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Lou Dobbs Tonight
Global Deployment of U.S. Forces; Heroes
Aired May 28, 2007 - 18:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KITTY PILGRIM, CNN ANCHOR: Tonight, on this Memorial Day, we are saluting all of our heroes, the men and women who are serving in uniform in this country and overseas. We'll also highlight the admirable work of the Fisher House Foundation, its outstanding efforts to help troops and their families overcome the hardship of military service.
That and more straight ahead tonight.
ANNOUNCER: This is a special Memorial Day edition of LOU DOBBS TONIGHT, "Heroes," a salute to America's men and women in uniform.
Sitting in for Lou Dobbs, Kitty Pilgrim.
PILGRIM: Good evening, everybody.
Tonight, many of our troops are in harm's way, fighting insurgents and terrorists overseas. More reinforcements are on their way to Iraq as President Bush's troop buildup continues. And the number of soldiers and Marines in Afghanistan is at the highest level of the entire war.
Jamie McIntyre joins me now from the Pentagon -- Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kitty, this Memorial Day finds U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines literally spanning the globe, deployed in more than 80 countries around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice over): Prominent are the war zones -- 147,000 American troops are currently in Iraq. That will be up to 160,000 by the summer, with 27,000 American troops in Afghanistan. But there are also 96,000 troops stationed in Europe; 75,000 in Asia, including 29,000 in Korea.
The Horn of Africa is another hot spot with roughly 2,000 troops. And at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, almost 1,000 troops there.
Don't forget the old wars. There are still 2,000 soldiers in Kosovo. And in Bosnia, 10 soldiers.
Back in the USA, there are more than a million troops still available to protect the homeland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE: And Kitty, on this Memorial Day, a lot of Americans are wondering when U.S. troops will come back from Iraq in significant numbers. I can tell you that current U.S. military plans don't see major troop reductions until January of 2009 -- Kitty.
PILGRIM: Thanks very much.
Jamie McIntyre.
Well, what the Bush administration has called the war on terror has now lasted longer than World War II. This war is putting a huge strain on the military and our troops, and the troops' families.
Joining me now is General David Grange, one of our most decorated former military commanders.
And thanks for being with us, General Grange.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thank you.
PILGRIM: Now, for our troops in Iraq, General Grange, the extended tour of duty, what is that doing to our forces?
GRANGE: Well, extended tours of duty is not an unusual thing. I remember it quite often in different engagements. But it is a little bit of a kick in hindsight on the morale.
I mean, no one wants to be extended. But I think most troops understand when it does happen. The biggest strain is on the families, since over 47 percent of these troops are married that are stationed overseas.
PILGRIM: Now, because of the troops and the extended tours, and really no guess on when this may come to a close, how are we in terms of overstretch of the military?
GRANGE: Well, quite a lot. And if you -- a lot of comments about, this is longer than World War II. True. Remember, two different types of wars.
In this regard, in Iraq, first, the whole country is not mobilized. World War II, the whole country was mobilized, not only on civilian participation to prepare and support the war, but also in the numbers of soldiers in -- under arms in the armed forces.
Today, we went to war in Iraq and Afghanistan the way we were after severe downsizing after the Cold War ended in 1989. So, a little bit different, and very tough on the force because it is so small.
PILGRIM: General Grange, let's talk about taking care of our troops once they come home and transition into being veterans. What has happened to the president's task force on veterans' health care reform? Where do we stand on that? GRANGE: Well, I think it's lost a bit of momentum. This is something that had some good findings, not new findings. Many of these findings have been known by other studies in the past.
The bottom line is, when you put someone in a uniform, you send that GI overseas, they expect to be treated and they should be treated a certain way when they return. And we still lack as a nation to properly take care of these veterans. I mean, just on disability claims alone, depending on what report you look at, between 400,000 and 600,000 veterans are still behind in their assessment of any disability that they should receive from wounds or -- both physical and mental -- from the current conflict. Not counting the other 25 million-plus veterans that are already out there.
So what you have is a V.A. system that is extremely strained, underfunded, where they have to prioritize for certain things. And we're at war, receiving more and more veterans as the years go on.
PILGRIM: Do you think there's enough political will to get this changed?
