Brooks is blurred through his glasses because he is so close and brooks strikes sumner on the top of the head with a cane. Sumners head explodes in blood almost instantly. Author Stephen Puleo on the caning of massachusetts senator Charles Sumner by South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks that drove the country closer to civil war. Sunday night at eight eastern and pacific on cspans q a. On tuesday gary sydni spoke to the National Press club in washington dc about his advocacy for u. S. Veterans and the work of the Gary Sinise Foundation. This is an hour. [captioning performed by the National Captioning Institute which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] welcome to the national restaurant. Im an editor for bloomberg thats our breaking news desk here in washington, and im the president of the National Press on. Our guest today is actor, humanitarian gary sinise. He will discuss challenges facing americas servicemen and women, and what can be done and support their loved ones. But first i want i want to discuss it includes press club numbers and guess of our speakers publisher of stars stripes, jim jensen, Derek Perkins staff writer for marine corps times president of the Speakers Committee and the washington getting over a speaker for a moment director of communications for fedex thank you melissa. Paul Statement National security correspondent for u. S. News world report. Andrea mccarran, reporter with usa today w usa tv, and a usa today contributor. And starting thursday, a military service. Razor. Robert hume, director of Political Research at cnn. Communications and less legislative fellow covering issues for mike honda. I also want to welcome our cspan in public radio audiences. And you can follow the action today on twitter. Use the npc lunch even though this is the breakfast. Use npclunch it was here at the National Press club, in 2011 that he announced the launch of the Gary Sinise Foundation. The gary the foundations mission is to boost troop morale for servicemen and women who are in transition. The foundations projects include providing custom smartphones but even for the desperate for the foundation, he used his celebrity that can support of u. S. Military personnel. His band has performed around the world. The band is called Lieutenant Dan band. It is named for his Academy Award nominated role as wounded vietnam war veteran Lieutenant Dan in the movie forest gone. You might knows the for other roles as well. He spent nearly a decade playing detective mac taylor in the tv program csi new york. He also had roles in movies such as apollo 13 the green mile, and ransom. Its his role as servicemember advocate he seems to enjoy best. Sinise serves a spokesman for the medal of honor museum. He is the patron of the g. I. Film festival which highlights movies that positively portray veterans, and the military. He has cohosted the National Memorial day concert for a decade, and is certainly a familiar face here in washington in that regard. And sinise is the recipient of the president ial citizens medal. Thats the second highest honor of deeds performed for the Nation Service members. Tonight, the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation will award him its highest individual honor, the service to america leadership award. Ladies and gentlemen, please join me and giving a more National Press club welcome to mr. Gary sinise. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Its good to be back. I do want to say something. Last time i was here, there was a big sort of wooden medallion here on the back and about halfway through my speech, it fell down. So im glad its not here. Its a great honor for me to return. Since having first at the opportunity it in 2007 which after 16 years was finally dedicated and open to the public on october 5 i guess i have not burn any bridges at the press club yet. They keep asking me that. Thank you. I would like to speak a little today about how far the Gary Sinise Foundation has come in those four years with the work the foundation is doing and what the future looks like as we continue to grow. And i would like to emphasize how important it is to have nonprofits in the military support space as our military servicemen and women continue as our men and women continue to confront the dark forces in this world with long and very tough deployments. But first one of our Board Members is here. Thank you for coming bob, i appreciate you being here sir. I have a very distinguished just year that john introduced, a friend of mine who is here with us today. General James E Livingston was awarded the United States hires military decoration, the medal of honor for heroic actions in 1968 during the vietnam war. And on that fateful day, captain livingston and about 800 fellow marines ran up against a north Vietnamese Company of 10,000 strong enemy combatants. 