Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

Ceremony Under Way at Vietnam War Memorial; Car Bomb Kills 4 Near Baghdad's Green Zone

Aired May 31, 2004 - 14:30   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.


DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's a quick check of the top stories at this hour. Remembering America's war dead in the nation's capital. A ceremony under way right now at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge the keynote speaker, as you can see. Some 10,000 Vietnam veterans and their families expected to attend there.
President Bush paid tribute to soldiers past and present at Arlington National Cemetery. He laid this Wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown and said America's men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq are making the United States safer today.

In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded near the Green Zone where coalition headquarters are housed. Four Iraqis killed, 25 hurt. The blast happened on a road often used by coalition forces and members of Iraq's governing council. U.S. military officials say there's no evidence that anyone in particular was targeted.

A violent storm targets the Southeast, dumping heavy rain on the United States today. But it did its worst damage across the in addition's midsection. Some 175 tornadoes were reported across eight states from Texas to the Great Lakes over this weekend. Eight people reported killed in these storms.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: On this day, to honor the war dead, we take you to America's heartland and what the veterans of two wars recall battles they survived. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in southern Oklahoma.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's something unique about watching two generations of war veterans become friends. War stories recalled light hearted moments.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had the jungle and the heat. You've got the desert and the heat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good thing about Iraq is there's no bugs.

LAVANDERA: And something deeper, much more difficult to explain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see you, you use your eyes and everything else you're probably just like I was back then. I know damn well I was good, and you look like you could take on anything that comes your way. And I'm just proud of you guys.

LAVANDERA: At this gathering in southern Oklahoma, Iraq meets Vietnam. Four young soldiers from a unit in the 101st Airborne Division know as the Rakkasans spent a weekend with soldiers from their same unit that fought in Vietnam 37 years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, did you go see Saddam's palace?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they moved us out before that.

LAVANDERA: They're all Rakkasans, but deeper than that, they're battle-hardened fighters, veterans of two very different yet politically controversial wars. Calvin Heath knows the scars a bitter homecoming can leave behind.

CALVIN HEATH, VIETNAM VETERAN: They took buckets of blood and threw it on the buses on us. Baby killer, all that kind of stuff. These men ain't getting that.

LAVANDERA: That's why these Vietnam veterans put politics aside at the reunion to honor the soldiers.

JAMES BOND, VIETNAM VETERAN: I would hope that our country has learned something from Vietnam and the way the military personnel were treated when they came back. That they wouldn't repeat past history.

LTC JOSEPH BUCHE: I know you're homecoming, your welcome home was nothing like ours.

LAVANDERA: LTC Joseph Bush led Rakkasans on a yearlong mission through Iraq. He says U.S. Has carried a guilty conscience since Vietnam.

LTC BUCHE, U.S. ARMY: Some of my relatives weren't real fond of us going over there and fighting in a strategic sense, a political sense. But I had absolutely their support and love and concern the whole time.

HEATH: People back here, I think they got it right this time. Instead of taking it out on the soldiers, they have taken it out on politicians. The people that are making the decisions. That's the way it should be.

LAVANDERA: The young soldiers performed color guard detail at this reunion with a flag bearing the Rakkasans combat ribbons dating back to World War II, a tribute to a unit that's never flinched in the face of battle. Like one soldier here said, maybe that's because the Rakkasans realize there's no room for politics in the foxhole. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Ardmore, Oklahoma.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: The vets being honored today are also being courted by the candidates for President. Both George Bush and John Kerry have identified veterans as a potentially important voting block come November 2. The man who can tell us just how important is CNN'S senior political analyst, Bill Schneider live from our Washington bureau. Hello to you.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi. Betty.

NGUYEN: Bill, first of all, both are courting these voters, and why is it so important? Why are vets really important in this election?

SCHNEIDER: Well, vets have generally been pretty solidly Republican in the past. They're mostly men. And men tend to vote Republican. But this year they're really up for grabs because John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, is a former veteran, a combat hero. He's been decorated. He also is a staunch advocate of veterans' rights. So more than most democrats in the past, he appeals to veterans and is really aiming for their votes.