GRANGE: Right now there's some will. I don't think there's enough. There's not enough unity of effort, unity of purpose in the will of leadership both in the administration and in Congress to make change where it needs to be changed.
In other words, big changes have to be made, and it's not cheap. I mean, everybody realizes that this costs something. But again, when you send someone into harm's way and then they return to society as a fellow citizen, they must be taken care of properly.
PILGRIM: Thank you very much.
General David Grange.
Thank you, sir.
And coming up on this Memorial Day, we honor the country's heroes, those men and women serving in our armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have put duty and honor first. And we'll bring you their inspiring stories of heroism and personal sacrifice.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Patriotism, it's one of the major reasons that many of our men and women joined the armed services, declaring themselves ready to give their lives if necessary to defend this country.
Tonight, we have the stories of a soldier, Corporal Jack Androski, a Marine; Lieutenant Andrew Kinard, a sailor; Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Reginald Dean; and from the Air Force, Senior Airman Nicole O'Hara.
We begin with a soldier. Corporal Jack Androski joined the Army after the attacks of September 11th. He now serves in Iraq.
Hugh Riminton has his story from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no electricity here.
HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Every soldier has his reasons. Jack Androski's go back nearly six years.
JACK ANDROSKI, SOLDIER: A guy went to work that morning, rode his bike to work that day, and didn't get to ride his bike back that day. Life for me changed, being at World Trade Center -- and I changed my life. Or I began to make the changes in my life to end up to where I am with you right now.
RIMINTON: He won't talk about that day. But he will talk about the man he was, a commodities trader, loving New York, loving the money he was making. Not yet 30 years old then, with two masters degrees, the world at his feet.
(on camera): Your rank is corporal, is that right?
ANDROSKI: I'm a corporal. Corporal promotable, I'll be sergeant June 1st.
RIMINTON: Congratulations on that.
ANDROSKI: Thank you.
RIMINTON: How much money were you making as a commodities trader compared with what you're making now?
ANDROSKI: I make less.
RIMINTON (voice over): But the work matters more to him now.
ANDROSKI: We changed the route for safety measures ...
RIMINTON: Central to the new Iraq strategy is to get down the with the people, win them over, turn them away from supporting the terrorists. So every day, Jack risks his life to listen.
(on camera): It's been a somber few days for this battalion. In the last three days, they've lost three people. Others have been terribly wounded, which make's today's mission in comparison in here seem almost surreal. A Sunni community leader, wants a football field.
ANDROSKI: If he wants this, we can push this through ... because there's going to be a soccer league here.
RIMINTON (voice over): Encouraged by the response, he brings out his big plan -- rebuilding a local shopping area. Jack sees problems.
ANDROSKI: It will never pass unless we know these shops will sustain this park.
RIMINTON: But he also brings ideas.
ANDROSKI: But if this became an association, the Adul (ph) Park Association, we could provide them, you know, small micro-grants.
RIMINTON: Sunnis are the natural support base for al-Qaeda in Iraq. If the war can be won, it means winning their trust.
"The Americans have changed. They're 90 percent better than they were at the beginning of the war," says this man. "Everyone is sick of the violence. If people can get a taste of comfortable life, they'll be wanting to live in peace."
Jack's role is all the stranger, given he opposed the original invasion.
ANDROSKI: The initial invasion I thought was wrong. I thought there should have been a diplomatic solution. I thought the focus should have been on Afghanistan.
RIMINTON: But with America here, he felt a duty to put his skills to use.
(on camera): You see the U.S. Army as a positive change agent in Iraq today?
ANDROSKI: I see the U.S. Army as the dominant player of change in Iraq.
RIMINTON (voice over): Jack Androski now believes in a strange way 9/11 liberated him, to live where his heart really was.
(on camera) Would you count yourself as an optimist?
ANDROSKI: I would consider myself a soldier.
RIMINTON (voice over): A soldier who believes less in his gun than in his notebook.
ANDROSKI: Sir, thanks a lot. I really appreciate it. I'll write that stuff up for you and then we'll have some discussion points next week to follow up on.
RIMINTON: Hugh Riminton, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Marine Lieutenant Andrew Kinard is an officer in the true tradition of the Corps. He bravely faced the challenges of leading men in Iraq. And as Barbara Starr reports, this heroic Marine faces a whole new set of challenges here at home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Six months ago, Lieutenant Andrew Kinard stepped on an IED in Iraq. Bleeding, in shock, and with massive abdominal injuries, he still was all Marine, giving orders to establish a security perimeter.
