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Honoring Vietnam's Fallen Troops

Aired May 28, 2012 - 14:00   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to all of you. Happy Memorial Day. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

We're going to actually take you live to Washington. We'll hear from the president in a moment as he's getting ready to speak at what's known as The Wall. It's the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

But first, this. We want to take a look at some of these live pictures here. This is Dallas, Texas. You're looking at this crane. Here is the story. We are told there is a man inside the cab of this crane hundreds of feet above the campus at Southern Methodist University. And police say he threatened officers. He is believed to be armed, we're hearing with a pistol. Everyone is OK. The school is closed, so there aren't a lot of folks on campus. But we are keeping a close eye on that picture. Thank you WGAA for providing it to us. Obviously as soon as we get updates, we'll pass them along to you.

Also just into us here at CNN, some new video of this tragic scene. Look at the smoke. Flames break out inside this shopping mall, killing at least 19 people. Thirteen of them are children. This is happening in Qatar. This is near Saudi Arabia. And this news just broke. So we're getting more information right now. Again, with this story as well, we'll pass it along as soon as we get it.

Meantime, Tropical Storm Beryl is now Tropical Depression Beryl. The storm weakened after making landfall near Jacksonville, Florida, just after midnight with wind gusts over 70 miles per hour in some places. This storm ripped down trees, ripped out power lines. Thousands today on this holiday still without power. And pull up the boot straps, folks, because some parts of Florida, parts of Georgia could see upwards of eight inches of rain.

A rebel leader in Syria says the six week old cease fire, brokered by the United Nations, is over. More than 100 people, including 49 children, were massacred over the weekend in the city of Hula. The government is blaming terrorists. Special envoy Kofi Annan arrived in the capital city of Damascus today pleading for an end to this violence. Local monitoring groups say another 26 people were killed across the country.

And the Vatican is narrowing down now the suspects who may have leaked confidential information. The pope's spokesman is denying reports the cardinal is implicated here, but he also says reports that a woman involved are false. But the pope's butler is under arrest and charged with aggravated theft. And want to show you a live picture here, Vietnam Memorial. The beautiful black granite with the thousands and thousands of names here of the lives lost during the Vietnam War. Here we are on this Memorial Day in 2012. We are waiting to hear from the president as he is helping kick off a 13-year tribute to the Vietnam vets. So stand by for that. We'll be bringing that to you live.

And as we wait for the president, and we await his remarks, I just want to show you something. You might want to just spend a little bit of time with. And this is why I'm standing over here. This is this -- it's a pretty impressive interactive map thanks to the good folks at cnn.com. What we call this page, you can find it at cnn.com/homeandaway. And what it is really, it's a tribute to the Americans who have fought and died both in Afghanistan and in Iraq.

So, for example, you can take a look at two maps. So we have Afghanistan pulled up on the right hand side of the screen. This is obviously the United States. So, for me, my hometown is Atlanta, Georgia. So I'm going to try to go in a little bit closer here to Atlanta. If I want to find a fallen soldier in many particular neck of the woods, you click on one of these dots, three casualties here in Griffin, Georgia, for example. Let's say I want to pull up Private First Class Jeremy Pat Faulkner. I want to learn a little bit more about him. You can pull him up. Twenty-three years of age when he passed away from Griffin. It explains exactly how he was killed.

And then what's amazing is, you can share memories and messages. So you pull this person up and you can read, for example, if someone sent in i-Reports or videos or pictures for this particular person. And you can see who else was killed in that province in Afghanistan or who else was killed in action from Griffin, Georgia.

And it's not just Afghanistan, as I mentioned. If you want to click on Iraq, the same holds true with Iraq. You have to wait for a moment. It will load. It will explain over the years, 4,802 U.S. and coalition casualties. Again, you can find this at cnn.com/homeandaway.

And now let's pause to take another look here at live pictures at the Vietnam Memorial as we are awaiting the president. There will be a flyover. Another several, several speakers here. Master of ceremonies, Tom Selleck, a Vietnam era veteran, actually. So we're going to bring you the president's remarks here. The vice president there as well. Their wives. Let's get a quick break in. We'll be right back.

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BALDWIN: Welcome back.