NGUYEN: So if vets typically vote Republican, do you think Bush has the advantage so far?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think he probably does. Veterans tend to be instinctively pro military and like to support the commander in chief. Many of them are supporters of the Iraq war. And some have been critical of Kerry because not only is a decorated combat hero, but he was one of the leaders of the anti-war movement against Vietnam. You just heard veterans talk about the reception they got in the Vietnam War when they came home, a lot still seethe at that political controversy. And, of course, John Kerry was one of the leaders against the Vietnam War. So there is some resentment among veterans for the way he led the anti-war--at least one faction of the anti-war movement in Vietnam.

NGUYEN: And to add to that, Democrats sent out a new ad today. Tell us a little bit about that. We understand it deals with a secret plan to cut veterans' spending?

SCHNEIDER: Well, a memo was uncovered from the Bush administration that talks about potential spending cuts for next year's budget if President Bush should be reelected. In that memo, which has no official standing right now, it's just a suggestion, but in that memo, there was an indication that the Department of Veterans Affairs would get a $910 million cut. So an ad just came out from the Democratic National Committee which criticizes the Bush administration and says, if Bush is elected this November, he'll cut nearly, nearly, $1 billion in funding for veterans. Clearly aimed at the veterans vote and saying to those veterans, if you want your benefits protected and your rights protected, John Kerry's your man.

NGUYEN: Which is a key issue because veterans really are centered on health benefits and vet benefits?

SCHNEIDER: That's exactly right. And a lot have complained that those benefits have been cut. And that the Bush administration as sympathetic as they may find to its causes and its support generally for the military and its mission, they've been critical of the decline in spending for veterans benefits, veterans health care. So Kerry is attempting and the Democrats certainly with this ad are attempting to make a pitch to those veterans voters, treating them as an interest group, which, of course, they are, who seek federal government benefits.

NGUYEN: And this voting bloc is very diverse, isn't it?

SCHNEIDER: Yeah, it is. While it is disproportionately men and that explains its support in the past and probably this year, too, for Republicans, it includes men from all backgrounds. African-American men, Hispanic men have always been disproportionately represented in the military. So you're going to find a lot of people who will give Kerry a very sympathetic hearing because their ethnic background makes them more Democratic than other men.

NGUYEN: It's going to be interesting come November. Bill Schneider, we thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

NGUYEN: Drew?

GRIFFIN: A prince on the battlefield? Coming up, England's young royal star may be thinking about a stint in the military.

And the girls in England are wild for another young Brit. Have you every heard of a lad named Daniel Radcliffe?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: This Memorial Day is one of raw emotions for families struggling with the loss of loved ones in Iraq. Tom Foreman has the story of two of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just off the sunny streets of Bay Shore, New York, where Jake Fletcher dreamed of a soldier's life, his mother packs boxes every day.

DORINE KENNEY, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: I send them toiletries.

FOREMAN: Care packages she sends to troops in Iraq where Jake died six months ago.

KENNEY: I'll never forget that moment in my life. My life changed in that instant. My heart changed in that instant. Everything changed.

FOREMAN: More than 800 American families in towns all over have lost someone in the war. In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, it was Sherwood Baker. Just last month his son J.D. still doesn't understand why dad is not coming back. His wife Debbie still wonders why he went.

DEBBIE BAKER, HUSBAND KILLED IN IRAQ: How am I going to tell my dad what he was doing there? I'm afraid I won't have answers for him.

FOREMAN: You don't know yourself?

BAKER: No. Give me at least a reason why we're there.

FOREMAN: The mounting deaths have brought such questions to many families.

KENNEY: We're not supposed to bury our children.

FOREMAN: Dorine Kenney is finding peace through the packages she sends and the grateful letters in return.

KENNEY: (reading) At least because of you, I feel I'm not forgotten.

FOREMAN: For Debbie Baker, however, the loss is too new.

BAKER: I still carry the phone to bed with me. Check my e- mails. I just keep thinking he's in a bunker somewhere just hiding.