LT. ANDREW KINARD, U.S. MARINE CORPS: I was told that I was saying it so much that my Marines just said, "Sir, be quiet. We have got it. Just do something else," you know? So, then I started telling jokes.
STARR: Few can imagine the physical and emotional pain this 24- year-old now endures.
KINARD: My left leg was taken all the way off, you know, completely. And my right leg, I still have a small little portion remaining above the knee, so that, hopefully, one day, I will be able to walk on prosthetics, and, you know, hopefully, be able to stand as tall as I used to be.
STARR: He talks with remarkable candor.
(on camera): Do have you any different feeling about Iraq now, having come back, than you did before you went?
KINARD: I don't think so. I had the same feeling before -- you know, maybe -- maybe, sometimes, bitter thoughts about it. You know, that's when I'm just feeling down.
STARR (voice-over): This extraordinary young man is blunt about what he says the years ahead will bring him.
KINARD: A decision to wake up every morning and -- and make a choice, you know: Hey, I'm going to get up today, and I'm going to improve myself, and get better, and continue to push. You know, so, I'm going to have to make that decision for the rest of my life.
STARR: But, as he copes with so much, still, plenty of Andrew's humor shines through.
KINARD: This is a -- this is a neat T-shirt that I just got. You know, on the front, it says "Marine for Sale," and in the back, it says ...
STARR (on camera): Can I -- can I pull it down?
KINARD: Yes, absolutely.
You know, I think it's like, what, 25 to 50 percent off, "Some Assembly Required." I thought it was a funny shirt. So, I'm wearing it.
STARR (voice-over): But always a Marine. He's already figured out how to come to attention.
Barbara Starr, CNN, Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: We wish him the best.
When we come back, the stories of Sailor Reginald Dean and Airman Nicole O'Hara. Their patriotism, bravery, and sense of duty, they're an inspiration.
We also honor the brave women serving in our armed forces around the world. And we'll have a special report on the struggle of Army Specialist Sue Downes as she recovers from devastating wounds suffered in Iraq.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: Now the story of a sailor. Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Reginald Dean has been in the Navy for 22 years, and as Bill Tucker now reports, his courageous actions in northern Iraq earned him the Bronze Star.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tal Afar was one of the most dangerous places in Iraq, until a major U.S. offensive in 2005. It was here that Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Reginald Dean was assigned to care for American and Iraqi soldiers and to train Iraqis to become combat medics.
But soldiers weren't his only patients.
REGINALD DEAN, U.S. NAVY: If they found it was doc was with the group, then they'd come over and ask, doctor, doctor, we need this, or we need this kind of supply or this child is sick, can you take a look at him? And we would render aid.
TUCKER: On April 12, 2005, a suicide bomb exploded at a nearby checkpoint. Hearing that were casualties, Senior Chief Dean risked his own life by racing to the scene in an unarmored Iraqi ambulance.
DEAN: The explosion happened here. And you can see how close the cars were to it as he went past the checkpoint, drove down into this area and exploded the car. Thus, killing people in these cars.
TUCKER: Ten Iraqis were killed. Senior Chief Dean performed triage on the wounded, including a 4-year-old boy with head injuries.
Dean, a father of two sons, stayed with the boy until he was medevaced to safety.
DEAN: And you see their faces and you take care of them and you want to embrace them. I know what hell they are going through.
TUCKER: That bond is even stronger with the men and women in uniform.
DEAN: You would go with them anywhere. And I know that's what our job is, as hospital corpsman is to be there with them, to give them that support. Whether or not it's moral support or putting a bandage on them if they've cut their finger, or taking care of them when they have life threatening injuries.
TUCKER: The Navy credits Senior Chief Dean with saving the lives of nearly 50 soldiers and civilian wounded in six separate roadside bombs. He also provided care for hundreds of Iraqi patients.
Bill Tucker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Senior Airman Nicole O'Hara is one of the thousands of women fighting in Iraq. O'Hara was awarded a Bronze Star for her bravery during an ambush on her convoy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM (voice-over): As dawn breaks over Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, Senior Airman Nicole O'Hara stands guard, protecting one of this nation's largest fighter jet bases. It's a long way from Iraq, where she recently served with an Army unit protecting vital supply convoys.