Here you are. Live pictures again. This is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. This is General Martin Dempsey. And he's been talking about courage. Courage of our men and women in uniform. And as they come home, to respect and honor these brave men and women, our war heroes. He is followed up -- here he is, the defense secretary, Leon Panetta. And let's just listen in. Marking Memorial Day and the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, America's veterans, I'm honored to be here today with all of you as we begin the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of America's participation in the Vietnam War.

Memorial Day is an appropriate opportunity for all Americans to come together, to pay tribute to all those who have fought and died for our country. Across more than 200 years, and on battlefields near and far, America's sons and daughters have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our liberties to give us all a better life. At this hour, at this hollowed and haunting memorial, we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. A war that occupies a central place in the American story.

Millions of Americans were sent across the Pacific to a little known place to fight in the service of the country that they loved. Not only at this hour, but at all times we remember and carry in our hearts the more than 58,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, coast guardsmen whose names are inscribed on this dark wall for eternity.

For me personally, this is an especially moving moment. As a member and later chairman of the Vietnam era veterans caucus in the House of Representatives, I had the honor to work on the endowment of this memorial. To see the names of soldiers that I served with inscribed on this wall, to see the names of officers who went through ROTC with me at Santa Clara inscribed on this wall, to know my good friend, Everett Alvarez, a hero from this war and a classmate of mine, served with great distinction in that war. No memorial, no memorial better reflects the pain of the sacrifices that were made. Many more came home. Came home from that war to a country that failed to fully acknowledge their service and their sacrifice and failed to give them the honor they so justly deserved.

That experience, that failure to thank those who were willing to put their lives on the line for this country, was burned into the soul of my generation. For too many Vietnam veterans, the recognition of their bravery came too late. The Vietnam generation, my generation, is graying now, but this commemoration effort gives the country an opportunity today and in the years ahead to try and right the wrongs of the past. To remember those who served in this war and what they did for us, their service, and their sacrifice on our behalf.

Last week I had the opportunity to join the president in paying tribute to a fallen member of that generation, Specialist Les Sabo, who posthumously received the Medal of Honor. Les Sabo died in Vietnam saving his brothers in arms. And it was those same brothers from the 101st Airborne Division who campaigned to reopen the Medal of Honor process for Les more than 10 years ago. The story of Les in many ways is the story of the Vietnam War. We forgot and now we finally remember.

Next week, as secretary of defense, I'll have the opportunity to travel to Vietnam to continue strengthening the growing ties our two countries are re-establishing since 1995. We've come a long way since the war has ended. And it was the veterans of Vietnam who led that way for our two nations to begin the process of trying to heal the wounds of war.

Today, the Department of Defense personnel are working diligently to identify and locate the remains off fallen service members missing in action in Vietnam. Let me assure you, this sacred mission will continue until all of our troops come home and are accounted for. It reflects the determination of our military and our country that we leave no man or woman behind. And to honor those who have honored us with their service, their valor, and their sacrifice.

During the last decade of war, like past generations of warriors, another generation has answered the call to fight and to sacrifice on foreign soil. They have done all this country has asked them to do and more. As they have returned from overseas, America, with our Vietnam veterans front and center in the effort, have embraced this new greatest generation of service members, showing that we have learned perhaps the most important lesson to come out of the Vietnam War -- the debt we owe to those who fight and who died for our freedoms.

The President and Mrs. Obama have done so much to encourage Americans to do more to recognize and support these great patriots. They have led the fight for the men and women who have fought for our nation. As this country faces tough economic times, we must do everything we can to ease the transition of the thousands of service members who will come home from war to civilian life. They fought for us. The least we can do is fight for them.

It's now my honor to introduce one of those soldiers who fought in Vietnam, Senator Chuck Hagel. He lead an infantry squad in Vietnam during the bloody fighting following the Tet Offensive. And like millions of our generation, he demonstrated bravery, patriotism and heroism on the battlefield. And he also demonstrated that patriotism and that bravery and that heroism in the life of public service that has followed.

Chuck, we thank you for honoring us with your presence today and thank you for your commitment to the United States of America. God bless you.

SGT. CHUCK HAGEL, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Leon, thank you.

I am honored to be among you today and grateful for an opportunity to say a couple of words before I introduce our special guest this afternoon.