FOREMAN: For a great many Americans, for a good many years Memorial Day has been primarily about lives lost a long time ago. But now, behind the World War I memorial at J.D. Baker's school, his classmates have hung a paper chain with a link for every soldier killed in Iraq. And Debbie Baker knows this holiday she faces another long sleepless night of questions and memories.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Full speed ahead in New York. The marines have landed in the big apple. So have sailors for fleet week. And Jason Carroll is with the fleet aboard the USS Anzio. Hi, there.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you. It has actually started to rain here in New York. But no matter. There are still scores lining up to come onboard. The ships like the USS Anzio, get a tour. Shake a few hands. This is a huge morale boost to the sailors out here. And another boost to their morale, for them to get to see their families.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): It's Fleet Week, and Angel Alvarado is following tradition. Giving tours of his ship, the USS Anzio.

CPO ANGEL ALVARADO, CREWMAN ON USS ANZIO: Two steps up.

CARROLL: But this tour is different. This group is Alvarado's family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so proud of him. I never dreamed that he would do all this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Surprised about the amount of responsibility he has. CARROLL: You still see him as a little boy, is that why...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no. But...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, yeah.

CARROLL: It's the first time Alvarado had a chance to have some of his family onboard and show them what he does as Chief Petty Officer.

ALVARADO: We have firefighting equipment all throughout the ship.

CARROLL: Alvarado hasn't been to the Middle East yet, but it's likely he'll go soon. An unsettling thought for him and his family.

ALVARADO: It's hard to have to explain something to a family member, but the bottom line is, it's my job. I have to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's worrisome. But you know, I also said that God is so good and he's so great that he's going to protect him wherever he goes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He should stay here. He shouldn't go. As far as we're concerned.

CARROLL: For the time being, they're grateful to have him here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you so much.

CARROLL: And treasuring their time with him now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: We know that they get very little time together. So we appreciate them letting us spend some time with them. Fleet week officially ends on Wednesday. That's when the crew of the USS Anzio will be heading back to their home port in Norfolk, Virginia. Many of the ships here, though, will be heading back to the Middle East. Betty?

NGUYEN: Lots of folks happy to be home. Jason Carroll, we want to thank you.

GRIFFIN: Overseas bombers target a mosque in the midst of evening prayers. News around the world is next.

NGUYEN: They're wild about Harry. The next Harry Potter movie makes its debut. And some say it is the best one yet. ?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: In news around the world, a holy site is bombed. It happened in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi. Police say 16 at least 16 people killed when the explosion rocked a Shiite mosque during evening prayers. Dozens more people were wounded there. Officials say the attack may have been in retaliation for the killing of a Sunni Muslim cleric yesterday.

Prince William in the military? The heir to the British throne is hinting strongly at it. After all, his father served in the armed forces for a while, as did his father and William's uncles. Prince William is expected to graduate next year from St. Andrews University.

A matter of security. The Summer Olympics will cost Greece more than expected. So says the country's finance minister. He says the games are costing $1 billion more than expected because of delays in construction and increased security costs.

NGUYEN: The wizards and witches at the Hogwarts School are back on the big screen this summer. The latest Harry Potter film "The Prisoner of Azkaban" opens in the U.S. next Friday. Hundreds of fans turned out for the British premiere of the film. But will the third installment of the Potter series leave fans spellbound? CNN's Sibila Vargas reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DANIELLE RADCLIFFE, HARRY POTTER: I hope he finds me. Because when he does, I'm going to be ready.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sure, Harry is ready, but the question is, are audiences ready for the third installment of Harry Potter? Or has the spell worn off?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn to page 394.

CRISTY LYTAL, PREMIER MAGAZINE: If anyone felt pottered out, I think that when they see the third movie, they'll see something really different than the first two. And be very excited about it.

VARGAS: And critics are saying it is different. "The Prisoner of Azkaban" has gotten a spookier face than the earlier Potter flicks thanks in part to its new director Alfonso Cuaron.

ALFONSO CUARON, DIRECTOR: When I read the material, it was like, oh, boy, I really have to do this. The book has more of that dark aspect.