SR. AIRMAN NICOLE O'HARA, U.S. AIR FORCE: You are constantly looking out. You were watching and keeping your eyes open for anything that looks suspicious. It's just constant.
PILGRIM: One evening, her convoy stopped to check a possible roadside bomb. But then she and her detachment were ambushed by insurgents.
O'HARA: It was on the radio immediately. And my truck commander was hitting my leg, telling me to contact left, contact left. My gun was pointing to the left. And I saw where those rounds were coming from. I started firing.
It all lasted about a matter of maybe 45 seconds. But it seemed like hours.
PILGRIM: O'Hara helped stop the attack and killed six insurgents. Airman O'Hara was credited with saving 39 lives, but moving forward from the ambush has been a huge personal challenge.
O'HARA: The fact that I was doing my job, doing what I was trained to do, that's fine. But the simple fact that I did what I did, you know, took someone's life away, is -- is really hard to do deal with.
PILGRIM: O'Hara is proud she completed her mission successfully.
O'HARA: I'm just glad everything went as well as it did. And that everybody came home safely. That's really all that mattered to me.
(END VIDEOTAPE) PILGRIM: Airman O'Hara was recently chosen as the top base security specialist in the entire Air Force, and she's one of about 20,000 members of the Air Force who have served with the Army and Marine Corps in Iraq.
And women, of course, play a critical role in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Department of Defense says there are almost 25,000 female service members deployed in the global war on terrorism, and they're serving in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Horn of Africa and other areas. Seventy-two women have been killed in Iraq, 12 others killed while serving in Afghanistan.
Well, Airman O'Hara is just one example of the brave contributions female troops are making in the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Army Specialist Sue Downes is another. This mother of two lost both legs while on patrol in Iraq.
Barbara Starr has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Army Specialist Sue Downes had just returned from R&R.
SPECIALIST SUE DOWNES, U.S. ARMY: I was in Afghanistan November 28th of '06. I was on patrol. We were in the mountains and we went over two anti-tank mines. I was a gunner.
STARR: This 27-year-old was trapped under an armored Humvee.
DOWNES: They said I started screaming, you know, for them to get the Humvee off of me because I had the turret shield on me.
STARR: The mother of two small children lost both her legs. On this day, Specialist Downes is overcoming the setback. Like many amputees, she has had follow-on surgery. There are painful efforts to try to bend her knee so she can put on prosthetics and walk. She is determined to walk.
DOWNES: The bottom of my leg hurts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's wrong?
DOWNES: The bottom of the stump right there, where it hurt yesterday.
STARR: She readily acknowledges all of the challenges ahead.
DOWNES: It's been tough mentally, more mentally than physically.
STARR: So does Sue Downes, who like so many badly injured troops, is now so determined to recover think of herself as a hero?
DOWNES: I was just doing my job. I think we all were. You know, heroes, I think we all deserve that title. I mean, we're going over there and putting our lives out there. You know, we're getting injured for the people here. So I think we deserve that title.
STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, Walter Reed Army Medical Center.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: We wish her the very best.
We remember the nation's oldest female military veteran this Memorial Day. Charlotte L. Winters (ph) died in her sleep March 27th in Maryland. She was 109. Mrs. Winters was the last female World War I veteran. She worked as a typist at the Washington Navy gun factory during that war.
Coming up, should Congress ensure flags are flown at half staff to honor American service members who have given their lives? We'll have a special report.
And later, Fisher House, special homes away from home for military families whose loved ones are recovering from injury or illness.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: As we honor our troops this Memorial Day, consider this: why should it take an act of Congress to ensure that flags are flown at half staff to honor American service member who's have given their lives?
Jamie McIntyre has our report from the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (voice over): It's a simple gesture with profound meaning, lowering the American flagging to half staff. An honor bestowed on presidents and other principal government figures, but not automatically for fallen foot soldiers. Which brings us to the memorial for 22-year-old army Specialist Joseph Mix (ph), killed by an IED last summer in Iraq. The governor of Michigan ordered flags lowered across the state. Some federal buildings did, others did not.
