Transcripts For CSPAN3 Vietnam 20240704 : vimarsana.com

Want to welcome you to the Richard Nixon president ial library on this very wet day. Today, thank you. Today, 50 years after the end of combat operations by American Forces in vietnam, we recognize Vietnam Veterans in the service they provided to our country. In uniform in the 1960s and 70s, and then after coming home as members of their community who went on to be forces for good. He. And it is newly, we remember and pay tribute today to those who never came home, or remain missing in action. Youll see throughout todays program, traditional elements of military ceremony, represented by different branches of the United States military. And to begin, id like to ask United States army chaplain, william williams, to deliver the invocation. Chaplain williams served in the army for 27 years in both infantry as enlisted man, and as a member of the Chaplain Corps he is currently the family life resource manager, deputy garrison chaplain adviser for a low density face group leaders, and a director of religious education. He has been deployed on eight combat tours and served as a battalion and i am ceo am chaplain. Chaplain williams. [applause] friends, join me in great tradition as we pray. Let us pray. Oh my god, i ask that you bless this ceremony, all those that are present today. Special blessings be upon our Vietnam Veterans and their families, who are present today, and those who are not. As we remember, honor, their sacrifice, legacy, and their service, that paved the way for our armed forces today. On behalf of nation. Never accept defeat, never quit, never leave a falling comrade. Thank you chaplain, ladies gentlemen please rise for the presentation of the colors and the national anthem. [silence] [inaudible] [national anthem plays] [applause] [inaudible] [silence] you may be seated. Please join me in thanking the 12 marine corps district honor guard in Navy Vocalist taylor johns, for that beautiful rendition of the national anthem. [applause] i want to thank our President Council members and our soviet club members for the Richard Nixon foundation who are here with us today, whose support made todays commemoration possible. And actually made possible the new monument that we are going to dedicating shortly. Id like to welcome don wagner, chairman of the board of supervisors of orange county, thank you for being here. [applause] as well as yorba linda mayor, jeanne hernandez. [applause] councilman janice lyn. [applause] and councilman carlos rodriguez. [applause] im told that this morning, you all now are participating in, and attending, what is the second largest vietnam veteran state ceremony in the United States. [applause] absolutely. And only second to the gathering at the National Parks service, vietnam war veterans monuments, on the national mall. So thats quite a distinction. On march 29th, 1973, 50 years ago, today, the last american combat troops left vietnam. That evening, president nixon address the American People from the oval office, saying the day that we have all worked and prayed for, is finally come. He would go on to say, for the first time in 12 years, no American Military forces are in vietnam, all of our american p. O. W. S are on their way home. Vietnam veterans day became a national day observance, six years ago, when President Trump signed the vietnam war veterans recognition act of 2017. However, its origins date to a proclamation issued by nixon on february 26th, 1974. The proclamation 4270, states, as a nation, we have acknowledged our deep respect and admiration by setting aside march 29, 1974, as Vietnam Veterans day. To remember the honorable piece america cheap, which came through great sacrifice. I am disappointed, of course, about our unfortunate weather patterns of late, and especially today, as this mornings rain is forced the ceremony indoors. But rain or shine, theres no place like the Nixon Library, and we are going to dedicate and unveil a new monument today celebrating americas Vietnam Veterans. This monument was brought to life by an extraordinarily helpful and insightful design committee. Which consisted of ed brundage, tony cordero, joe lopez, film allard, William Chris nor dike, and frank rosario. [inaudible] [laughter] thats right. Tony cordero served as president of the sons and daughters in touch, he is a gold star son, and im going to ask tony now to say some words on behalf of the design committee. [applause] good morning ladies and gentlemen, and to all the Vietnam Veterans, it is appropriate to say happy Vietnam Veterans day. Congratulations to you. [applause] as jim mentioned, my name is tony cordero, i am the gold star son and lost my dad in vietnam, in 1965. What you may wonder is, how did an air force brad to get mixed up with a bunch of marines in trying to come up with an idea to help run, designed the statue . But to all of you, marines from vietnam, it was a wonderful opportunity, and what i wanted to do is to quickly acknowledge that we, as a nation, our 11 years into the vietnam war commemoration. 