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American Morning

Operation Lightning in Full Swing; Hometown Impact of National Guards Leaving for Iraq

Aired May 30, 2005 - 09:30   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Ali Velshi. Bill's back tomorrow.

Coming up, we're going to talk to Danica Patrick about her amazing race Sunday at the Indy 500.

O'BRIEN: Well, she came in fourth, but it was the best finish ever for a woman. It looked for a while, in fact, like she was going to win. We talked to her this morning about just how she's feeling about her little brush with victory.

First, though, a look at the headlines with Carol Costello. Good morning again.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News," more than two dozen people have been killed in twin suicide bombings in Hilla, which is south of Baghdad. Two suicide bombers wearing explosive belts blew themselves up earlier today, killing at least 27 people, wounding more than 100 others. Iraqi and American forces have launched a new operation aimed at stopping such attacks. Much more on Operation Lightning, live from Baghdad, coming up.

President Bush is set to begin his Memorial Day activities in the next hour. The president will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns. He'll also pay tribute to the Americans fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan Afghanistan. CNN will have live coverage of the president's Memorial Day event, starting at 11:00 Eastern.

French voters reject Europe's first constitution. The streets in Paris were packed overnight with people celebrating the no vote. The proposed constitution is designed to turn 25 countries into more of a United States of Europe. The president, Jacques Chirac, had strongly urged approval, but many said it would have diminished France's national identity.

And for the first time ever, a cell phone ring tone -- a cell phone ring tone -- is number one on the pop music charts in Britain. Listen. It's from "Beverly Hills Cop." It's like a weird kind of annoying remake. The song stars an animated character named Crazy Frog. The rocking amphibian -- and you don't get to say that often, a rocking amphibian -- makes ring noises to a techno remake of Axel F. Of course, as I said, the theme from the movie "Beverly Hills Cop."

O'BRIEN: That's just sad, that that's number one the charts?

VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE)

O'BRIEN: That's just tragic. Come on!

COSTELLO: It would be fun to dance to.

O'BRIEN: No, it's not.

COSTELLO: It'd be fun to dance to.

VELSHI: This is the decline of civilization, truly. People can buy cockroaches as pets and you can download a remake of Axel F.

COSTELLO: And it becomes a hit and they're making lots of money now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VELSHI: We're getting some more details about the massive anti- insurgent operation going on in Iraq now. It's called Operation Lightning.

Brigadier General Daniel Bolger is on the video phone from Camp Victory in Iraq. General, thank you for joining us this morning. We want to hear a little bit more about Operation Lightning. Specifically, what is different about it from what's been going on in the past with Iraqi forces?

DANIEL BOLGER, DEPT. CMD. MULTINATIONAL CORP. IRAQ: Well, good morning, Ali.

What I wanted to tell you about Operation Lightning that has made it different is the large number of Iraqi police and army that are participating in this operation. As you know, the Iraqi army and police have been working over the last two years to gain capabilities to better defend their country.

In Operation Lightning, we've got about 40,000 of their special police commandos, public order battalions and then about, also, members of the Iraqi army out in the streets and neighborhoods of Baghdad, going against the known concentrations of terrorists and anti-government criminals.

VELSHI: General, you mentioned the police and we do seem to be understanding that this is a police-led action. So there's are a couple of key things here. One is that the U.S. government, the U.S. forces, are handing that much more of the burden over to Iraqis. And secondly, they're suppose to be some normalcy associated with the fact that it's police rather than military-led.

In the end, this is one big activity. Is this a sign of a change to better things or is this a sign that there are serious problems on the ground in Baghdad?

BOLGER: Well, I'd have to tell you, I think it's a sign of a positive trend. But there's definitely an enemy force here in Baghdad that has to be dealt with. That's why the Iraqis and the coalition forces, Americans primarily, here in Baghdad are working so hard against them. I would tell you, though, you're right about commenting about the police, because rule of law is important in Iraq since the fall of Saddam. You've seen the elections, you've seen the installation of the transitional government. They're working now on a constitution.

One of the ways we enforce rule of law is exactly what you said, which is to get the police out front, very much the same way we'd see in the United States, meeting in the neighborhoods, talking to the folks who, in many cases, are their brothers or sisters, their moms, their cousins and getting information from them. Because frankly, a lot of the people who live in Iraq, the common folks who live here, are tired of getting their children blown up, they're tired of being shot at on the way to work or school and they've just had about enough of this.