REP. BART STUPAK, (D) MI: It became like every time we lost a serviceman or woman, we would get these reports about this federal agency or this federal building refused to lower the flag. You'd call them up, and they'd say, "Well, we didn't get the directive."
MCINTYRE: Frustrated, Congressman Stupak wrote to President Bush requesting help cutting the red tape.
STUPAK: We have so many of these young men and women, unfortunately, who are losing their lives in Iraq, and the least we should be able to do is just honor the wishes of the state to honor that family that one day and lower the flag to half staff.
MCINTYRE: This seems like such a simple thing. Should it take an act of Congress?
STUPAK: It should not. The president could resolve this by issuing a directive or an executive order, whatever he has to do.
MCINTYRE: But getting no response from the White House, Stupak took to the House floor to introduce the Army Specialist Joseph P. Mix Federal Flag Code Amendment Act of 2007.
STUPAK: It's regrettable this legislation is even necessary.
MCINTYRE: The bill sailed through the house and could be law by Flag Day. Stupak says it's the least the country can do.
STUPAK: Just take a moment and reflect on that family and the sacrifice they gave to us, serving their country so we can go to the post office freely or we can worship at the church we want or free speech or -- those are so many valuable rights they've given us and someone died for that. Can't we just reflect upon that loss for a moment and say thank you?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCINTYRE (on camera): And Kitty, Congressman Bart Stupak has a new crusade now. He is pushing legislation that would require the U.S. military to fly the bodies of fallen troops to the airport closest to their home. Again, he says it's the least the country should be able to do. Kitty?
PILGRIM: Thanks, Jamie. And it makes perfect sense. Thanks very much, Jamie McIntyre.
Now recently Lou had the honor of meeting some of our brave men and women who are recovering from wounds they received in the line of duty. Brook Army Medical Center is a level one trauma center in San Antonio, Texas. It specializes in caring for seriously wounded troops, including many burn victims.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAFF SGT. DANIEL BARNES, U.S. ARMY: I was in my battalion commander's vehicle, yeah.
LOU DOBBS, CNN HOST: How about everybody else in there with you?
BARNES: The driver didn't make it out alive. And everybody else was wounded but only two of us or three of us were critically wounded.
DOBBS: Thank God for that armor.
BARNES: Yeah.
LT. JASON BARCLAY, U.S. ARMY: I was in an IED explosion in Afghanistan on the 19th. Just my driver and myself are the only ones that made it. Three others died in the vehicle. So pretty bad explosion. I got pretty lucky.
DOBBS: I would say. I would say.
BARCLAY: All my digits and all my arms and legs. And my face. So pretty lucky.
DOBBS: Is there any way to tell folks how tough it is?
CPL. AARON, MARINE CORPS: How tough it is. It's unimaginable unless you've experienced something like that, you know, it's hard to relate. It's hard to understand. I mean I can sit here and throw all the pretty words at you that I can define, but you're not going to grasp it all.
But coming here and seeing these faces and hearing the voices and hearing the stories helps. It helps, but as far as the burden and the pain and the struggle, that's something that only we know and we can share.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: For more now on the Fisher Houses and the Center for the Intrepid, I'm joined by Bill White, the president of the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund and an executive committee member of the Fisher House organization.
He also is the president of the Intrepid Air, Sea and Space Museum. And Bill joins me from Rome, Italy where he just spent the day with the navy commander of all U.S. and NATO forces in Europe. So thanks for joining us at a distance.
BILL WHITE, CENTER FOR THE INTREPID: You bet, Kitty. It's great to be with you.
PILGRIM: How do you urge people to support our troops, whether they're for or against the war, how could they be sort of commemorating this day?
WHITE: Memorial Day is a really important day for us, it is the most important day of the year. We have to stop and remember, it's not about the barbecues and parades, although those are great and it's nice to be with the family, we have to know that we're a nation at war. As you said, whether we're for the war or against the war, we need to be there and support our troops and their families.
PILGRIM: The Intrepid opened its doors in San Antonio, Texas, a few months ago. It's a rehabilitation center for our armed service forces who have beenm seriously wounded in combat. Tell us a little bit about how it is proceeding. It's been open a few months now.