10,000. Against 800 marines. What captain livingston says was a fair fight. During the ensuing fight captain livingston was wounded three times despite his wounds, they destroyed over 100 mutually supporting enemy bunkers, repel the savage enemy counterattack and refused to be evacuated from the field until he was assured that the safety of his men. He would serve to combat tours in vietnam. He was presented the medal of honor on may 14, 1970 by president then. Rising in the ranks, he retired from the marine corps as a major general. General livingstons philosophy on leadership is to lead from the front. He said finally that is true and inspiring. General livingston, thank you for being here. It is said that america will always be the land of the free as long as it is the home of the brave. A community, a city, a country can only flourish if its people have the peace in their life and liberty of the opportunity in doing so, they make their Community Flourish with commerce and trade in this is driven to be the greatest, strongest, and most profitable nation on the air. So much of our way of life is secure with the sacrifices being made each and every day, there comes much need. That is why it is so important to have successful nonprofits in the military support base. As government alone cannot possibly feel there been so many experiences that have led me to realize we must be there for a minute and women in uniform to make sure that they are there to take care before during and after the battle. Wanting to do something to support, i began to volunteer for the uso. Going on handshake doors and Entertainment Stores with my band that letter military know that they were appreciated. There we were thinking of them and that their service and sacrifice did not go unnoticed. During the think giving holiday in 2009, i was visiting pogrom air force base in afghanistan and the director of operations for central command, providing oversight for all military operations including iraq and afghanistan, the general invited me to the ramp ceremony where the u. S. Military would load the casket on the plane to repatriate his remains back to america. When my eyes saw and what my heart felt that day has always stayed with me. I watched hundreds of american servicemen and women from all branches most of them, including myself never knew this soldier personally, but they gathered information in his honor to pay their respects and offer a farewell salute to a brave fellow american soldier. The mood was somber. The casket draped with an American Flag was carried by eight members of his unit moving slowly and solemnly onto the plane as the formation was commanded to give their final salute to an american who gave his last full measure and devotion for his country. Indeed, a sight to behold. Members of his unit who the day before were fighting by his side placed his casket on the bed of the c17 kneeled down around it and offer their final prayers and farewells. To their brother. The rest of the formation followed suit, ranked by right traveling up the ramp of the c17 to pay their respects. It was my sobering honor to be by the generals side as we entered the plane and knelt down beside the casket. I was flooded with the motion for this young man and his family full the painful and sobering reminder of the cost of freedom. In looking back on my own journey working with veterans groups in the chicago area in the 1980s, supporting our wounded through the disabled Veterans Administration in the 1990s, and post 9 11, as i began to decide the full weight that our servicemen and women carried with them into battle and oftentimes bring home with them when they return from long deployments, i began to support many military charities and participating in as many support concerts and fundraising events as i could to raise awareness spirits, and support them. In 2011, i want all of my endeavors together to serve our veterans under one umbrella. In four years, with the generosity and support of the American People, we have been able to start numerous programs in order to make an important difference in the lives of our servicemembers. From building smart homes providing adapted vehicles and mobility devices restoring independence, supporting empowerment and putting on resiliency concerts at military hospitals to boost morale. To raising the spirits of the children of our Fallen Heroes providing a funding for needy military families, supporting First Responders and communities all around the country each day. We are helping veterans, military families, and First Responders find the strength and support that they need to move forward in their lives and we are impacting the unities that they live in. As john said when i last spoke here in june 2011, i had been a part of Fundraising Efforts to build three smart homes for catastrophically wounded servicemembers. Three of our quadruple amputees who had returned from iraq and afghanistan. I am proud to say that up to five quadruple amputees, four of them are living in new homes and a home is in progress for the fifth. By the end of 2015, the gary finneys foundation will have participated in the development or construction of up to 35 homes for those suffering very serious, lifechanging injuries. These homes give our wounded heroes, their families, their freedom and independence that. I am proud to say that prior to the creation of the foundation and the four years since, the Lieutenant Dan band has performed 318 concerts worldwide in support of our nations defenders and their families. 