VARGAS: Cuaron, who directed the critically acclaimed and sexually charged "Y Tu Mama Tambien," creates a new landscape in this film.

LYTAL: The director has taken it to a new level. The special effects are great. The visual sense of the movie is really sophisticated.

VARGAS: Also notable is the fact that the cast has gotten older. Actor Daniel Radcliffe who was introduced to audiences as the boy wizard has literally grown up with his character.

DANIEL RADCLIFFE, HARRY POTTER: ...to play a teenage Harry, a little more angry and more intense.

VARGAS: And it is that intensity that some think will translate to magic at the box office.

LYTAL: The first one was massively successful. It did close to $1 billion worldwide. The second one did do a little less well. I think the third one, I would not be surprised if it surpassed the first two.

VARGAS (on camera): Author J.K. Rowling who has sold 250 million Harry Potter books is busy working on the sixth installment of the series. In the meantime, Daniel Radcliff and the rest of the crew are on to another adventure. They're currently filming the fourth edition of Harry Potter, "The Goblet of Fire."

Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Drew, you read these books. What do you think about the third one?

GRIFFIN: I think it's great. And you know what's great about these movies? Kids read these books. And then for two years they wait for the movie to come out. So their imagination is trying to think of what all these things look like. And then finally it comes out; new goblins, the new evil people, the new characters. It's just terrific.

NGUYEN: I thought the second one was scarier than the first. How about the third one?

GRIFFIN: It's a scary read.

NGUYEN: Really. Watch out, kiddos.

GRIFFIN: You might want to take a friend to hold your hand through the movie.

NGUYEN: I might have to do that.

Well, getting through to kids about the dangers of too much sun.

GRIFFIN: Grab your SPF 30 and check out this story before you head outside this Memorial Day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: As America honors the military, it is a tough holiday for families with loved ones serving right now. We know that. So today CNN has been reuniting folks via satellite. Earlier, we connected Carolina Godoy, a Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy with her mom and dad, Adam and Catalina, in California.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: I know you talk to your parents back in February. What do you tell them on the phone to make them not worry so much? PO CAROLINA GODOY, U.S. NAVY: Truthfully, I told them not to try to watch too much of the news. Kind of listen to me and hear my voice and know that I'm okay and I'm fine. Try to write back to them as much as I can. Keep in touch.

ZAHN: How are you feeling on this Memorial Day, serving right now in Iraq?

CAROLINA GODOY: It's great. I'm proud to be here, and I'm proud to be doing my job. I know that a lot of things are going on in Washington, DC. They had the opening of the World War II Memorial. I got to see that.

ZAHN: You got to see that?

CAROLINA GODOY: Pretty excited to see that. Well, I got to see it on the news. So it was an interesting to see something like that big and that grand being opened and honoring those soldiers. It's a great thing.

ZAHN: Adam, how are you feeling? And I don't want to leave you out, Catalina, either. How are you guys feeling this Memorial Day?

CATALINA GODOY, PO GODOY'S MOTHER: I feel that, you know, kind of, you know I would say not so happy. But obviously I pay respect for them. And we do have more deep respect these days. And in the meantime, I am glad these days talking to my daughter. And so I feel kind of happy and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) not all the families, you know, this day is going to be--I mean, sad. But you know, right now I can say I feel happy for--because I'm talking to my daughter and she's fine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: An American military family on this Memorial Day. This is LIVE FROM. I'm Drew Griffin.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Here is what's happening at this hour.

A quick check of the headlines across the country.

America's fallen soldiers are being remembered and honored this Memorial Day. Ceremonies are continuing this hour at Arlington National Cemetery. Earlier today President Bush laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and praised American service men and women fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In Washington, a special parade today to honor America's veterans from World War II. High school marching bands and floats paid tribute to veteran units from all fifty states. The parade ended near the new World War II Memorial.

A truce has not silenced the gunfire in the Iraqi holy city of Kufa. Force loyal to rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr opened fire on a U.S. patrol last night. The battle lasted an hour and when it was all over, two America soldiers were dead. There are conflicting reports on Iraqi casualties.