50th anniversary at the end of the vietnam war. It is an american tradition that, at the 58 and 100 anniversaries of the end of all of our wars, that we, as a nation, pause to remember those who for the battle and those who were left without a loved one because of that. And so, for the next two years, the vietnam war commemoration and department of Defense Program will continue to commemorate the vietnam war, and the feet adversary of the end of it. So thats one of the reasons that we are here. And of course, thanks to president nixon, and to the president obama, when it was initiated in 2012, President Trump for declaring today to be this day, and the Current Administration for continuing that support. Today, is National Vietnam war veterans day, all across the country. It was one flaws. [applause] the remembrance and the acknowledgment, the thanks that our country gives, is to everyone who served during the vietnam war. And the families who cared for their families when they came home, and for the families who were left to ask questions why. What happened, why did my loved ones not come home, why was there a funeral or why are they still unaccounted for . So what id like to do now is to ask if there are other gold star families in the audience, gold star families whose loved ones were lost in the war, or remain unaccounted for, would you please stand so we can give you around flaws . [applause] ill tell you, this is the most expensive dollar and 50 cents that you could ever ask and imagine. Yet, you can buy the gold star button on line, but it cost me a life. Its not like a broken arm or having covid, you get over that, you dont get over this. So thank you so much for being here. We also want to ask, later we are going to recognize you by service, but right now id like to ask all of you in the audience, the Vietnam Veterans, all of you who served during the vietnam war, to please stand and allow us to give you our thanks and acknowledgment on the vietnam war veterans day. So please, all of you, stand. [applause] [applause] [crowd chanting] [applause] from this vantage point, that was incredible. It was absolutely wonderful to see all of you here. And to brave the elements to be here, thank you all for doing that. Is an artist, a sculptor, a painter, a visionary, a creative imagine air, i say that with all due respect to the good friends of the Walter Disney company. And when the good friends of the Nixon Library asked me about creating a statue to honor all Vietnam Veterans, and that they hadnt identified ron as the designer of this, they needed some support because the decision had been made that the statue would be of a marine, a combat marine, on patrol in vietnam. But they needed to make sure that it was accurate. They wanted to make sure that it was spot on, down to the most minute detail. And i just so happened to know a bunch of guys who live here in orange county, they are marines, and they are a band of brothers. So i said, ill tell you what i can do, lets put together a little focus group, bring these guys together the library, and they can get to tell you what they think. And those of you who know marines, know that you cant shut them up. [laughter] these guys talked, and talked, and talked, and they had all kinds of ideas and insight and suggestions. And what ultimately see is the product of their experience and rons creativity. And its an absolutely glorious statue. But again, weve got these guys here to the library, they shared information during that meeting, and they shared more information afterwards. And that led to the creation of the statue. Irans work is known all over the United States and points around the world, he recently completed a project for the 100th anniversary of the rose wall stadium in pasadena. He also, something here and youre to my heart, is the sculptor of the statue of traveler, on the university of Southern California campus. So those of you that are familiar with that [applause] very good, fight on. I couldnt let that passed. Its a glorious statue. And ron, the designer, the sculptor, the artist behind the statue that will be unveiled today. So, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen i want to introduce to you, ron pekar. [applause] [silence] well, hi. Im ron pekar. [laughter] after all that. [applause] you know, i am so happy to be here. But im not happy, because of me, im happy because i can see you all. Im so appreciative you have no idea, and especially my committee. You know, this is a statue that is difficult, im going to put it that way. Because there are so many details about it. And i didnt know these details, and the fellas helped me through the whole thing, with two things. First, their inspiration. It is magnificent how i enjoyed meeting them, and hearing them. The second thing is, they gave me some inspiration of what to do, how to do it, and then a lot of other people did to. I am grateful, thats what i can say. Ill say to three other things. One, i maybe already said it, it was tough. It was a difficult sculpture job. Second, i had help from several people and i want to just say thank you ed, he is the person that guided me through this. And of course, he was there. And knowing that was very, very beneficial to me. Third, i am curious about how all of this took place. It was like an event that came about on its own. And it was very inspirational to me, to, because the whole situation helped me along to get to the point where we are here right now, and we have a statue. [applause] im ready to talk about it. Im going to start with [applause] ill quickly go from top to bottom. The helmet, soldiers ar helmets. This one was very special because i found out that there is a rubber band that goes around the bottom rim, and everyone different kinds of things in it. The one that i have in is bug juice, and the bug juice is there because it was in vietnam. It was, as everybody told me, 110 dandra 20 degrees every single day. There was never one that went under 100, or 110 degrees. Im positive of that. As the helmet he put on, and first of all, when i sculpted it, i did not sculpt the face with the helmet on. I took the helmet off so that i could get to all of the details. Ill say one thing about the. I did the face until i thought it was right. Thats how it came about. It is a madeup face, but i had a lot of help and a lot of pictures, and a lot of research. It just felt right to me. The bandleader, and you begin to see a little bit of some of the details that are going to be there as you go over and look at it. I hope you will, and i hope that maybe we can get a couple of raindrops to go away so that you can do that. Its a bandleader that comes across the soldier, wrapping around the side of the body, and it carries magazines of bullets. Its a very symbolic thing as well of course, that is what all of the