And Operation Lightning is the Iraqi government's way of reinforcing that effort here in the city with their great new police forces and their army forces, taking a really important leading role.

VELSHI: General, you and your colleagues, I'm sure, would like to spend not too many more Memorial Days in Iraq. Is there some sense that Operation Lightning pushes you a little further toward a time when other U.S. troops can return home?

BOLGER: Well, I think we'll come home from here when our job is done. It's actually inspirational on Memorial Day to see people fighting for their freedom like the Iraqis are. And they are definitely in this fight. They're the guys who are going to have to take the freedom of their country. We can't give it to them. And I don't think they want us to give it to them.

Our freedom has been bought at a high cost and Memorial Day reminds us of that. And that cost is being paid right now around Iraq. And I'll tell you, at least for my part and the soldiers, sailor, airmen, Marine and Coast Guard that I know here, we're proud to be here doing the job. We're going to stay here as long as it takes.

VELSHI: General, we give you our best for Memorial Day to you and your colleagues in Iraq. Brigadier General Daniel Bolger joins us from Camp Victory in Iraq -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, ordinarily a fourth place finish doesn't bring national attention. But there is nothing ordinary about Danica Patrick's showing in her first ever Indy 500. The rookie driver became the first woman to lead during the race and she was just seven laps from victory lane on Sunday before she fell to fourth.

Danica Patrick joins us this morning from the famed brickyard in Indianapolis. Nice to see you, Danica. Thanks for talking with us. DANICA PATRICK, FINISHED 4TH IN INDY 500: Of course.

O'BRIEN: With just ten laps left to go, you were leading. How did that feel?

PATRICK: Good. Comfortable, actually. I just hoped and prayed that yellow would come out and we'd just run under caution till the end of the race. But that wasn't going to happen. So it was -- I was actually really comfortable.

O'BRIEN: Did not happen. In fact, you were also running out of fuel, right? And that meant you kind of had to change your strategy a little bit, it meant that you had to slow down. At what point did you realize you're not going to win this thing?

PATRICK: Probably with about five laps to go. Whenever -- when I had been passed by Dan. And I just, you know, I just kind of knew that it wasn't -- I wasn't going to be able to use full fuel for the end of the race. But, you know, there are some sacrifices that we had to make, and I think all in all, the strategy was beautiful and it worked great. We had a stall in the race, there was a spin in the race. So considering all of those things, I think it was pretty good.

O'BRIEN: Yes. And considering all those things, it was pretty great. You had a very close call, in fact, on -- I think it was on lap 152. Tell us a little bit about the crash.

PATRICK: Well, we were going for restart and everybody was packed up really tight. And all of a sudden, I don't know what happened, I don't know whether or not I hit somebody, somebody hit me, if it was just something I did with my hands and feet inside the cockpit. But the car just spun and I got hit and I thought this is it, my race is over. I'm going to get absolutely clobbered by everybody else coming around.

But it didn't happen and it might have turned out to be a good thing, actually, because I pitted while everyone was still running, so I had more fuel than they had when we went green after that. So that's what kept me to the end.

O'BRIEN: Yes, you know, when we see that shot, that camera shot from inside your car, it's really scary. I mean, it's remarkable that you really weren't badly injured at all. There have been three women who were in the Indy 500 before you. But you're the first who really almost won. Do you think of it in terms of making a statement for women or how you're a woman and why that matters? Or do you think of it in other terms?

PATRICK: I have to be honest, because I'm always honest when I answer questions. I don't think of it. I don't -- I'm not consciously trying to do anything for women, but I'm just being myself, and I think it's really neat that just being myself is enough to break ground and to be a role model and all kinds of other things.

O'BRIEN: And speaking of being yourself, much has been made of your looks. You're really cute. Much has been made of your size. You're really teeny tiny.

PATRICK: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Do you brush that off? Does it annoy you when people sort of talk about how good looking you are? You think it doesn't matter?

PATRICK: You think that bothers me? Not at all. Of course not.

O'BRIEN: People are welcome to talk about how cute you are as long as you're doing really, really well.

PATRICK: That's very, nice. Thank you. But you know what, it's just another part of me as the -- you know, pictures, and being feminine and girly, and it's just the other side of me. So I'm a very diverse character.

O'BRIEN: Well, good for you. You're 23 years old. You've been racing in Europe, I read, since you were 16 years old.

PATRICK: Yes, I lived in England for three years.

O'BRIEN: Do think you'll win the Indy 500 someday soon?

PATRICK: Something inside me tells me that I will. So we'll have to hang on and see.