WHITE: Well, it's so exciting, Kitty. We're having the best medical possible care down in San Antonio. The physical rehab going on in that center is just extraordinary. Best on the planet. Almost 40 to 50 multiple amputee amputees are getting the topnotch care that the country expects that they will receive when they come back from war. You know, the topnotch equipment, the best prosthetic technology. I think Americans would be proud to know that their contributions, over 600,000 of them, 100 percent of all the money went to build that will center in San Antonio so the troops could know that we care about them, we love them, and we support them every day.
PILGRIM: You know, at the Intrepid Center, there are Fisher Houses for family members. Tell us a little bit about how they function, and why that's such an important component of recovery.
WHITE: That's a great question, Kitty. The Fisher House is one of the most amazing foundations I think in this country. It's a place where military service members and their families can stay free of charge right on the base next to the hospital with their loved ones while they're going through what must be the most difficult time of their life. So you talked to Sergeant Carpenter who has five kids who came back with no arm and no leg, and all he says to us is he says to the generals and those that are caring for him is I just wish my family could be here with me.
And so that's what the Fisher House is all about. It's a home away from home for families that need our love and support. And so supporting Fisher House on the time of Memorial Day is probably one of the greatest things that Americans could do in their support of the troops.
PILGRIM: Tell our viewers once again how they can support this project.
WHITE: Well, they can go to our website at www.fisherhouse.org and sign up for a great program we have, which is also called the Hero Miles. That's actually where people can donate their frequent flyer miles to get folks from point A to point B in an emergency. They can also help build more houses, which we need so much more of, unfortunately, due to the casualties of this war and beyond.
It also takes care of our veterans. So again, it's a lot of one- stop shopping. You can go to the Intrepid Web site at intrepidmuseum.org and check out the different ways to get involved today.
PILGRIM: It's Fleet Week in New York. You're in Rome. Tell us a little bit about Fleet Week and why it's such a celebration. We're showing pictures of one of the most beautiful ships.
WHITE: It's our 20th annual Fleet Week. We have over 5,000 troops coming into New York almost eight ships coming in from our United States Navy and the Coast Guard, and it's a great tradition. We say it's America's premier thank you to the men and women who served to defend our freedom. There's no place like New York to come in and be treated well. And we celebrate our Memorial Day with a very special remembrance.
PILGRIM: And we look forward to it every year. It's spectacular. Thanks for being with us, Bill White, president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum. And also the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
WHITE: Thank you.
PILGRIM: Thank you. For more information how to turn your frequent flyer miles into Hero Miles, log on to loudobbs.com and we have posted a link to the fisherhouse.org. Fisher House will use those donated miles to transport servicemen and women wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan and their families to the treatment centers around the country.
Now, participating airlines will match contributions made this Memorial Day holiday.
Coming up, is our government providing the care our veterans deserve? James Nicholson, the secretary of veterans' affairs will join me next.
And the story of one hero who laid his life on the line in Afghanistan to save his Marines from Taliban fire. His inspirational story is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PILGRIM: We want to introduce you to another brave Marine. Staff Sergeant Anthony Viggiani. Viggiani risked his life to save fellow Marines in Afghanistan. And he was honored for his heroism. Bill Tucker has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 0700 hours, basic warrior training for India Company, 3rd battalion, Parris Island Marine Recruit Depot.
Staff Sergeant Anthony Viggiani commands a platoon of newly enlisted recruits for three months of boot camp. As senior drill instructor he trains and instills discipline with his stern face and a sharp tone.
The recruits know very little about Viggiani by design. How he protected Presidents Bush and Clinton at Camp David or the details of his seven-month tour in Afghanistan where while on patrol in the Zabul (ph) Province in June of 2004, his actions earned him the Navy Cross.
ANTHONY VIGGIANI, U.S. MARINE CORPS: Rough terrain. I'm just pretty much going through, started hearing machine gunfire. We all hit the deck. And everybody took cover.
TUCKER: But another one of his teams was pinned down by enemy fire. So Viggiani scrambled across exposed ground to take out its source.
VIGGIANI: Started screaming down the mountain, I mean hauling. My rifle was in my right hand and frag grenade in my left.
TUCKER: He reached the cave where he believed the insurgents were hiding.