This uniquely American day, Memorial Day, was born over 140 years ago of America's Civil War, our most costly and terrible war. A war that tore at the heart and fabric of our republic. The next war to divide America produced this simple and elegant memorial that watches over us today. It reflects the images of the future as it records the names of the past.

Memorials are built for the living and are to instruct our destiny as they honor and remember those who fell in the service of their country. Memorials further instruct us of the powerful responsibility of our nation's stewards to make policy worthy of the sacrifices of those who serve and died. War is not an abstraction. It is brutal. It is always accompanied by the haunting portends of dangerous, unintended consequences. Uncontrollable and unpredictable. And even though this is so, America's men and women have always found higher purpose in their lives in service to their country.

I often think about those quiet heroes that my brother Tom and I served with in Vietnam in 1968. And I'm very proud that my brother Tom is here today sitting in the front row. I never knew nor -- thank you. I never knew nor served with a better soldier or a better man than my brother Tom.

These quiet heroes who we slogged through jungles with, fought side by side with, were wounded with and sometimes helplessly watched die always considered themselves just ordinary people. But they were far from ordinary. They viewed themselves as just, well, ordinary because they were humble, patriotic and selfless. They never asked for nor expected anything in return other their service other than respect and dignity. And, tragically, what they received upon their return from a confused and angry nation was neither. In fact, they were blamed for the folly that so consumed America for so many years.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial means many things to many people. Not only is there deep meaning and connection with our Vietnam veterans and their families to the wall, but so it is with all Americans of all generations. Among these feelings for Vietnam veterans is their responsibility and honor to assist returning veterans from the wars in the last 11 years, assuring that these returning veterans are productively integrated back into society with the appreciation and recognition befitting a great nation.

As we have painfully learned the tragic lessons from Vietnam, society must always separate the war from the warrior. We do not celebrate the Vietnam War, we commemorate and historically recognize it. And as I said at the Vietnam Veteran Memorial groundbreaking on this very site, on a cold, windy March day in 1982, there is no glory in war, only suffering. Life is always more about the people than the event. Events are stages upon which individuals change the world.

And today, we do celebrate a group of people. We celebrate those individuals who changed our country for the better. Our Vietnam veterans and their families. We also recognize those who are assisting our military families today in very special ways. Like the first lady, Michelle Obama, and Dr. Jill Biden. The character of a nation is always about who it chooses to be its leaders and how it respects its veterans.

In my lifetime, America has not known two more committed leaders to its men and women in uniform and its veterans and their families than President Obama and Vice President Biden. On behalf of this beautifully creator endowed land, here to speak for all of us on this special day when we were all Americans, is the leader of our country, the 44th president of the United States, Barack Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the arrival of the guest of honor and remain standing until the colors are retired. The president of the United States, Barack Obama. First Lady Michelle Obama. Vice President Biden and Dr. Biden.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Colors, present (INAUDIBLE)!

(SINNING STAR-SPANGLED BANNER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right shoulder, (INAUDIBLE). Colors. Colors turn. March!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please be seated.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good afternoon, everybody. Chuck, thank you for your words and your friendship and your life of service.

Veterans of the Vietnam War, families, friends, distinguished guests. I know it is hot, but you are here to honor your loved ones, and Michelle and I could not be more honored to be here with you. You know it speaks to the complexity of America's time in Vietnam that even now historians cannot agree on precisely when the war began. American advisors had served there and died there as early as the mid '50s. Major combat operations would not begin until the mid '60s.

But if any year in between illustrated the changing nature of our involvement, it was 1962. It was January in Saigon. Our Army pilots strapped on their helmets and boarded their helicopters. They lifted off, raced over tree tops, carrying south Vietnamese troops. It was a single raid against an enemy stronghold just a few miles into the jungle, but it was one of America's first major operations in that far away land.

Fifty years later, we come to this wall, to this sacred place to remember. We can step towards this granite wall, reach out, touch a name. Today is Memorial Day when we recall all those who gave everything in the darkness of war so we could stand here in the glory of spring.

And today begins the 50th commemoration of our war in Vietnam. We honor each of those names etched in stone. Fifty-eight thousand, two hundred and eighty-two American patriots. We salute all who served with them and we stand with the families who love them still.