people out in the bush, as it was, had to have and as many as possible. Another funny thing about the detail on this, i found that the canteens and other things, especially the canteens, were important. Of course, we were in heat. As other soldiers have found, that have been in the cold, always curious about the diversity of our armed forces. The boots. These are jungle boots. They are when ed told me you can get water in them, what kind of boots are those . Yre going to get water in your boots no matter what. And so it might as well come through, it might as well make them easier to clean. They are very rugged and they worked. Of course, they didnt look all that great. The ones on the statues dont look all that great. You will see when you look at it, he is running through mud in a rice paddy, which is a pretty typical thing. And so head to toe, helmet, mandalay or, boots, all the other wrinkles and all the other forms in the uniform are there. Notice that its not a really nice uniform, its a wet uniform, theres all kinds of stuff hanging over the place. As you can see, im not that stable. The other thing is, yes, okay, the other thing is that im small. This stuff just, it just enveloped me. So i had a chance to really get a feel for what the fellas really went through. It was plenty. I thank you so much for everything. [applause] we couldnt be more pleased with how the statue turned out. How it serves as such a meaningful centerpiece to the beautiful new permanent monument here the Nixon Library. And wasnt around pekar the right man for the job . [applause] we had planned to have you on the outside. At this point, pull the curtain off of the new monument. That is okay. What i will say is that i would encourage all of you to go and see this statue and visit the monument. It is right next to marine one on the grounds of the Nixon Library. Sometimes it is called army one because those of you that know this probably better than me, it wasnt until 1976 but the marine Helicopter Squadron was for the president s Helicopter Squadron was exclusively operated by the marines. We definitely go see the new beautiful statue at the wonderful monument next to marine one. As you mentioned earlier, President Trump signed national neat Vietnam Veterans day into law, and the secretary of Veterans Affairs was robert wilkie, he served from 2018 to 2021. The secretary of Veterans Affairs, cabinetlevel positions, they are charged with properly su better Veterans Benefits and health care, administering the national and cemeteries. Pride serving in the cabinet, secretary wilkie was under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. The principal adviser to the secretary and deputy, the defense for total force management during the george w. Bush administration. Mr. Wilkie served both robert gates and Donald Rumsfeld as assistant secretary of defense from 2005 to 2009. The youngest Senior Leader in the department. Prior to his first pentagon tour, he was special assistant to the president for National Security affairs in a senior director of the national Street Council under dr. Condoleezza rice. He has extensive experience in congress as well, including service as the Senior Adviser to senator tom tillis, as well as counsel and adviser on interNational Security affairs to Senate Majority leader trent lot. He is the sum of an Army Artillery commander, and spent his time at fort bragg. Hes a reserve officer in the United States air force reserve, and holds at the rank of colonel. Prior to serving the air force, he with joint Services Intelligent comment, Naval Special war group to, and stable intelligence. Hes a graduate of the college of Naval Command and staff, air command staff, college United States army war college, and the joint forces staff colleges by distinct, welcome back to the Nixon Library today to help us dedicate this monument. But [applause] laden gentlemen, i cant tell you what a singular honor it is to be here at the Nixon Library. Ive spent a great deal of time with president nixon, and i know that all of you remember that he was a stone cold football fan. Not only playing, but when i was a little boy, he was constantly providing coach george allen when he was the coach of the rams. And then later coach of the red skins with place to run on sunday afternoons, some of which did not work. President nixons advice didnt help the red skins insuperable seven. Since tony opened the football door, i do want to say as a new orleans, i want to thank the university of Southern California trojans for their hospitality, and in the cotton bowl. We thank you very much. For helping us race the loss of the green wave to the trojans in the 1924 rose bowl. As i said, it is a great, great honor for me to be here. With you, and in this temple to Richard Nixon<\/a> president ial library on this very wet day. Today, thank you. Today, 50 years after the end of combat operations by American Forces<\/a> in vietnam, we recognize Vietnam Veterans<\/a> in the service they provided to our country. In uniform in the 1960s and 70s, and then after coming home as members of their community who went on to be forces for good. He. And it is newly, we remember and pay tribute today to those who never came home, or remain missing in action. Youll see throughout todays program, traditional elements of military ceremony, represented by different branches of the United States<\/a> military. And to begin, id like to ask United States<\/a> army chaplain, william williams, to deliver the invocation. Chaplain williams served in the army for 27 years in both infantry as enlisted man, and as a member of the Chaplain Corps<\/a> he is currently the family life resource manager, deputy garrison chaplain adviser for a low density face group leaders, and a director of religious education. He has been deployed on eight combat tours and served as a battalion and i am ceo am chaplain. Chaplain williams. [applause] friends, join me in great