O'BRIEN: Something inside me tells me that you're going to win too.

PATRICK: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Danica Patrick is joining us this morning. Congratulations to you. Thanks for talking with us.

PATRICK: Thanks. Have a great day.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. Likewise.

VELSHI: You know, I've learned to brush off the comments about my looks, and the fact that people say I'm teeny tiny.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I was going to say. People say that a lot? Because they're lying to you.

VELSHI: Is this time for a commercial break?

Still to come, a National Guard unit on this Memorial Day that's depending on the folks back home, and not just for emotional support. Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAFF SGT. JEFFREY MAYS: The only message I have for the veterans, I'm proud to follow in your footsteps. I just only hope that I can fulfill some of the things that you have done. If I can walk in your shoes and fill your shoes, I'll be a proud American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: This week, we're looking back at the historic events of the last 25 years, events that you witnessed on CNN. In the spring of 1989, the world was focused on a groundbreaking summit between the Soviet Union and China -- it was in Beijing -- when something much more momentous happened in Tiananmen Square.

Bill Hemmer has the story from people who were there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CHINOY, SR. ASIA CORRESPONDENT: The protests in the spring of 1989 represented a kind of coming to the surface of deep currents of discontent that were bubbling in Chinese society. And when the former communist party chief, Hooya Vong (ph), who had been purged by hardliners in 1987, died in the middle of April, that was the catalyst. That was the moment when the students in Beijing took to the streets.

ALEC MIRAN, CNN EXEC. PROD.: Just somehow, inexplicably, it continued to grow until right before the summit, you suddenly had 200,000, 300,000 students in the square, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Chinese government saw the escalating demonstrations as a threat. After four weeks of protests, and a march by more than a million supporters, Chinese authorities responded with a show of force, sending out the army to advance toward the demonstrators.

CHINOY: I kept saying to myself, I kept saying to colleagues, one way or another, this is going to end badly.

BERNARD SHAW, FMR. CNN ANCHOR: Martial law has been imposed on certain areas of Beijing.

They marched into our control room and demanded that we cease our live transmissions.

CHINOY: The government has ordered us to shut down our facility. We are shutting down our facility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we sign off?

CHINOY: Yes.

SHAW: That's the story to the moment. For all of the hardworking men and women of CNN, goodbye from Beijing.

HEMMER: CNN continued to cover the story by smuggling tapes out of the country, as the standoff continued for another two weeks until it came finally to an abrupt and violent conclusion. CHINOY: We could see crowds of people sort of forming up, and then falling back as the army opened fire, and then reforming, and then falling back. As dawn broke, the People's Liberation Army was in full control of the square. The student movement had been crushed.

SHAW: To this day, the world does not know how many people were slaughtered at Tiananmen Square. I doubt that we ever will know.

HEMMER: The day after the violent crackdown, one image broadcast by CNN embodied the spirit of the failed resistance.

CHINOY: That image of one man standing up against the tank has become one of the great symbols of defiance of oppression. Still, the power of his gesture endures.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: That was a powerful image. All this week, we'll have special coverage of CNN's 25th anniversary.

Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, the O.J. Simpson trial. And Wednesday, June 1st, if you're a history buff, a special evening of primetime begins at 8:00 Eastern -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: "CNN LIVE TODAY" is coming up next.

Hey, Daryn, good morning to you. What are you working on?

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Working on trying to find summertime here. Not too easy. It is the unofficial start of summer, which also means, Soledad, the start of the wedding season as well, and that means gifts. No big worries, though, we have your top-five tips to get you through the parade of nuptials.

Also on this Memorial Day, a filmmaker searches for the father he never knew, a father who was killed in Vietnam three weeks after this man was born. You'll meet the man behind the documentary "Unknown Soldier. That and much more on "CNN LIVE TODAY." Interesting doc. I watched it last night. Cried myself to sleep. It's a sad one, but it's a good one.

KAGAN: All right, looking forward to that. Daryn, thanks a lot.

Ahead this morning, a small town's heavy burden during a time of war. Who fills those jobs of Reservists shipped off to Iraq? A look at that is up next.

But first, what was Memorial Day originally called? Was it, A, Patriot's Day, B, Remembrance Day, or, C, Decoration Day? We're going to have the answer after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Here's what we asked you before the break. What was Memorial Day originally called? The answer is C, Decoration Day. First observed in 1968, it was a time to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves. Back in 1868. I didn't think that was the right answer.