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 May 31, 2004 - 14:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's a quick check of the top stories at this hour. Remembering America's war dead in the nation's capital. A ceremony under way right now at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge the keynote speaker, as you can see. Some 10,000 Vietnam veterans and their families expected to attend there.
President Bush paid tribute to soldiers past and present at Arlington National Cemetery. He laid this Wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown and said America's men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq are making the United States safer today.

In Baghdad, a car bomb exploded near the Green Zone where coalition headquarters are housed. Four Iraqis killed, 25 hurt. The blast happened on a road often used by coalition forces and members of Iraq's governing council. U.S. military officials say there's no evidence that anyone in particular was targeted.

A violent storm targets the Southeast, dumping heavy rain on the United States today. But it did its worst damage across the in addition's midsection. Some 175 tornadoes were reported across eight states from Texas to the Great Lakes over this weekend. Eight people reported killed in these storms.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: On this day, to honor the war dead, we take you to America's heartland and what the veterans of two wars recall battles they survived. CNN's Ed Lavandera is in southern Oklahoma.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There's something unique about watching two generations of war veterans become friends. War stories recalled light hearted moments.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had the jungle and the heat. You've got the desert and the heat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good thing about Iraq is there's no bugs.

LAVANDERA: And something deeper, much more difficult to explain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can see you, you use your eyes and everything else you're probably just like I was back then. I know damn well I was good, and you look like you could take on anything that comes your way. And I'm just proud of you guys.

LAVANDERA: At this gathering in southern Oklahoma, Iraq meets Vietnam. Four young soldiers from a unit in the 101st Airborne Division know as the Rakkasans spent a weekend with soldiers from their same unit that fought in Vietnam 37 years ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, did you go see Saddam's palace?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they moved us out before that.

LAVANDERA: They're all Rakkasans, but deeper than that, they're battle-hardened fighters, veterans of two very different yet politically controversial wars. Calvin Heath knows the scars a bitter homecoming can leave behind.

CALVIN HEATH, VIETNAM VETERAN: They took buckets of blood and threw it on the buses on us. Baby killer, all that kind of stuff. These men ain't getting that.

LAVANDERA: That's why these Vietnam veterans put politics aside at the reunion to honor the soldiers.

JAMES BOND, VIETNAM VETERAN: I would hope that our country has learned something from Vietnam and the way the military personnel were treated when they came back. That they wouldn't repeat past history.

LTC JOSEPH BUCHE: I know you're homecoming, your welcome home was nothing like ours.

LAVANDERA: LTC Joseph Bush led Rakkasans on a yearlong mission through Iraq. He says U.S. Has carried a guilty conscience since Vietnam.

LTC BUCHE, U.S. ARMY: Some of my relatives weren't real fond of us going over there and fighting in a strategic sense, a political sense. But I had absolutely their support and love and concern the whole time.

HEATH: People back here, I think they got it right this time. Instead of taking it out on the soldiers, they have taken it out on politicians. The people that are making the decisions. That's the way it should be.

LAVANDERA: The young soldiers performed color guard detail at this reunion with a flag bearing the Rakkasans combat ribbons dating back to World War II, a tribute to a unit that's never flinched in the face of battle. Like one soldier here said, maybe that's because the Rakkasans realize there's no room for politics in the foxhole. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Ardmore, Oklahoma.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: The vets being honored today are also being courted by the candidates for President. Both George Bush and John Kerry have identified veterans as a potentially important voting block come November 2. The man who can tell us just how important is CNN'S senior political analyst, Bill Schneider live from our Washington bureau. Hello to you.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi. Betty.

NGUYEN: Bill, first of all, both are courting these voters, and why is it so important? Why are vets really important in this election?

SCHNEIDER: Well, vets have generally been pretty solidly Republican in the past. They're mostly men. And men tend to vote Republican. But this year they're really up for grabs because John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, is a former veteran, a combat hero. He's been decorated. He also is a staunch advocate of veterans' rights. So more than most democrats in the past, he appeals to veterans and is really aiming for their votes.

NGUYEN: So if vets typically vote Republican, do you think Bush has the advantage so far?