140 concerts for the uso. 178 fundraising and benefit concerts. We just performed at the hotel in coronado on sunday night for a big veterans support concert. The band is part of our nonprofit and is now a program of the foundation. Through our invincible spirit festival which we put at our nations military medical centers, complete with a live concert and a delicious cookout donated by celebrity chef Robert Irvine and the folks at the Great Food Company cisco, we have listed over 50,000 spirits of our heroes, their families, their caregivers, and the hospital staff. Giving them a respite from the rigors of medical treatment and reminding them of the hope and positivity along the road to recovery. Through our serving Heroes Program we have shown gratitude to our nations defenders by serving them a hearty, classic american meal. To date, we have served over 27,000 meals to five major travel hubs across the nation. And we are looking to expand our efforts to include other venues at other airports throughout the country. Our gary finneys Foundation Relief and Resiliency Program has helped 1294 veterans and their families in their times of urgent need. 162 children, family members of the fallen, 156 veterans, and 944 wounded. We have trained 45 firefighters in black forest, colorado after the devastating fires there. We have supported the families of the hotshots in prescott, arizona after 19 firefighters were lost in a deadly fires from. We donated two Lieutenant Dan fans to transport ill and injured member of the fdny and their families to medical facilities. We have awarded six rants to police, fire, and ems services. Other programs include our arts and entertainment are reached, taking veterans to the theater around the country for a free meal and a performance. As part of our educational outreach, we have a new world war ii program. A most recent partnership with the National WorldWar Ii Museum in new orleans. The Gary Sinise Foundation has helped finance a historian who has to date recorded 35 world war ii veteran stories, oral histories, preserved on video in the museum archives. Preserving americas history and their legacy. We will also include a trip next week for 50 world war ii veterans from california to see this magnificent museum built in their honor. We have come a long way in four short years and are impacting the lives of veterans and activeduty across the nation. It is truly the most Rewarding Mission i have had in my life to serve the members of our military. One of the hardest things to come to terms with when you endeavor to a life of service is the a normandy of the need that exist today. It has to be up on us and our communities to close the gap and meet that need. With all of the bureaucracy and inefficiencies and the difficult challenges currently being reported within the v. A. , it is important that there are successful nonprofits in the military support space and that we engage, encourage, and inspire as many communities within this country as possible to address the need. I applaud all the military nonprofits that are here today doing the good work. During the conflicts in afghanistan and iraq, we have seen remarkable advances in field medicine and care. While this may have reduced the number of casualties, many more have returned home injured or seriously wounded. As we have now been at work for the last 14 years, roughly 50,000 military personnel currently live among us bearing severe wounds of war both physically and mentally. There struggles can affect the entire household and ongoing treatment can quickly become ruinously expensive. We have become aware of the startling shortfall in the care of these men and that these men and women often face. The media, they have provided troubling glimpses of the healthrelated complications that veterans experience in seeking care. The Bigger Picture is alarming. Survey data suggest that 71 percent of americans do not understand what combat veterans indoor and 84 of veterans hold polls said the public has little awareness of the challenges that they face in life after combat. This suggests an urgent need to supplement existing support and raise consciousness at a grassroots level. Emotional trauma is at epidemic proportions. From 2002 22012 103,000 103,972 cases of posttraumatic stress were reported. According to a report from the department of Veterans Affairs an average of 22 American Veterans continue to take their lives every day. Physical injuries often compound the emotional damage. In the same time span, 100,000 17 battle injury amputations were performed. Beyond the personal struggles, loss of limb and or physical disfiguration places tremendous stress on veterans families. Loved ones also often must take on the role of caregivers and posttraumatic stress can affect the entire family. For our wounded, maintaining access to Ongoing Health care support systems is a daunting task. Reentering society and finding employment is especially difficult. More than half of all veterans report feeling disconnected. From their communities. Their sense of disconnect is a solvable problem. Willingness to help and raising awareness will help where help is needed within individual communities. They are important first steps. Local citizens in every Community Need to connect with these veterans and their families to provide support, however possible. As citizens who benefit from what they do for us. It is our duty, very simply, if every neighborhood in every community in every town and city and every state soft out their local veterans and offer their hand, we would greatly reduce the problem and most likely have the problem solved. It is a dangerous and unpredictable world. We need to keep our military strong and ready to face the evils of this world that would seek to destroy our way of life. They are our freedom providers. And they and their families need our help. As we all know, we all too often take our freedom for granted. I recently returned from my third trip to korea performing for our troops. And a third visit to the dnc. A strange very strange, and sad place. This time, while there is something that while there while there, something happened that did not happen on my previous trips. As we came out of the building, two north korean guards came right up to the borders at to take pictures of our group. I was two feet away and could look directly into the ey