VELSHI: No, I wouldn't have guessed that, either. But it became a national -- Memorial Day became a national holiday in 1971.

O'BRIEN: Nice.

VELSHI: So there you go.

O'BRIEN: Well, on this day for saluting sacrifice, we take a look at a different casualty of the Iraq War. What happens here at home when National Guard troops are called up for 18 months at a time?

CNN's Dan Lothian reports on the small towns that are left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In northern Vermont, just across the border from Canada, the town of Enosburg looks more like a painting, a remote rural escape from big-city life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here everybody knows everybody in the surrounding area. So it's just one big family.

LOTHIAN: But this family of some 2,800 people is feeling a loss. The entire locally-based National Guard unit known as Bravo Company has been activated. Some 70 soldiers from here and surrounding towns sent to Iraq. Members of another nearby unit were activated, too.

(on camera): People living in this quite, scenic town now have a personal connection to a conflict thousands of miles away. It seems everybody either has someone or knows someone now serving in Iraq. Almost overnight life in many ways here has changed.

(voice-over): Mechanic Matt Tracy now shoulders the responsibility for this full-service gas station after the owner, Sergeant Major Mark LaRose (ph) was called up in December.

MATT TRACY, TEXACO EMPLOYEE: He's over there. He's preparing for war. And in reality, somebody has to stay behind.

LOTHIAN: But it hasn't been easy.

TRACY: Is it not working at all?

LOTHIAN: Tracy now has to worry about more than just what's under the hood.

TRACY: Ordering supplies, tires, fixing the furnace.

LOTHIAN: And with just a few months to go before getting his pre-law degree, Tracy's future plans are on hold.

TRACY: Well, I can't actually just go out and get a job in the legal field. I can't sign up to go to law school.

LOTHIAN: Just down the street at the local fire station...

ROBERT GLEASON, ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF: It will be waiting for him when he gets back.

LOTHIAN: ... LaRose (ph) is also missed. The gas station owner is a volunteer fire captain. Two of the department's members are in Iraq.

GLEASON: We haven't made up for it. I mean, we just depend more on the neighboring departments for mutual aid if need be.

LOTHIAN: Small towns are especially hit hard by the military's need for National Guard troops. When they go, replacing them is often difficult.

At this feed plant in Richford, 10 miles from Enosburg, a half- dozen employees were activated.

PAUL ADAMCZAK, PLANT MANAGER: We've had people who have volunteered to accept new duties, move to different positions that were more sensitive, harder to replace.

LOTHIAN: But no one here or back in Enosburg is complaining. Residents are proud of their soldiers. There are banners on posts, ribbons on trees and candles in windows.

And back at the gas station...

TRACY: It's a matter of doing what I'm doing, taking up the slack so they can do what they have to do.

LOTHIAN: ... a sense of duty on the home front.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Enosburg, Vermont.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The next wave of Vermont Army National Guard soldiers is scheduled for deployment to Iraq at the end of June.

VELSHI: Well, let's check in with Toure. He's back with the final wrap-up of the e-mails on the "Question of the Day," filling in for Jack Cafferty.

TOURE: That's right.

VELSHI: What do you want to forget?

TOURE: The "Question of the Day," what one memory would you like to forget? Two answers.

Mike from Spokane, Washington: "I would love to forget that Fox News exists." Touche. And Joanne from St. Catherine's, Ontario: "I was 17 years old, swimming at a local beach. I couldn't figure out why the people on the shore were cheering until I realized my bikini top had come off and there I was all in all my glory for everyone to see."

Wow! I'm sure that's not Ali's.

VELSHI: No, mine. I have three, they're exactly the same one. It's me riding off on my motorcycle, feeling like the big dog, pulling up on an intersection, light turns green, I release the brake and the bike topples over. Three times.

TOURE: And you've done that three times?

VELSHI: Three times.

TOURE: And how do you stay, you know, manly after that?

VELSHI: Cycling.

O'BRIEN: He sold the bike. Thank you, Toure, appreciate that.

Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, more on our special series from the defining moments of CNN's past 25 years. We'll take a look back at the so-called trial of the century, the O.J. Simpson murder trial. That's tomorrow morning. We start at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: We are out of time. Ali, thank you so much for helping us out. We certainly...

VELSHI: Can I come back some time?

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. We'd love it. Anytime you want. We're out of time here on AMERICAN MORNING. Daryn Kagan is at the CNN Center. She's going to take you through the next few hours.