SCHNEIDER: Well, I think he probably does. Veterans tend to be instinctively pro military and like to support the commander in chief. Many of them are supporters of the Iraq war. And some have been critical of Kerry because not only is a decorated combat hero, but he was one of the leaders of the anti-war movement against Vietnam. You just heard veterans talk about the reception they got in the Vietnam War when they came home, a lot still seethe at that political controversy. And, of course, John Kerry was one of the leaders against the Vietnam War. So there is some resentment among veterans for the way he led the anti-war--at least one faction of the anti-war movement in Vietnam.

NGUYEN: And to add to that, Democrats sent out a new ad today. Tell us a little bit about that. We understand it deals with a secret plan to cut veterans' spending?

SCHNEIDER: Well, a memo was uncovered from the Bush administration that talks about potential spending cuts for next year's budget if President Bush should be reelected. In that memo, which has no official standing right now, it's just a suggestion, but in that memo, there was an indication that the Department of Veterans Affairs would get a $910 million cut. So an ad just came out from the Democratic National Committee which criticizes the Bush administration and says, if Bush is elected this November, he'll cut nearly, nearly, $1 billion in funding for veterans. Clearly aimed at the veterans vote and saying to those veterans, if you want your benefits protected and your rights protected, John Kerry's your man.

NGUYEN: Which is a key issue because veterans really are centered on health benefits and vet benefits?

SCHNEIDER: That's exactly right. And a lot have complained that those benefits have been cut. And that the Bush administration as sympathetic as they may find to its causes and its support generally for the military and its mission, they've been critical of the decline in spending for veterans benefits, veterans health care. So Kerry is attempting and the Democrats certainly with this ad are attempting to make a pitch to those veterans voters, treating them as an interest group, which, of course, they are, who seek federal government benefits.

NGUYEN: And this voting bloc is very diverse, isn't it?

SCHNEIDER: Yeah, it is. While it is disproportionately men and that explains its support in the past and probably this year, too, for Republicans, it includes men from all backgrounds. African-American men, Hispanic men have always been disproportionately represented in the military. So you're going to find a lot of people who will give Kerry a very sympathetic hearing because their ethnic background makes them more Democratic than other men.

NGUYEN: It's going to be interesting come November. Bill Schneider, we thank you.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

NGUYEN: Drew?

GRIFFIN: A prince on the battlefield? Coming up, England's young royal star may be thinking about a stint in the military.

And the girls in England are wild for another young Brit. Have you every heard of a lad named Daniel Radcliffe?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: This Memorial Day is one of raw emotions for families struggling with the loss of loved ones in Iraq. Tom Foreman has the story of two of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just off the sunny streets of Bay Shore, New York, where Jake Fletcher dreamed of a soldier's life, his mother packs boxes every day.

DORINE KENNEY, SON KILLED IN IRAQ: I send them toiletries.

FOREMAN: Care packages she sends to troops in Iraq where Jake died six months ago.

KENNEY: I'll never forget that moment in my life. My life changed in that instant. My heart changed in that instant. Everything changed.

FOREMAN: More than 800 American families in towns all over have lost someone in the war. In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, it was Sherwood Baker. Just last month his son J.D. still doesn't understand why dad is not coming back. His wife Debbie still wonders why he went.

DEBBIE BAKER, HUSBAND KILLED IN IRAQ: How am I going to tell my dad what he was doing there? I'm afraid I won't have answers for him.

FOREMAN: You don't know yourself?

BAKER: No. Give me at least a reason why we're there.

FOREMAN: The mounting deaths have brought such questions to many families.

KENNEY: We're not supposed to bury our children.

FOREMAN: Dorine Kenney is finding peace through the packages she sends and the grateful letters in return.

KENNEY: (reading) At least because of you, I feel I'm not forgotten.

FOREMAN: For Debbie Baker, however, the loss is too new.

BAKER: I still carry the phone to bed with me. Check my e- mails. I just keep thinking he's in a bunker somewhere just hiding.

