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Bush Spending Much of Holiday Honoring American Veterans
Aired November 11, 2002 - 13:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is spending much of this holiday honoring American veterans: a reception at the White House, the annual wreath laying at Arlington National Cemetery, and an early morning visit to the Vietnam Veterans memorial, where Bob Franken is covering the story. It's a somber day there, Bob, for a number of reasons, past and present.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, the present is it's the 20th anniversary of the construction of the wall, And there was the reading of all 58,229 names, all those who were killed in the Vietnam war. You can see, there's a crowd in back of me. There are ceremonies going on, speeches by the politicians and generals.
But what this wall so articulately represents is the story of war as the story of individual tragedy. President Bush made an unannounced visit here this morning during the 8:00 hour, came with very small entourage, walked through the rain to the wall, was given a flag and laid the commander in chief's coin.
Marty, in military tradition, the generals, the leaders coin are extremely valuable. They're not given out very easily. Goes all the way back to early England, when the leaders of the various tribes would give out their coins. Indicates the president did that this morning, spoke with some of the people here, and then went to other events, one of the more traditional announced events, and that was the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery. That occurred a little bit later in the morning.
The president used the occasion of Veterans Day to talk about what many feel may be the next war for the United States, in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNTIED STATES: This great nation will not live at the mercy of any foreign plot or power. The dictator of Iraq will fully disarm, or the United States will lead a coalition and disarm him.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: The ceremonies here at the wall sort of demonstrate to people that 30 years, almost 30 years after a war that was so ragingly controversial can soften things. But the Vietnam War left a legacy that extends to the war in Iraq. The skepticism about the pronouncements of government officials, and it's something that the president now is always conscious of as he tries to convince the United States that there might be a war worth fighting for in Iraq -- Marty.
SAVIDGE: Bob Franken, live from one of the most moving memorials there is in Washington D.C., the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 11, 2002 - 13:17 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush is spending much of this holiday honoring American veterans: a reception at the White House, the annual wreath laying at Arlington National Cemetery, and an early morning visit to the Vietnam Veterans memorial, where Bob Franken is covering the story. It's a somber day there, Bob, for a number of reasons, past and present.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, of course, the present is it's the 20th anniversary of the construction of the wall, And there was the reading of all 58,229 names, all those who were killed in the Vietnam war. You can see, there's a crowd in back of me. There are ceremonies going on, speeches by the politicians and generals.
But what this wall so articulately represents is the story of war as the story of individual tragedy. President Bush made an unannounced visit here this morning during the 8:00 hour, came with very small entourage, walked through the rain to the wall, was given a flag and laid the commander in chief's coin.
Marty, in military tradition, the generals, the leaders coin are extremely valuable. They're not given out very easily. Goes all the way back to early England, when the leaders of the various tribes would give out their coins. Indicates the president did that this morning, spoke with some of the people here, and then went to other events, one of the more traditional announced events, and that was the laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery. That occurred a little bit later in the morning.
The president used the occasion of Veterans Day to talk about what many feel may be the next war for the United States, in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNTIED STATES: This great nation will not live at the mercy of any foreign plot or power. The dictator of Iraq will fully disarm, or the United States will lead a coalition and disarm him.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FRANKEN: The ceremonies here at the wall sort of demonstrate to people that 30 years, almost 30 years after a war that was so ragingly controversial can soften things. But the Vietnam War left a legacy that extends to the war in Iraq. The skepticism about the pronouncements of government officials, and it's something that the president now is always conscious of as he tries to convince the United States that there might be a war worth fighting for in Iraq -- Marty.
SAVIDGE: Bob Franken, live from one of the most moving memorials there is in Washington D.C., the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Thank you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