tradition as we pray. Let us pray. Oh my god, i ask that you bless this ceremony, all those that are present today. Special blessings be upon our Vietnam Veterans<\/a> and their families, who are present today, and those who are not. As we remember, honor, their sacrifice, legacy, and their service, that paved the way for our armed forces today. On behalf of nation. Never accept defeat, never quit, never leave a falling comrade. Thank you chaplain, ladies gentlemen please rise for the presentation of the colors and the national anthem. [silence] [inaudible] [national anthem plays] [applause] [inaudible] [silence] you may be seated. Please join me in thanking the 12 marine corps district honor guard in Navy Vocalist<\/a> taylor johns, for that beautiful rendition of the national anthem. [applause] i want to thank our President Council<\/a> members and our soviet club members for the Richard Nixon<\/a> foundation who are here with us today, whose support made todays commemoration possible. And actually made possible the new monument that we are going to dedicating shortly. Id like to welcome don wagner, chairman of the board of supervisors of orange county, thank you for being here. [applause] as well as yorba linda mayor, jeanne hernandez. [applause] councilman janice lyn. [applause] and councilman carlos rodriguez. [applause] im told that this morning, you all now are participating in, and attending, what is the second largest vietnam veteran state ceremony in the United States<\/a>. [applause] absolutely. And only second to the gathering at the National Parks<\/a> service, vietnam war veterans monuments, on the national mall. So thats quite a distinction. On march 29th, 1973, 50 years ago, today, the last american combat troops left vietnam. That evening, president nixon address the American People<\/a> from the oval office, saying the day that we have all worked and prayed for, is finally come. He would go on to say, for the first time in 12 years, no American Military<\/a> forces are in vietnam, all of our american p. O. W. S are on their way home. Vietnam veterans day became a national day observance, six years ago, when President Trump<\/a> signed the vietnam war veterans recognition act of 2017. However, its origins date to a proclamation issued by nixon on february 26th, 1974. The proclamation 4270, states, as a nation, we have acknowledged our deep respect and admiration by setting aside march 29, 1974, as Vietnam Veterans<\/a> day. To remember the honorable piece america cheap, which came through great sacrifice. I am disappointed, of course, about our unfortunate weather patterns of late, and especially today, as this mornings rain is forced the ceremony indoors. But rain or shine, theres no place like the Nixon Library<\/a>, and we are going to dedicate and unveil a new monument today celebrating americas Vietnam Veterans<\/a>. This monument was brought to life by an extraordinarily helpful and insightful design committee. Which consisted of ed brundage, tony cordero, joe lopez, film allard, William Chris<\/a> nor dike, and frank rosario. [inaudible] [laughter] thats right. Tony cordero served as president of the sons and daughters in touch, he is a gold star son, and im going to ask tony now to say some words on behalf of the design committee. [applause] good morning ladies and gentlemen, and to all the Vietnam Veterans<\/a>, it is appropriate to say happy Vietnam Veterans<\/a> day. Congratulations to you. [applause] as jim mentioned, my name is tony cordero, i am the gold star son and lost my dad in vietnam, in 1965. What you may wonder is, how did an air force brad to get mixed up with a bunch of marines in trying to come up with an idea to help run, designed the statue . But to all of you, marines from vietnam, it was a wonderful opportunity, and what i wanted to do is to quickly acknowledge that we, as a nation, our 11 years into the vietnam war commemoration. 50th anniversary at the end of the vietnam war. It is an american tradition that, at the 58 and 100 anniversaries of the end of all of our wars, that we, as a nation, pause to remember those who for the battle and those who were left without a loved one because of that. And so, for the next two years, the vietnam war commemoration and department of Defense Program<\/a> will continue to commemorate the vietnam war, and the feet adversary of the end of it. So thats one of the reasons that we are here. And of course, thanks to president nixon, and to the president obama, when it was initiated in 2012, President Trump<\/a> for declaring today to be this day, and the Current Administration<\/a> for continuing that support. Today, is National Vietnam<\/a> war veterans day, all across the country. It was one flaws. [applause] the remembrance and the acknowledgment, the thanks that our country gives, is to everyone who served during the vietnam war. And the families who cared for their families when they came home, and for the families who were left to ask questions why. What happened, why did my loved ones not come home, why was there a funeral or why are they still unaccounted for . So what id like to do now is to ask if there are other gold star families in the audience, gold star families whose loved ones were lost in the war, or remain unaccounted for, would you please stand so we can give you around flaws . [applause] ill tell you, this is the most expensive dollar and 50 cents that you could ever ask and imagine. Yet, you can buy the gold star button on line, but it cost me a life. Its not like a broken arm or having covid, you get over that, you dont get over this. So thank you so much for being here. We also want to ask, later we are going to recognize you by service, but right now id like to ask all of you in the audience, the Vietnam Veterans<\/a>, all of you who served during the vietnam war, to please stand and allow us to give you our thanks and acknowledgment on the vietnam war veterans day. So please, all of