FOREMAN: For a great many Americans, for a good many years Memorial Day has been primarily about lives lost a long time ago. But now, behind the World War I memorial at J.D. Baker's school, his classmates have hung a paper chain with a link for every soldier killed in Iraq. And Debbie Baker knows this holiday she faces another long sleepless night of questions and memories.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Full speed ahead in New York. The marines have landed in the big apple. So have sailors for fleet week. And Jason Carroll is with the fleet aboard the USS Anzio. Hi, there.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you. It has actually started to rain here in New York. But no matter. There are still scores lining up to come onboard. The ships like the USS Anzio, get a tour. Shake a few hands. This is a huge morale boost to the sailors out here. And another boost to their morale, for them to get to see their families.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): It's Fleet Week, and Angel Alvarado is following tradition. Giving tours of his ship, the USS Anzio.

CPO ANGEL ALVARADO, CREWMAN ON USS ANZIO: Two steps up.

CARROLL: But this tour is different. This group is Alvarado's family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm so proud of him. I never dreamed that he would do all this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Surprised about the amount of responsibility he has. CARROLL: You still see him as a little boy, is that why...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no. But...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, yeah.

CARROLL: It's the first time Alvarado had a chance to have some of his family onboard and show them what he does as Chief Petty Officer.

ALVARADO: We have firefighting equipment all throughout the ship.

CARROLL: Alvarado hasn't been to the Middle East yet, but it's likely he'll go soon. An unsettling thought for him and his family.

ALVARADO: It's hard to have to explain something to a family member, but the bottom line is, it's my job. I have to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's worrisome. But you know, I also said that God is so good and he's so great that he's going to protect him wherever he goes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He should stay here. He shouldn't go. As far as we're concerned.

CARROLL: For the time being, they're grateful to have him here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you so much.

CARROLL: And treasuring their time with him now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: We know that they get very little time together. So we appreciate them letting us spend some time with them. Fleet week officially ends on Wednesday. That's when the crew of the USS Anzio will be heading back to their home port in Norfolk, Virginia. Many of the ships here, though, will be heading back to the Middle East. Betty?

NGUYEN: Lots of folks happy to be home. Jason Carroll, we want to thank you.

GRIFFIN: Overseas bombers target a mosque in the midst of evening prayers. News around the world is next.

NGUYEN: They're wild about Harry. The next Harry Potter movie makes its debut. And some say it is the best one yet. ?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: In news around the world, a holy site is bombed. It happened in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi. Police say 16 at least 16 people killed when the explosion rocked a Shiite mosque during evening prayers. Dozens more people were wounded there. Officials say the attack may have been in retaliation for the killing of a Sunni Muslim cleric yesterday.

Prince William in the military? The heir to the British throne is hinting strongly at it. After all, his father served in the armed forces for a while, as did his father and William's uncles. Prince William is expected to graduate next year from St. Andrews University.

A matter of security. The Summer Olympics will cost Greece more than expected. So says the country's finance minister. He says the games are costing $1 billion more than expected because of delays in construction and increased security costs.

NGUYEN: The wizards and witches at the Hogwarts School are back on the big screen this summer. The latest Harry Potter film "The Prisoner of Azkaban" opens in the U.S. next Friday. Hundreds of fans turned out for the British premiere of the film. But will the third installment of the Potter series leave fans spellbound? CNN's Sibila Vargas reports.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DANIELLE RADCLIFFE, HARRY POTTER: I hope he finds me. Because when he does, I'm going to be ready.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sure, Harry is ready, but the question is, are audiences ready for the third installment of Harry Potter? Or has the spell worn off?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn to page 394.

CRISTY LYTAL, PREMIER MAGAZINE: If anyone felt pottered out, I think that when they see the third movie, they'll see something really different than the first two. And be very excited about it.

VARGAS: And critics are saying it is different. "The Prisoner of Azkaban" has gotten a spookier face than the earlier Potter flicks thanks in part to its new director Alfonso Cuaron.

ALFONSO CUARON, DIRECTOR: When I read the material, it was like, oh, boy, I really have to do this. The book has more of that dark aspect.

VARGAS: Cuaron, who directed the critically acclaimed and sexually charged "Y Tu Mama Tambien," creates a new landscape in this film.