For years you've come here to be with them once more. And in the simple things you've left behind, your offerings, your mementoes, your gifts, we get a glimpse of the lives they led. The blanket that covered him as a baby, the baseball bat he swung as a boy, a wedding ring, a photo of the grandchild he never met, the boots he wore, still caked in mud, the medals she earned, still shining. And, of course, some of the things left here have special meaning known only to the veterans. A can of beer, a packet of M&Ms, a container of Spam, an old field ration. Still good. Still awful. It's here we feel the depth of your sacrifice. And here we see a piece of our larger American story.

Our founders in their genius gave us a task. They set out to make a more perfect union. And so it falls to every generation to carry on that work, to keep moving forward, to overcome a sometimes painful past, to keep striving for our idea ideals. And one of the most painful chapters in our history was Vietnam. Most particularly, how we treated our troops who served there. You were often blamed for a war you didn't start when you should have been commended for serving your country with valor. You're sometimes blamed for misdeeds of a few.

When the honorable service of the many should have been praised, you came home and sometimes were denigrated when you should have been celebrated. It was a national shame, a disgrace that should have never happened.

And that's why here today we resolve that it will not happen again. And so a central part of this 50th anniversary will be to tell your story as it should have been told all along. It's another chance to set the record straight.

That's one more way we keep perfecting our union, setting the record straight. And it starts today because history will honor your service. Your names will join a story of service that stretches back two centuries.

Let us tell a story of a generation of service members, every color, every creed, rich, poor, officer, and enlisted who served with just as much patriotism and honor as any before you. Let's not forget that most of those who served in Vietnam did so by choice so many of you volunteered.

You said your country is at war. Send me. That includes our women in Vietnam, every one of you a volunteer. Those who were drafted, they, too, went and carried their burden. You served. You did your duty.

You persevered through some of the most brutal conditions ever faced by Americans in war. The suffocating heat, the drenching monsoon rains, an enemy that could come out of nowhere and vanish just as quickly.

Some of the most intense urban combat in history and a battle of a single hill could rage for weeks. Let it be said in those hell holes like Briar Patch and the zoo and the Hanoi Hilton, our Vietnam POWs didn't simply endure, you wrote some of the most extraordinary stories of bravery and integrity in the annals of military history.

As a nation, we've long celebrated our forces at Normandy and Iwo Jima and heart break ridge. So let us also speak of your courage at (inaudible) in Saigon, from Hamburger Hill to Rolling Thunder. All too often it's forgotten that you are troops in Vietnam won every major battle you fought in.

When you came home, I know many of you put your medals away, tucked them in a drawer or in a box in the closet. You went on with your lives, started families and pursued careers. A lot of you didn't talk too much about your service.

As a consequence, this nation has not always fully appreciated the chapter of your lives that came next. So let us also tell a story of a generation that came home and how even though some Americans turned their back on you, you never turned your back on America.

Generations before you took off the uniform, but you never stopped serving. You became teachers and police officers and nurses. The folks we count on every single day. You became entrepreneurs, running companies and pioneering industries that changed the world.

You became leaders and public servants from town halls to Capitol Hill, lifting up our communities, our states, and our nation. You reminded us what it was like to serve, what it meant to serve.

And those of you who stayed in uniform, you rose through the ranks, became leaders in every service, learned from your experience in Vietnam and rebuilt our military into the finest force the world has ever known.

And let's remember, all the Vietnam veterans who came back and served again in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. You did not stop serving. Even as you succeeded in all these endeavors, you did something more, maybe the most important thing you did. You looked each other.

When your government didn't live up to its responsibilities, you spoke out, fighting for the care and benefits you had earned. And over time transforming the V.A. and of course, one of these Vietnam veterans is now our outstanding Secretary of Veteran Affairs.

You looked after one another. You cared for one another. People weren't always talking about PTSD at the time. You understood it and you were there for each other. And just as importantly, you didn't just take care of your own, you cared for those that followed.

You made it your mission to make sure today's troops get the respect and support that all too often you did not receive. Because of you, because our Vietnam veterans led the charge, the post 9/11 G.I. fellows helping hundreds of thousands of today's veterans go to college and pursue their dreams.

