt charger and a 110-volt charger. I'm not sure if you have seen the movie "Who Killed the Electric Car"?
LEMON: Yes. Yes I have, actually.
KINARD: Part of the issue was that every individual car had its own individual car charger. So that was part of the reason for the demise about the electric car vehicle industry about eight years ago.
LEMON: Because the thing I was showing there that I showed in the wall back there was like you have a big charger at your house or there's a big charger somewhere and you have to go to these certain places. This one works more like a traditional gas station where you can go and just charge it, plug it in for a while.
KINARD: Exactly. The industry standardized the charger. You can see, this is something called the J-1772. Every charger, every 220-volt charger, will be equipped with this. Every car that's produced from this point forward will be able to accept this J-1772, just like gas pumps work now.
This is a public charger, so what that means is it's got a cell phone in it ,it's talking to the Internet. If you're driving around and you need a charge, you can look on Google Maps, you can look on -- there's iPhone applications that can help you find this, all types of different smartphone applications.
So once you find it, you can use a credit card or this actually a membership card, and it's going to send a signal to make sure that this is an actual authenticated card.
The 110-volt charger has just opened. So if you want to charge with 110 volts, you can plug it in there or you just put that in your car and it starts charges at 220. LEMON: Real quickly, this is my question -- am I standing here forever to get this to charge like my cell phone when it runs out? Is it a quick thing?
KINARD: No, it's not that quick. I would say three or four hours, depending on the car.
LEMON: Hours.
KINARD: So what we did was we put these in places where cars are going to be standing anyway or we put them in places where you wouldn't mind killing an hour or two.
LEMON: Parking garage, maybe when you get in your car wash --
KINARD: Shopping center, things like that, yes.
LEMON: -- when you get your car tuned up or fixed or whatever.
Thank you, Andy Kinard, president of Car Charging Group. Thank you very much. It's very interesting. You're going to see this is -- maybe one day it will become -- very status quo very soon we hope.
Thank you very much.
Your know what? Your "CNN Equals Politics" update is straight ahead. An off-the-cuff remark by the Senate majority leader has him in some hot water. We'll tell you what he said. Stick around.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time right now for your "CNN Equals Politics" update. CNN congressional correspondent Briana Keilar is in Washington.
Brianna, what is crossing right now?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Don.
Well, just up now on the ticker, you can take a look here, the big question in politics -- Are Democrats going to be able to hang on to the majority come the midterm elections?
Well this is the number two democrat in the House, Steny Hoyer, and he just said in his off-camera weekly briefing, he insisted that Democrats will be able to hang on to the majority. He was specifically asked a question by a reporter about some recent news coverage, particularly one item that had to do with poll numbers that spelled some bad news for Democrats, and he really pushed back and said this is a party on the move and they're going to be able to hang on to things.
And then also on the ticker, you know that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is prone to making some of those off-the-cuff remarks that kind of get him in trouble sometimes. Well, he's delivered again for us. This is from my colleague Dana Bash on the Hill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said that Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is the hottest member of the House. And he said this, according to democratic sources, at a fundraiser and it apparently made her blush a little bit. For context, she was ranked number the number three "Most Beautiful Person on the Hill" recently in one of our local Hill rags, but a bit awkward there.
And then what we're going to have finally on the ticker coming up, Don, Sarah Palin has a brand new video out. This comes out from her political action committee, Sarah Pac, very produced and obviously appealing to the Tea Party crowd.
She calls them real people, they're not inside-the-beltway professionals. She says they're the future of politics. It obviously makes you wonder if she's running for 2012 and trying to harness the power of those voters -- Don.
LEMON: Brianna Keilar, happy birthday, and thank you very much. We appreciate that.
KEILAR: Thanks.
LEMON: Hey, we've got more political news to tell you about coming up on CNN, including a key vote that we're watching on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." A key vote by the Senate, it's going to happen moments away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