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 30, 2005 - 09:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Ali Velshi. Bill's back tomorrow.

Coming up, we're going to talk to Danica Patrick about her amazing race Sunday at the Indy 500.

O'BRIEN: Well, she came in fourth, but it was the best finish ever for a woman. It looked for a while, in fact, like she was going to win. We talked to her this morning about just how she's feeling about her little brush with victory.

First, though, a look at the headlines with Carol Costello. Good morning again.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.

"Now in the News," more than two dozen people have been killed in twin suicide bombings in Hilla, which is south of Baghdad. Two suicide bombers wearing explosive belts blew themselves up earlier today, killing at least 27 people, wounding more than 100 others. Iraqi and American forces have launched a new operation aimed at stopping such attacks. Much more on Operation Lightning, live from Baghdad, coming up.

President Bush is set to begin his Memorial Day activities in the next hour. The president will lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns. He'll also pay tribute to the Americans fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan Afghanistan. CNN will have live coverage of the president's Memorial Day event, starting at 11:00 Eastern.

French voters reject Europe's first constitution. The streets in Paris were packed overnight with people celebrating the no vote. The proposed constitution is designed to turn 25 countries into more of a United States of Europe. The president, Jacques Chirac, had strongly urged approval, but many said it would have diminished France's national identity.

And for the first time ever, a cell phone ring tone -- a cell phone ring tone -- is number one on the pop music charts in Britain. Listen. It's from "Beverly Hills Cop." It's like a weird kind of annoying remake. The song stars an animated character named Crazy Frog. The rocking amphibian -- and you don't get to say that often, a rocking amphibian -- makes ring noises to a techno remake of Axel F. Of course, as I said, the theme from the movie "Beverly Hills Cop."

O'BRIEN: That's just sad, that that's number one the charts?

VELSHI: (INAUDIBLE)

O'BRIEN: That's just tragic. Come on!

COSTELLO: It would be fun to dance to.

O'BRIEN: No, it's not.

COSTELLO: It'd be fun to dance to.

VELSHI: This is the decline of civilization, truly. People can buy cockroaches as pets and you can download a remake of Axel F.

COSTELLO: And it becomes a hit and they're making lots of money now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VELSHI: We're getting some more details about the massive anti- insurgent operation going on in Iraq now. It's called Operation Lightning.

Brigadier General Daniel Bolger is on the video phone from Camp Victory in Iraq. General, thank you for joining us this morning. We want to hear a little bit more about Operation Lightning. Specifically, what is different about it from what's been going on in the past with Iraqi forces?

DANIEL BOLGER, DEPT. CMD. MULTINATIONAL CORP. IRAQ: Well, good morning, Ali.

What I wanted to tell you about Operation Lightning that has made it different is the large number of Iraqi police and army that are participating in this operation. As you know, the Iraqi army and police have been working over the last two years to gain capabilities to better defend their country.

In Operation Lightning, we've got about 40,000 of their special police commandos, public order battalions and then about, also, members of the Iraqi army out in the streets and neighborhoods of Baghdad, going against the known concentrations of terrorists and anti-government criminals.

VELSHI: General, you mentioned the police and we do seem to be understanding that this is a police-led action. So there's are a couple of key things here. One is that the U.S. government, the U.S. forces, are handing that much more of the burden over to Iraqis. And secondly, they're suppose to be some normalcy associated with the fact that it's police rather than military-led.

In the end, this is one big activity. Is this a sign of a change to better things or is this a sign that there are serious problems on the ground in Baghdad?

BOLGER: Well, I'd have to tell you, I think it's a sign of a positive trend. But there's definitely an enemy force here in Baghdad that has to be dealt with. That's why the Iraqis and the coalition forces, Americans primarily, here in Baghdad are working so hard against them. I would tell you, though, you're right about commenting about the police, because rule of law is important in Iraq since the fall of Saddam. You've seen the elections, you've seen the installation of the transitional government. They're working now on a constitution.

One of the ways we enforce rule of law is exactly what you said, which is to get the police out front, very much the same way we'd see in the United States, meeting in the neighborhoods, talking to the folks who, in many cases, are their brothers or sisters, their moms, their cousins and getting information from them. Because frankly, a lot of the people who live in Iraq, the common folks who live here, are tired of getting their children blown up, they're tired of being shot at on the way to work or school and they've just had about enough of this.

And Operation Lightning is the Iraqi government's way of reinforcing that effort here in the city with their great new police forces and their army forces, taking a really important leading role.