you, stand. [applause] [applause] [crowd chanting] [applause] from this vantage point, that was incredible. It was absolutely wonderful to see all of you here. And to brave the elements to be here, thank you all for doing that. Is an artist, a sculptor, a painter, a visionary, a creative imagine air, i say that with all due respect to the good friends of the Walter Disney<\/a> company. And when the good friends of the Nixon Library<\/a> asked me about creating a statue to honor all Vietnam Veterans<\/a>, and that they hadnt identified ron as the designer of this, they needed some support because the decision had been made that the statue would be of a marine, a combat marine, on patrol in vietnam. But they needed to make sure that it was accurate. They wanted to make sure that it was spot on, down to the most minute detail. And i just so happened to know a bunch of guys who live here in orange county, they are marines, and they are a band of brothers. So i said, ill tell you what i can do, lets put together a little focus group, bring these guys together the library, and they can get to tell you what they think. And those of you who know marines, know that you cant shut them up. [laughter] these guys talked, and talked, and talked, and they had all kinds of ideas and insight and suggestions. And what ultimately see is the product of their experience and rons creativity. And its an absolutely glorious statue. But again, weve got these guys here to the library, they shared information during that meeting, and they shared more information afterwards. And that led to the creation of the statue. Irans work is known all over the United States<\/a> and points around the world, he recently completed a project for the 100th anniversary of the rose wall stadium in pasadena. He also, something here and youre to my heart, is the sculptor of the statue of traveler, on the university of Southern California<\/a> campus. So those of you that are familiar with that [applause] very good, fight on. I couldnt let that passed. Its a glorious statue. And ron, the designer, the sculptor, the artist behind the statue that will be unveiled today. So, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen i want to introduce to you, ron pekar. [applause] [silence] well, hi. Im ron pekar. [laughter] after all that. [applause] you know, i am so happy to be here. But im not happy, because of me, im happy because i can see you all. Im so appreciative you have no idea, and especially my committee. You know, this is a statue that is difficult, im going to put it that way. Because there are so many details about it. And i didnt know these details, and the fellas helped me through the whole thing, with two things. First, their inspiration. It is magnificent how i enjoyed meeting them, and hearing them. The second thing is, they gave me some inspiration of what to do, how to do it, and then a lot of other people did to. I am grateful, thats what i can say. Ill say to three other things. One, i maybe already said it, it was tough. It was a difficult sculpture job. Second, i had help from several people and i want to just say thank you ed, he is the person that guided me through this. And of course, he was there. And knowing that was very, very beneficial to me. Third, i am curious about how all of this took place. It was like an event that came about on its own. And it was very inspirational to me, to, because the whole situation helped me along to get to the point where we are here right now, and we have a statue. [applause] im ready to talk about it. Im going to start with [applause] ill quickly go from top to bottom. The helmet, soldiers ar helmets. This one was very special because i found out that there is a rubber band that goes around the bottom rim, and everyone different kinds of things in it. The one that i have in is bug juice, and the bug juice is there because it was in vietnam. It was, as everybody told me, 110 dandra 20 degrees every single day. There was never one that went under 100, or 110 degrees. Im positive of that. As the helmet he put on, and first of all, when i sculpted it, i did not sculpt the face with the helmet on. I took the helmet off so that i could get to all of the details. Ill say one thing about the. I did the face until i thought it was right. Thats how it came about. It is a madeup face, but i had a lot of help and a lot of pictures, and a lot of research. It just felt right to me. The bandleader, and you begin to see a little bit of some of the details that are going to be there as you go over and look at it. I hope you will, and i hope that maybe we can get a couple of raindrops to go away so that you can do that. Its a bandleader that comes across the soldier, wrapping around the side of the body, and it carries magazines of bullets. Its a very symbolic thing as well of course, that is what all of the people out in the bush, as it was, had to have and as many as possible. Another funny thing about the detail on this, i found that the canteens and other things, especially the canteens, were important. Of course, we were in heat. As other soldiers have found, that have been in the cold, always curious about the diversity of our armed forces. The boots. These are jungle boots. They are when ed told me you can get water in them, what kind of boots are those . Yre going to get water in your boots no matter what. And so it might as well come through, it might as well make them easier to clean. They are very rugged and they worked. Of course, they didnt look all that great. The ones on the statues dont look all that great. You will see when you look at it, he is running through mud in a rice paddy, which is a pretty typical thing. And so head to toe, helmet, mandalay or, boots, all the other wrinkles and all the other forms in the uniform are there. Notice that its not a really nice uniform, its a wet uniform, theres all kinds of stuff hanging over the place. As you can see, im not that stable. The