LYTAL: The director has taken it to a new level. The special effects are great. The visual sense of the movie is really sophisticated.

VARGAS: Also notable is the fact that the cast has gotten older. Actor Daniel Radcliffe who was introduced to audiences as the boy wizard has literally grown up with his character.

DANIEL RADCLIFFE, HARRY POTTER: ...to play a teenage Harry, a little more angry and more intense.

VARGAS: And it is that intensity that some think will translate to magic at the box office.

LYTAL: The first one was massively successful. It did close to $1 billion worldwide. The second one did do a little less well. I think the third one, I would not be surprised if it surpassed the first two.

VARGAS (on camera): Author J.K. Rowling who has sold 250 million Harry Potter books is busy working on the sixth installment of the series. In the meantime, Daniel Radcliff and the rest of the crew are on to another adventure. They're currently filming the fourth edition of Harry Potter, "The Goblet of Fire."

Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Drew, you read these books. What do you think about the third one?

GRIFFIN: I think it's great. And you know what's great about these movies? Kids read these books. And then for two years they wait for the movie to come out. So their imagination is trying to think of what all these things look like. And then finally it comes out; new goblins, the new evil people, the new characters. It's just terrific.

NGUYEN: I thought the second one was scarier than the first. How about the third one?

GRIFFIN: It's a scary read.

NGUYEN: Really. Watch out, kiddos.

GRIFFIN: You might want to take a friend to hold your hand through the movie.

NGUYEN: I might have to do that.

Well, getting through to kids about the dangers of too much sun.

GRIFFIN: Grab your SPF 30 and check out this story before you head outside this Memorial Day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRIFFIN: As America honors the military, it is a tough holiday for families with loved ones serving right now. We know that. So today CNN has been reuniting folks via satellite. Earlier, we connected Carolina Godoy, a Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy with her mom and dad, Adam and Catalina, in California.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: I know you talk to your parents back in February. What do you tell them on the phone to make them not worry so much? PO CAROLINA GODOY, U.S. NAVY: Truthfully, I told them not to try to watch too much of the news. Kind of listen to me and hear my voice and know that I'm okay and I'm fine. Try to write back to them as much as I can. Keep in touch.

ZAHN: How are you feeling on this Memorial Day, serving right now in Iraq?

CAROLINA GODOY: It's great. I'm proud to be here, and I'm proud to be doing my job. I know that a lot of things are going on in Washington, DC. They had the opening of the World War II Memorial. I got to see that.

ZAHN: You got to see that?

CAROLINA GODOY: Pretty excited to see that. Well, I got to see it on the news. So it was an interesting to see something like that big and that grand being opened and honoring those soldiers. It's a great thing.

ZAHN: Adam, how are you feeling? And I don't want to leave you out, Catalina, either. How are you guys feeling this Memorial Day?

CATALINA GODOY, PO GODOY'S MOTHER: I feel that, you know, kind of, you know I would say not so happy. But obviously I pay respect for them. And we do have more deep respect these days. And in the meantime, I am glad these days talking to my daughter. And so I feel kind of happy and (UNINTELLIGIBLE) not all the families, you know, this day is going to be--I mean, sad. But you know, right now I can say I feel happy for--because I'm talking to my daughter and she's fine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRIFFIN: An American military family on this Memorial Day. This is LIVE FROM. I'm Drew Griffin.

NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen. Here is what's happening at this hour.

A quick check of the headlines across the country.

America's fallen soldiers are being remembered and honored this Memorial Day. Ceremonies are continuing this hour at Arlington National Cemetery. Earlier today President Bush laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns and praised American service men and women fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

In Washington, a special parade today to honor America's veterans from World War II. High school marching bands and floats paid tribute to veteran units from all fifty states. The parade ended near the new World War II Memorial.

A truce has not silenced the gunfire in the Iraqi holy city of Kufa. Force loyal to rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr opened fire on a U.S. patrol last night. The battle lasted an hour and when it was all over, two America soldiers were dead. There are conflicting reports on Iraqi casualties.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com