VELSHI: General, you and your colleagues, I'm sure, would like to spend not too many more Memorial Days in Iraq. Is there some sense that Operation Lightning pushes you a little further toward a time when other U.S. troops can return home?

BOLGER: Well, I think we'll come home from here when our job is done. It's actually inspirational on Memorial Day to see people fighting for their freedom like the Iraqis are. And they are definitely in this fight. They're the guys who are going to have to take the freedom of their country. We can't give it to them. And I don't think they want us to give it to them.

Our freedom has been bought at a high cost and Memorial Day reminds us of that. And that cost is being paid right now around Iraq. And I'll tell you, at least for my part and the soldiers, sailor, airmen, Marine and Coast Guard that I know here, we're proud to be here doing the job. We're going to stay here as long as it takes.

VELSHI: General, we give you our best for Memorial Day to you and your colleagues in Iraq. Brigadier General Daniel Bolger joins us from Camp Victory in Iraq -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, ordinarily a fourth place finish doesn't bring national attention. But there is nothing ordinary about Danica Patrick's showing in her first ever Indy 500. The rookie driver became the first woman to lead during the race and she was just seven laps from victory lane on Sunday before she fell to fourth.

Danica Patrick joins us this morning from the famed brickyard in Indianapolis. Nice to see you, Danica. Thanks for talking with us. DANICA PATRICK, FINISHED 4TH IN INDY 500: Of course.

O'BRIEN: With just ten laps left to go, you were leading. How did that feel?

PATRICK: Good. Comfortable, actually. I just hoped and prayed that yellow would come out and we'd just run under caution till the end of the race. But that wasn't going to happen. So it was -- I was actually really comfortable.

O'BRIEN: Did not happen. In fact, you were also running out of fuel, right? And that meant you kind of had to change your strategy a little bit, it meant that you had to slow down. At what point did you realize you're not going to win this thing?

PATRICK: Probably with about five laps to go. Whenever -- when I had been passed by Dan. And I just, you know, I just kind of knew that it wasn't -- I wasn't going to be able to use full fuel for the end of the race. But, you know, there are some sacrifices that we had to make, and I think all in all, the strategy was beautiful and it worked great. We had a stall in the race, there was a spin in the race. So considering all of those things, I think it was pretty good.

O'BRIEN: Yes. And considering all those things, it was pretty great. You had a very close call, in fact, on -- I think it was on lap 152. Tell us a little bit about the crash.

PATRICK: Well, we were going for restart and everybody was packed up really tight. And all of a sudden, I don't know what happened, I don't know whether or not I hit somebody, somebody hit me, if it was just something I did with my hands and feet inside the cockpit. But the car just spun and I got hit and I thought this is it, my race is over. I'm going to get absolutely clobbered by everybody else coming around.

But it didn't happen and it might have turned out to be a good thing, actually, because I pitted while everyone was still running, so I had more fuel than they had when we went green after that. So that's what kept me to the end.

O'BRIEN: Yes, you know, when we see that shot, that camera shot from inside your car, it's really scary. I mean, it's remarkable that you really weren't badly injured at all. There have been three women who were in the Indy 500 before you. But you're the first who really almost won. Do you think of it in terms of making a statement for women or how you're a woman and why that matters? Or do you think of it in other terms?

PATRICK: I have to be honest, because I'm always honest when I answer questions. I don't think of it. I don't -- I'm not consciously trying to do anything for women, but I'm just being myself, and I think it's really neat that just being myself is enough to break ground and to be a role model and all kinds of other things.

O'BRIEN: And speaking of being yourself, much has been made of your looks. You're really cute. Much has been made of your size. You're really teeny tiny.

PATRICK: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Do you brush that off? Does it annoy you when people sort of talk about how good looking you are? You think it doesn't matter?

PATRICK: You think that bothers me? Not at all. Of course not.

O'BRIEN: People are welcome to talk about how cute you are as long as you're doing really, really well.

PATRICK: That's very, nice. Thank you. But you know what, it's just another part of me as the -- you know, pictures, and being feminine and girly, and it's just the other side of me. So I'm a very diverse character.

O'BRIEN: Well, good for you. You're 23 years old. You've been racing in Europe, I read, since you were 16 years old.

PATRICK: Yes, I lived in England for three years.

O'BRIEN: Do think you'll win the Indy 500 someday soon?

PATRICK: Something inside me tells me that I will. So we'll have to hang on and see.

O'BRIEN: Something inside me tells me that you're going to win too.