VIGGIANI: Fired about three rounds, I saw skin. Fired three or four more rounds. Pulled the pin and I dropped it right in the hole. TUCKER: in the hour-long fire fight, Viggiani's company took out more than a dozen enemy fighters, a ricochet hit him in the knee, but he refused treatment until he knew his men were all right.
VIGGIANI: I made a promise that they're going to come home. Doesn't matter what the case may be. From me, I made that promise and it's going to happen.
TUCKER: For his heroism, Staff Sergeant Viggiani was awarded the Navy Cross during a graduation ceremony at Parris Island last year. During the course of the three-month training, Viggiani eventually reveals a little of his story to the recruits in the hope that he inspires them.
VIGGIANI: They think they're tired, they think they're hot, they think they're thirsty, they think they're hungry. We're operating in 134 degrees in the shade. Over 10,000 feet above sea level. You know, I just tell them what you see in the movies, it's not even close.
TUCKER: Bill Tucker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Military veterans often face incredible challenges when they return home from the battlefield. The Department of Veterans' Affairs is responsible for a nationwide system of health care services and benefit programs for American veterans and their families.
James Nicholson is the secretary of veterans' affairs and joins me now from Washington. Thanks for taking the time to be with us, sir.
JAMES NICHOLSON, SECRETARY OF VETERANS' AFFAIRS: Good to be with you.
PILGRIM: There are more than 24 million veterans in the country. With such a large influx of troops coming home from Afghanistan and Iraq and other parts overseas, what more should we be doing for our veterans?
NICHOLSON: Well, we're doing a great deal. There have been about 650,000 of them that have been discharged as both active and reserve and National Guard. We're providing them with good benefits package if they've had any disabling injuries. Very, very good medical care.
But we can do more. We're working very hard to have better and more seamless transition with the Department of Defense in that time when they leave the Army and come to us, especially for those that are injured. And we're trying to speed up the benefits adjudication process so for those that come in with a claim, we can get word to them quicker.
But I will say that of those that are in for a claim, 54 percent of them are already getting some compensation from the V.A., from the government. And whenever they file the claim and then get paid, it's paid to the day that they file the claim.
PILGRIM: There's an enormous backlog, though. What is being done about that? An average 600,000 or so.
NICHOLSON: People just keep coming. There will always be people in that queue. The important thing to look at is how long it takes the V.A. to make a decision.
PILGRIM: The average delay right now is 177 days.
NICHOLSON: It's 177 days. My goal is to cut that within the next year by about 20 percent, get that down to about 145 days. There are some reasons in the law that make that pretty long. Every time you ask a veteran for a document to authenticate a claim, they have 60 days within which to respond. So there are a lot of protections in there for the veterans, as well, which is one of the things that helps stretch that out. But we're taking a lot of steps to quicken that because I want that to be shorter.
PILGRIM: Sir, you wouldn't be in the job if you weren't committed to making this a better system. It's not an easy job to do.
Following the scandal at Walter Reed though, the president formed a task force to analyze the services for returning combat troops. You're the chair of that panel. As the chair, what would you like to see done immediately to help?
NICHOLSON: Well, we had a very good task force, had the secretary of defense on there, HHS, education and labor, and we're taking steps. One of the things that's happening right now is a real look at changing the discharge process between the Department of Defense and us.
The way it used to be, the military would decide whether somebody's fit or unfit. If they're unfit, they make some decision about what degree of disabling injury they've had, and then the veteran, more than likely, would come to the V.A. for a new claim.
PILGRIM: Uh-huh.
NICHOLSON: We're looking at consolidating that. That would simplify this process a great deal. Another thing that has come out of that, we're now screening all the veterans coming back from Afghanistan and Iraq to see whether they've had any brain damage, however mild or moderate it might be because of the nature of the conflict over there.
Another thing we're doing is we're really stepping up the opportunity, the offerings to help veterans get jobs, get more education benefits, and housing quicker. So there have been some real concrete immediate things that have come out of this task force.
One other thing I'd like to mention for Memorial Day is that we're really trying to get all veterans, you mentioned there were 24 million of them, and there are, trying to get them to wear their medals on Memorial Day, we want them to do it on Veterans Day and the Fourth of July to show the nation that they served and show the pride that they have in having taken that oath and gone off and served us, wherever we've asked them to serve and endured whatever danger and deprivation that our country asked of them.