other thing is, yes, okay, the other thing is that im small. This stuff just, it just enveloped me. So i had a chance to really get a feel for what the fellas really went through. It was plenty. I thank you so much for everything. [applause] we couldnt be more pleased with how the statue turned out. How it serves as such a meaningful centerpiece to the beautiful new permanent monument here the Nixon Library<\/a>. And wasnt around pekar the right man for the job . [applause] we had planned to have you on the outside. At this point, pull the curtain off of the new monument. That is okay. What i will say is that i would encourage all of you to go and see this statue and visit the monument. It is right next to marine one on the grounds of the Nixon Library<\/a>. Sometimes it is called army one because those of you that know this probably better than me, it wasnt until 1976 but the marine Helicopter Squadron<\/a> was for the president s Helicopter Squadron<\/a> was exclusively operated by the marines. We definitely go see the new beautiful statue at the wonderful monument next to marine one. As you mentioned earlier, President Trump<\/a> signed national neat Vietnam Veterans<\/a> day into law, and the secretary of Veterans Affairs<\/a> was robert wilkie, he served from 2018 to 2021. The secretary of Veterans Affairs<\/a>, cabinetlevel positions, they are charged with properly su better Veterans Benefits<\/a> and health care, administering the national and cemeteries. Pride serving in the cabinet, secretary wilkie was under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. The principal adviser to the secretary and deputy, the defense for total force management during the george w. Bush administration. Mr. Wilkie served both robert gates and Donald Rumsfeld<\/a> as assistant secretary of defense from 2005 to 2009. The youngest Senior Leader<\/a> in the department. Prior to his first pentagon tour, he was special assistant to the president for National Security<\/a> affairs in a senior director of the national Street Council<\/a> under dr. Condoleezza rice. He has extensive experience in congress as well, including service as the Senior Adviser<\/a> to senator tom tillis, as well as counsel and adviser on interNational Security<\/a> affairs to Senate Majority<\/a> leader trent lot. He is the sum of an Army Artillery<\/a> commander, and spent his time at fort bragg. Hes a reserve officer in the United States<\/a> air force reserve, and holds at the rank of colonel. Prior to serving the air force, he with joint Services Intelligent<\/a> comment, Naval Special<\/a> war group to, and stable intelligence. Hes a graduate of the college of Naval Command<\/a> and staff, air command staff, college United States<\/a> army war college, and the joint forces staff colleges by distinct, welcome back to the Nixon Library<\/a> today to help us dedicate this monument. But [applause] laden gentlemen, i cant tell you what a singular honor it is to be here at the Nixon Library<\/a>. Ive spent a great deal of time with president nixon, and i know that all of you remember that he was a stone cold football fan. Not only playing, but when i was a little boy, he was constantly providing coach george allen when he was the coach of the rams. And then later coach of the red skins with place to run on sunday afternoons, some of which did not work. President nixons advice didnt help the red skins insuperable seven. Since tony opened the football door, i do want to say as a new orleans, i want to thank the university of Southern California<\/a> trojans for their hospitality, and in the cotton bowl. We thank you very much. For helping us race the loss of the green wave to the trojans in the 1924 rose bowl. As i said, it is a great, great honor for me to be here. With you, and in this temple to White America<\/a> will always recognize as one of the great builders of peace. When president nixon entered the white house, there were 600,000 americans in south vietnam. One of them was a young major on his second tour in new orleans but, that was my father. In those times, america was facing the greatest internal conflict since the civil war. When Richard Nixon<\/a> left office, my father was at home because one man deeply believed in building the generation of peace. It is fitting and proper this magnificent monument is on the band to the home of a young quaker. Raised in that peaceful tradition, wearing the uniform of the United States<\/a> navy during world war ii. As you saw, we have a United States<\/a> marine slogging through one of the numberless rice pattis of vietnam. He could just as easily be a Young American<\/a> at gettysburg or at pontotoc, one of 41 million americans who have put on the uniform since the first shots were fired at Lexington Green<\/a> in april 70 1775. Ordinary americans called upon to do extraordinary things. And president nixon was there, he gave voice to a generation forced in the fight against fascism and communism. He was steeped in the harsh diplomatic questions of the 20th century. He represented the confluence of politics within and cycle of pete acknowledge of his enemies wants and weaknesses. I can remember the electric effect that he had on my mother and her fellow army wives. They talked about nixon. They knew he was one of us, and then if anybody could figure out, here is the man who stood with eisenhower for eight years. As i said here several years ago, my parents jumped ship to vote for Richard Nixon<\/a>, and they never looked back. In 1994 on this spot, senator bob dole said that the second half of the 20th century would be known as the age of nixon. He called Richard Nixon<\/a> the most durable public figure of our time. He was a hero to you, to the great silent majority, those they believe in the dignity and importance of work, and as bob dole said, and salute the flag. He added the nixon embodied the deepest feelings of the people he led, and its ultimate active service became the