PATRICK: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Danica Patrick is joining us this morning. Congratulations to you. Thanks for talking with us.

PATRICK: Thanks. Have a great day.

O'BRIEN: Thank you. Likewise.

VELSHI: You know, I've learned to brush off the comments about my looks, and the fact that people say I'm teeny tiny.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I was going to say. People say that a lot? Because they're lying to you.

VELSHI: Is this time for a commercial break?

Still to come, a National Guard unit on this Memorial Day that's depending on the folks back home, and not just for emotional support. Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAFF SGT. JEFFREY MAYS: The only message I have for the veterans, I'm proud to follow in your footsteps. I just only hope that I can fulfill some of the things that you have done. If I can walk in your shoes and fill your shoes, I'll be a proud American.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: This week, we're looking back at the historic events of the last 25 years, events that you witnessed on CNN. In the spring of 1989, the world was focused on a groundbreaking summit between the Soviet Union and China -- it was in Beijing -- when something much more momentous happened in Tiananmen Square.

Bill Hemmer has the story from people who were there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE CHINOY, SR. ASIA CORRESPONDENT: The protests in the spring of 1989 represented a kind of coming to the surface of deep currents of discontent that were bubbling in Chinese society. And when the former communist party chief, Hooya Vong (ph), who had been purged by hardliners in 1987, died in the middle of April, that was the catalyst. That was the moment when the students in Beijing took to the streets.

ALEC MIRAN, CNN EXEC. PROD.: Just somehow, inexplicably, it continued to grow until right before the summit, you suddenly had 200,000, 300,000 students in the square, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

BILL HEMMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Chinese government saw the escalating demonstrations as a threat. After four weeks of protests, and a march by more than a million supporters, Chinese authorities responded with a show of force, sending out the army to advance toward the demonstrators.

CHINOY: I kept saying to myself, I kept saying to colleagues, one way or another, this is going to end badly.

BERNARD SHAW, FMR. CNN ANCHOR: Martial law has been imposed on certain areas of Beijing.

They marched into our control room and demanded that we cease our live transmissions.

CHINOY: The government has ordered us to shut down our facility. We are shutting down our facility.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can we sign off?

CHINOY: Yes.

SHAW: That's the story to the moment. For all of the hardworking men and women of CNN, goodbye from Beijing.

HEMMER: CNN continued to cover the story by smuggling tapes out of the country, as the standoff continued for another two weeks until it came finally to an abrupt and violent conclusion. CHINOY: We could see crowds of people sort of forming up, and then falling back as the army opened fire, and then reforming, and then falling back. As dawn broke, the People's Liberation Army was in full control of the square. The student movement had been crushed.

SHAW: To this day, the world does not know how many people were slaughtered at Tiananmen Square. I doubt that we ever will know.

HEMMER: The day after the violent crackdown, one image broadcast by CNN embodied the spirit of the failed resistance.

CHINOY: That image of one man standing up against the tank has become one of the great symbols of defiance of oppression. Still, the power of his gesture endures.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: That was a powerful image. All this week, we'll have special coverage of CNN's 25th anniversary.

Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, the O.J. Simpson trial. And Wednesday, June 1st, if you're a history buff, a special evening of primetime begins at 8:00 Eastern -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: "CNN LIVE TODAY" is coming up next.

Hey, Daryn, good morning to you. What are you working on?

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Working on trying to find summertime here. Not too easy. It is the unofficial start of summer, which also means, Soledad, the start of the wedding season as well, and that means gifts. No big worries, though, we have your top-five tips to get you through the parade of nuptials.

Also on this Memorial Day, a filmmaker searches for the father he never knew, a father who was killed in Vietnam three weeks after this man was born. You'll meet the man behind the documentary "Unknown Soldier. That and much more on "CNN LIVE TODAY." Interesting doc. I watched it last night. Cried myself to sleep. It's a sad one, but it's a good one.

KAGAN: All right, looking forward to that. Daryn, thanks a lot.

Ahead this morning, a small town's heavy burden during a time of war. Who fills those jobs of Reservists shipped off to Iraq? A look at that is up next.

But first, what was Memorial Day originally called? Was it, A, Patriot's Day, B, Remembrance Day, or, C, Decoration Day? We're going to have the answer after this short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Here's what we asked you before the break. What was Memorial Day originally called? The answer is C, Decoration Day. First observed in 1968, it was a time to honor the nation's Civil War dead by decorating their graves. Back in 1868. I didn't think that was the right answer.