Because of you, because you didn't let us forget, our airports are returning troops get off the airplane and you're there to shake their hands. Because of you, people across America welcome home the troops from Iraq.

And when forces return from Afghanistan, America will give this entire 9/11 generation the welcome home they deserve. That happened in part because of you. This is the story of our Vietnam service members, the story that needs to be told.

This is what this 50th anniversary is all about. You did your job. You served with honor. You made us proud. You came home and helped build the America that we love and that we cherish.

So here today, it must be said, you have earned your place among the greatest generations. At this time, I would ask all our Vietnam veterans, those of you who can stand to please stand.

All those already standing, raise your hands as we say those simple words, which always greet our troops when they come home here on out, welcome home! Welcome home! Welcome home! Thank you.

We appreciate you. Welcome home. Today we're calling on all Americans in every segment of our society to join in this effort. Everybody can do something. Five decades removed from a time of division among Americans, this anniversary can remind us of what we share as Americans.

And that includes honoring our Vietnam veterans by never forgetting the lessons of that war. So let us resolve that when America sends our sons and daughters into harm's way, we will always give them a clear mission, we will always give them a sound strategy, we will give them the equipment they need to get the job done.

We will have their backs. We will resolve that leaders will be candid about the risks and about progress and have a plan to bring our troops home with honor. Let us resolve to never forget the cost of war including the cost of civilians, not just in Vietnam but in all wars.

We know that while your sacrifice in service is the very definition of glory, war itself is not glorious. We hate war. When we fight, we do so to protect ourselves because it's necessary.

Let's resolve in our democracy, we can debate and disagree, but never let us use patriotism as a political sword. Patriots can support a war, patriots can oppose a war, and whatever our view, let us always stand united in support of our troops who we' placed in harm's way, that is our solemn obligation.

Let's resolve to take care of our veterans as well as they've taken care of us. Not just talk, but actions. Not just in the first five years after a war, but first five decades. For our Vietnam veterans, this means disability benefits for diseases connected to Agent Orange. It means job opportunities and mental care to help you stand tall again.

It means ending the tragedy of veterans' homelessness that every veteran who has fought for America has a home in America. You shouldn't have to fight for a roof over your heads when you've fought on behalf of the country you love.

And when an American does not come back, including the 1,666 Americans still missing from the Vietnam War, let us resolve to do everything in to our power to bring them home. This is our solemn promise to mothers like Sara Shea who joins us today, 93 years old, who has honored her son missing in action for 42 years.

There she is. Sara, thank you for your courage. God bless you. This is the promise we're fulfilling today to the Maroney family of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Forty three years after he went missing, we can announce that Army Captain Virgil Maroney the 3rd is coming home and he will finally rest in peace.

Come called this war era a scar on our country. But here's what I say. As any wound heel, the tissue around it becomes tougher, welcomes stronger than before. In this sense, we finally might be able to see the true legacy of Vietnam.

Because of Vietnam and our veterans, we now used American power smarter, we honor our military more. We take care of our veterans better. Because of the hard lessons of Vietnam, because of you, America is stronger than before.

Let us remember what binds us as one people. This is important for all of us, whether you fought in the Vietnam war, fight against it, whether you're too young to be shaped by it, it is important that our children understand the sacrifices that were made by our troops in Vietnam.

But for them, this is more than just a name in the history books. It's important that we know the lesson of a gift once left at this memorial. Most of the tourists and visitors departed. And there it was, a football helmet, black with white stripes and a wristband.

And with them was a handwritten note. It was a young man in high school, but in that short handwritten note, he captured the reverence, the bonds between generations that bring us here today.

The letter began, Dear Vietnam Veterans, here are two things from me to you that I think you should have. He explained it was his helmet from midget football and his wristband from his senior year.

So today, I want to close with the words he wrote in these two pieces of equipment, I was allowed to make mistakes, correct them, grow and mature as a person. However, that was on my battlefield. You didn't get the chance to do that on your battlefield. Some of you were forced to grow up too fast. All of you died too soon.

We do have many things in common, though. We both have pride, heart, and determination. I'm just sorry you guys had to learn those qualities too fast. Anticipate that is why I'm giving you what I grew up with.