So we're really trying to get the veterans to be proud and it will generate stories and dialogues in families and communities. This I think is having a great impact on the morale and the satisfaction that people get out of serving their country in uniform.
PILGRIM: Thanks for taking the time to be with us today. Secretary of veterans affairs, James Nicholson. Thank you, sir.
NICHOLSON: Thank you.
PILGRIM: Just ahead, an American soldier who served in Iraq speaks of home, heart and the heat of battle. And then one story of a Marine who received this country's highest honor by making the ultimate sacrifice.
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PILGRIM: Now, the story of a remarkable young soldier who served with distinction in Iraq. He inspired his comrades with his dedication to duty and his bravery under fire. Arwa Damon in Baghdad has his story.
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SPC WILL MOCK, U.S. ARMY: I'm Specialist Will Mock from Harper, Kansas with 22 Infantry here in Fallujah. Mission accomplished.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was during the fight for Fallujah in November, 2004, when we really got to know the soldier everyone simply called Mock.
MOCK: Just like every other man, distressed. A little scared. But you know, this is what we do. And I thought about telling my family about it, but no way. I didn't want them to worry.
How would I describe Fallujah to someone else that had never been there? First I'd say, you might want to rethink about going. And let's say make your peace with God. Because you might not come back. It's a living hell. It was a living hell. Some moments lasted a lifetime.
DAMON: No pretenses with Mock. Not about the mission, not about his love for being a soldier, despite all the emotional turmoil of his experiences.
MOCK: I think it's not only me that's changed, I think everybody that was there, enemy, friendly, everybody walked away changed. The ways that we changed, you have a different outlook on life. Don't take nearly as much for granted. And when you tell your girlfriend or your mother, father, hey, I love you, you really mean it.
Right here's my family. DAMON: He was afraid then of going back home to Kansas, worried he had changed too much. His motto tattooed on both arms "Strength and Honor." A tough soldier apologizing to us for being rough around the edges. He wasn't. In many ways still the gentleman his family brought him up to be.
MOCK: There's no reason in me saying, hey, ma, I got shot at a lot today or hey, ma, we had to, had, to fight the enemy and you know, some people didn't make it out. Friendly and foe. It's just something better left untalked about.
DAMON: His first one-year tour of duty finally ended in February, 2005.
MOCK: Big relief. Overwhelming joy. I got a deep feeling of our part is completed here. Nobody wants to die out here. Even though the soldiers would for our country, any of them would, that's not a question. I had heard my grandfather once say, somebody's got to do it. I guess I'm that somebody.
Every time we lose soldiers and we have our ceremonies here, for the fallen comrades, and they play the taps for those men, that's probably the moments that will stay in my mind more than ever.
From now and until the day that I die, every Memorial Day and Veterans Day when I go to the local cemetery in Harper, Kansas and they play the taps, I'm sure I'll -- it will hit me pretty hard then.
DAMON: Mock was redeployed to Iraq in August of 2006. The last time we saw him was on a rooftop in eastern Baghdad. Twenty days later on October 22nd, Mock was killed by a roadside bomb. One of 11 killed in Iraq that weekend.
At his memorial, his commanders and his men echoed his motto "Strength and Honor," Sergeant Mock. Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PILGRIM: Still ahead, the Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to one Marine who gave his life in Iraq to save his fellow comrades.
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PILGRIM: The Congressional Medal of Honor. This country's highest honor. It's bestowed on members of our armed services who risked their lives above and beyond the call of duty. There have been 3,459 Medals of Honor awarded throughout this country's conflicts. Four-hundred sixty-four during World War II and two so far in the Iraq War.
Now this past January the medal was awarded posthumously to Marine Corporal Jason Dunham. In April 2004, Corporal Dunham was leading a patrol in Iraq. His unit intercepted insurgent vehicles leaving the scene of a firefight. Corporal Dunham was mortally wounded when he threw himself on a hand grenade thrown by an insurgent. He absorbed the brunt of the blast, saving the lives of his fellow Marines.
Corporal Dunham died eight days later. President Bush in announcing the honor said as long as we have Marines like Corporal Dunham, America will never fear for her liberty.
Thanks for being with us on this Memorial Day. Please join us tomorrow. Good night from New York.
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