VELSHI: No, I wouldn't have guessed that, either. But it became a national -- Memorial Day became a national holiday in 1971.

O'BRIEN: Nice.

VELSHI: So there you go.

O'BRIEN: Well, on this day for saluting sacrifice, we take a look at a different casualty of the Iraq War. What happens here at home when National Guard troops are called up for 18 months at a time?

CNN's Dan Lothian reports on the small towns that are left behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In northern Vermont, just across the border from Canada, the town of Enosburg looks more like a painting, a remote rural escape from big-city life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here everybody knows everybody in the surrounding area. So it's just one big family.

LOTHIAN: But this family of some 2,800 people is feeling a loss. The entire locally-based National Guard unit known as Bravo Company has been activated. Some 70 soldiers from here and surrounding towns sent to Iraq. Members of another nearby unit were activated, too.

(on camera): People living in this quite, scenic town now have a personal connection to a conflict thousands of miles away. It seems everybody either has someone or knows someone now serving in Iraq. Almost overnight life in many ways here has changed.

(voice-over): Mechanic Matt Tracy now shoulders the responsibility for this full-service gas station after the owner, Sergeant Major Mark LaRose (ph) was called up in December.

MATT TRACY, TEXACO EMPLOYEE: He's over there. He's preparing for war. And in reality, somebody has to stay behind.

LOTHIAN: But it hasn't been easy.

TRACY: Is it not working at all?

LOTHIAN: Tracy now has to worry about more than just what's under the hood.

TRACY: Ordering supplies, tires, fixing the furnace.

LOTHIAN: And with just a few months to go before getting his pre-law degree, Tracy's future plans are on hold.

TRACY: Well, I can't actually just go out and get a job in the legal field. I can't sign up to go to law school.

LOTHIAN: Just down the street at the local fire station...

ROBERT GLEASON, ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF: It will be waiting for him when he gets back.

LOTHIAN: ... LaRose (ph) is also missed. The gas station owner is a volunteer fire captain. Two of the department's members are in Iraq.

GLEASON: We haven't made up for it. I mean, we just depend more on the neighboring departments for mutual aid if need be.

LOTHIAN: Small towns are especially hit hard by the military's need for National Guard troops. When they go, replacing them is often difficult.

At this feed plant in Richford, 10 miles from Enosburg, a half- dozen employees were activated.

PAUL ADAMCZAK, PLANT MANAGER: We've had people who have volunteered to accept new duties, move to different positions that were more sensitive, harder to replace.

LOTHIAN: But no one here or back in Enosburg is complaining. Residents are proud of their soldiers. There are banners on posts, ribbons on trees and candles in windows.

And back at the gas station...

TRACY: It's a matter of doing what I'm doing, taking up the slack so they can do what they have to do.

LOTHIAN: ... a sense of duty on the home front.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Enosburg, Vermont.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: The next wave of Vermont Army National Guard soldiers is scheduled for deployment to Iraq at the end of June.

VELSHI: Well, let's check in with Toure. He's back with the final wrap-up of the e-mails on the "Question of the Day," filling in for Jack Cafferty.

TOURE: That's right.

VELSHI: What do you want to forget?

TOURE: The "Question of the Day," what one memory would you like to forget? Two answers.

Mike from Spokane, Washington: "I would love to forget that Fox News exists." Touche. And Joanne from St. Catherine's, Ontario: "I was 17 years old, swimming at a local beach. I couldn't figure out why the people on the shore were cheering until I realized my bikini top had come off and there I was all in all my glory for everyone to see."

Wow! I'm sure that's not Ali's.

VELSHI: No, mine. I have three, they're exactly the same one. It's me riding off on my motorcycle, feeling like the big dog, pulling up on an intersection, light turns green, I release the brake and the bike topples over. Three times.

TOURE: And you've done that three times?

VELSHI: Three times.

TOURE: And how do you stay, you know, manly after that?

VELSHI: Cycling.

O'BRIEN: He sold the bike. Thank you, Toure, appreciate that.

Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, more on our special series from the defining moments of CNN's past 25 years. We'll take a look back at the so-called trial of the century, the O.J. Simpson murder trial. That's tomorrow morning. We start at 7:00 a.m. Eastern. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: We are out of time. Ali, thank you so much for helping us out. We certainly...

VELSHI: Can I come back some time?

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. We'd love it. Anytime you want. We're out of time here on AMERICAN MORNING. Daryn Kagan is at the CNN Center. She's going to take you through the next few hours.

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