You are true heroes and you will never be forgotten. That's from a high school kid, born decades after the end of the war. And that captures the shirt that this entire country should embrace. Veterans, family of the Vietnam War, I know the wounds of war are slow to heal.

And you know that better than most, but today we take another step. The task of telling your story continues. And the work of perfecting our union goes on. And decades from now, I hope another young American will visit and reach out and touch a name.

And she'll learn the story of service members. People she never met, who fought a war she never knew and in that moment of understanding and of gratitude and of grace, your legacy will ensure.

For you are all true heroes and you will all be remembered, may God bless you. May God bless your families. May God bless our men and women in uniform, and may God bless these United States of America. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a tradition at the wall when a new name is added, it is read on memorial. This year, 10 new names were added to the wall. We ask the families of these heroes to rise as their loved ones are read.

Albert Calajana Cueva. Joseph William Aben. Richard Carl Hunt. Richard Duane Stocker. Walter Allen Lindsey. Frank A. Nearry. Florence Decker. Larry Morgan Kelly. Johnny Owen Brooks.

The wall now bears the name of 58,282 heroes. Ladies and gentlemen, please rise as the president, the first lady and other distinguished leaders take their place at the wall with families of the fallen who represent not only their loved ones, but all who served, suffered and sacrificed in the name of freedom.

Joining the president and first lady is Miss Rose Marie Sabo Brown, wife of Sergeant Leslie Sabo, U.S. Army, who will lay a wreath in honor of all those who served.

Joining the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden is Mrs. Janine Sigen. Sister of Medal of Honor recipient Captain Lance Sigen, U.S. Air Force in honor of American prisoners of war.

Joining the honorable Leon Panetta, Secretary of Defense, is Mrs. Sara Francis Shea, the mother of Major Donald Emerson Shea Jr. in honor of all who remain unaccounted for and to whom we renew our commitment to the fullest possible accounting.

Joining the honorable Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, are Grady Renvo, the brother and Travis Renvo, the nephew of Specialist Arden Renvo, U.S. Army, as they honor all who served.

Joining the honorable Eric Shenseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs is Frank Neary Jr. and Christopher Neary, the sons of Corporal Frank Neary, U.S. Marine Corps in honor of all veterans who bear the wounds of war.

Joining General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is Dave Clinker, brother of Captain Mary Clinker, in honor of all women warriors who served.

Joining General Ray Odearno, chief of staff, United States Army is Jeannete Early, wife of first class Howard Early in honor of every soldier who served.

Joining Major General Timothy Hanafin, United States Marine Corps is Georgiana Drou, mother of Medal of Honor recipient, Private First Class Bruce Carter, in honor of every Marine who served.

Joining Admiral Mark Ferguson, Vice Chief of Naval Operations is Stephanie Loper, niece of Petty Officer Richard Hunt, in honor of every sailor who served.

Joining General Philp Bredlove, Vice Chief of Staff, United State Air Force is Colleen Shawn, daughter of Lt. Col. Anthony Cameron Shawn in honor of every member of the Air Force who served.

Joining the Vice Admiral Manson Brown, United States Coast Guard is Henry Rittiger, the brother and Conway Rittiger, the sons of Lt. Jack Columbus Rittager in honor of every member of the Coast Guard who served.

Joining General Craig R. McKinley, Chief of National Guard Bureau is Bill Cyler and Stephen Cyler, the sons of Major Clyde Cyler in honor of every member of the guards and reserve who served.

Joining the honorable Williams Burs, Deputy Secretary of State is Cindy Coleman, the wife of Foreign Service Officer, Joseph Gregory Fendino, in honor of all members of the State Department and agencies who served.

Joining the honorable John Picarri, Deputy Secretary of Transportation is Commander William Kay Hill, U.S. Navy Retired. A Vietnam veteran and member of the Department of Transportation to honor all who served in the Merchant Marine.

Joining Mr. John Scrugs is Miss Billie Gabriel, the sister of Specialist James Gabriel in honor of all Special Forces. Joining Major General Victor Hugo, U.S. Army Retired is Jenny Tran and Van Win, daughters of Colonel Ban Win in honor of all who served.

(END LIVE FEED)

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