centurys greatest architecture. I can tell you from my perspective as the former secretary of the department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>, colonel of the United States<\/a> air force, and the child of a highly decorated combat officer, the effects of the policy decision and elevation of the American Veteran<\/a> or felt to this day. When i was seven, my father was grievously wounded in the invasion of cambodia. Whos a big man, six foot two, 2 40. Today, thats not even an nfl quarterback. But in 1970, there was a very big man. When he came home after almost a year in an Army Hospital<\/a> in hawaii, he weighed a half of what he did when he went to Southeast Asia<\/a>. As much as i was shocked by his injuries, it was not the only memory that i took from that time. I also saw vietnam through the eyes of classmates at fort sill and fort bragg. Classmates who sometimes when called to the Principles Office<\/a> were not going for doctors appointment. They were going because there is a chance that there is bad news from Southeast Asia<\/a>. In april of 1975, one of my classmates, denise johnson, her father, Master Sergeant<\/a> benny cicero johnson of north carolina, and were air force medic. President ford, through his secretary of defense don rumsfeld had ordered the evacuation of all of the orphanages inside gone in dissipation of the north vietnamese advance into that beleaguered city. Sergeant johnson volunteered to help rescue those children. Sadly, the c five that he was a crew member of was 174 young, helpless vietnamese children. They crashed at the end of the runway at the air base. A little over 40 years later, i was able to take denise, and touch her fathers name on the Vietnam Memorial<\/a>. A memorial that is there because of what you all did. And what you sacrificed. I also remember at that time, after my father recovered from his wounds, the senior officer in the all american division, 82nd airborne at fort bragg, that he was not allowed to wear his uniform off post because of the times. That was, no offense to you, california bears. It was not directly california. It was not cambridge, massachusetts. It is southeastern north carolina. The heart of Richard Nixon<\/a> country. Richard nixon had ended the combat strife in vietnam, an achievement that boastss record in bob doles words, make him one of the greatest architects of peace and serenity in the history of this nation. As dr. Kissinger said 25 years ago, the advanced vision of peace but he did more than that. He took a stand against the media and the popular, the misguided sentiment of the time, the americans who fought and Southeast Asia<\/a> were broken human beings, not worthy of the honors bestowed on previous generations. I remember an incident involving my mother. Choose a ford bragg school teacher. It was summer, and she wasnt teaching. I was at home waiting for the Little League<\/a> baseball game in the afternoon, and on television was mr. Phil donahue, that famous microphone of his running up and down the aisles of the television studio. And his supposed victim was one of Richard Nixon<\/a>s best friends, bob hope. Donahue kept ribbing hope, and tried to get him to say that those who served in vietnam were somehow unworthy of americas respect. Bob dole bob hope finally had enough. He looked at donahue, he said you know what, the faces that i saw at saigon with the same faces that i saw a kwajalein, saipan, and okinawa. Young americans called upon to do things that the rest of their fellow citizens could never imagine, and thinks that they did without complaint. And i remember my mother yelling from the kitchen, god bless you, bob hope. [applause] and in those times, america forgot that freedom was not guaranteed by pundits, professors, and protesters. But by the souls and efforts of those 41 million americans who carried liberty on their shoulders, not only for this nation, but for the rest of the world. Nixon never forgot that. He never forgot those americans who sacrificed all, who gave all, in south vietnam, cambodia, and laos. He signed more legislation honoring veterans than any other president in our history. He openly praised you, the American Warrior<\/a> for what you did there. Honorably undertaking and honorably ended. When he signed the largest veterans bill in one day, any american president. He said that by giving you our veterans the gratitude and opportunity that you deserve, were not only doing the right thing, were doing the right thing for all of america. Each returning american is a human resource. A mature, highly motivated young citizen who is proven his capacity to serve and achieve. These young men and women form the strongest hope for americans future. [applause] he rejected the counterculture. He hosted the largest ever gathering on the lawn of the white house under an enormous tent on that south lawn. He met each one of the 500 returning p. O. W. s that were held in vietnam and came to the white house with their families. He dared to press the criticize, as you congratulated the thousands of american who carried out his orders to take the fight to the heart of north vietnam. To force the communists to say, enough. He admitted to those in the audience that had wondered if anybody in america supported the decision. Did there being there was proof that america had. He knew the audience that mattered were the man whose lives were at risk, and were now at home. He said, i will tell you this. After having met each one of our honored guests this evening, and having talked to them, i think that all of us would like to join in a round of applause for the brave men who took those b52s to the skies and did the job. [applause] the p. O. W. s and their families stood and roared for ten minutes. Nixon concluded, if they hadnt done it, he wouldnt be here tonight. Then he raised the glass and toasted all the wives and mothers of our p. O. W. s as honorary first of america. On the political front, it was the second half of the 20th century, the age of nixon. I can say that when it comes to veterans, nixon himself did not preside over this nation at a time when america began to rehonor its warriors the way that he wished. But he never forgot who guarantees that freedom. He never succumbed to the amnesia that blanketed this nation for a generation. It took years. America would slowly shake off that dark time, thanks in part to the same men and women who nixon said formed, again, the strongest hope for our future. With no parades or welcome home rallies to return to, you, the warriors of Southeast Asia<\/a>, pushed in the 1970s and the 19 80s to build the Vietnam Memorial<\/a> wall, and slowly this country relearned Richard Nixon<\/a>s wisdom, that these veterans are heroes. Shouldering the responsibility to protect that freedom, and that of our allies, whatever consultant it might be. A young major that had been wounded in vietnam twice began to cut his teeth in the political world as a fellow in several departments of the nixon administration. He looked at president nixon, and he realized that what president nixon was saying was that a platoon of United States<\/a> marines do more for world peace then all of the celebrity telephones, hollywood actors, and pundits who tell the world how special they are. And colin powell was right. It is important for us to remember what you will do not just for this country, but for the world. If i respect cancer anything, along with working hard, worshipping the lord, loving families and seek saluting the flag, then we are actually living in the age of nixon. We are thankfully a pro veteran country. We see people standing for veterans at ball games, videos of veterans surprising children at school after long deployments. Even some celebrities in hollywood support our words. But the past that you know this, it reveals that there is no guarantee that this will last. Support for our heroes is fragile. We must do everything that we can to make sure we never returned to the dark days of vietnam. And that we honor nixons call to give you the gratitude and opportunity that you deserve. When nixon toasted the wives and mothers of the american p. O. W. S, he called them the bravest and most magnificent women he had ever seen. He would be amazed today to see the 15 of the active force is women. He was getting at something that mr. Cordero is involved with today. It is to never forget that when americans go to war, and americans in some cases give everything. The ultimate sacrifice, those families have been to war with that and suffered with but bob. Dole was right when he stood here 29 years ago, when he said that it is the duty of the silent majority to be less silent. And to stand bravely in the public squares that Richard Nixon<\/a> did, and declare what that majority knows to be true. And then patiently let the country catch up to the truth. But on the evening of dday, general matthew ridgeway, who had been tasked by general eisenhower with him planning and leading the Airborne Assault<\/a> on the fortress in europe, which meant that he commanded the all americans of the second airborne division, the screaming eagles of the 101st airborne division, and the red devils of the british First Air Force<\/a> division. General ridgway was so restless they actually fell out of his caught. He reached for the old testament, he reached for the book of joshua. He pulled down the lords promise to the great general on the eve of the battle of jericho. Where he said i shall not forsake thee in 1987, Ronald Reagan<\/a> presented general ridgway with a president ial medal of freedom, noting the heroes come when they are needed, but great americans step forward with courage in the memorial on these grounds was about you. The great americans who have stepped forward and never failed us. You never failed at way, cason, the valley in cambodia. I will leave with the words of the reverent dr. Billy graham. Reverend graham said of president nixon that a tree is best measured when its laid down. President nixons humble roots through to his legacy have yet to be measured. I am convinced that the views of history will accurately measure his life and genius, and that Richard Nixon<\/a> will not be found at this statue, at this place, in your honor, its a fitting reminder of all that that man meant to the men and women who answered the call and did not fail our nation. Thank you for the honor, god bless you. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, we now want to acknowledge everybody in the audience who served today by concluding with a little tune, as we like to do. We invite you to stand. And now, United States<\/a> marine corps. Ladies and gentlemen, one quick note. You should know that across the country, the richer Nixon Foundation<\/a> has gone to all of the iconic monuments in the nations capital. And the Vietnam Veterans<\/a> memorial, at the marine corps memorial, at the air force memorial, navy memorial, in your honor, those reads were placed today to salute you on a National Vietnam<\/a> war veterans day. Lectures in history, the presidency, and more. Sign up for the American History<\/a> tv newsletter today, be sure to watch American History<\/a> tv every saturday, or anytime online at cspan. Org slash history. Weekends on cspan two are an intellectual feast. Every saturday, american documents american stories. On sundays, book tv brings you the last in nonfiction books and authors. Funding for cspan two comes from these Television Companies<\/a> and more, including cox. Supporting cspan 2","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia802701.us.archive.org\/13\/items\/CSPAN3_20230808_185400_Vietnam_War_Veterans_Monument_Dedication\/CSPAN3_20230808_185400_Vietnam_War_Veterans_Monument_Dedication.thumbs\/CSPAN3_20230808_185400_Vietnam_War_Veterans_Monument_Dedication_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240707T12:35:10+00:00"}