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Of us needed them. and it was a very wonderful, wonderful affair. martha: that's great. ben, this was your first visit to see the memorial. had you been planning this for a while? >> no. two friend of mine, david marks and mark barney, convinced me to go. and two other friend went two years ago and they raved how wonderful it was and it was really a wonderful experience. martha: it is truly, it's such a moving place to visit for all of us. i've been there with my family. so many people across the country but for you, obviously having served during world war ii, it must have been very moving. i...

And we got to the museum and had this obstacle. it was unbelievable. martha: yeah, i can imagine. >> there were very, the group was very forceful and they convinced the people in charge that we had to go in. and they, rescinded the order and we went in. martha: it is unconscionable there would have ever been a question as to whether or not this group of veterans would be allowed to go into this open-air, beautiful memorial that you, many of whom had planned it for such a long time. ben, thank you so much for speaking with us. i'm very glad you got that opportunity to be there because you certa...

Literally took down a barrier blocking off the world war ii memorial in washington, d.c. that had been sealed off because of the government shutdown. look at the moving pictures of these veterans, shaking hand and carrying in the flags from their service. it was really quite a moment. and they did get some help from members congress to make that trip easier, given this whole shutdown. there is roy blount in that piece of video. not everyone really saw it that way. listen to this. >> i was disappointed to think we might not see we would see it. i appreciate the courage of our congresspeople as ...

Ben, thank you so much for talking with us and thank you for your service during world war ii. it is an honor to have you with us today. >> thank you. martha: tell as you little bit, good morning, sir. tell us a little bit about your thoughts when you heard this memorial was closed off? >> it didn't seem possible that they would reject the movement of veterans, the average age of the veterans is about 91, 92 years old and they all served but it was a wonderful experience. the, the volunteers, transfer the enthusiasm so the veterans and we were very, very well-received. it was an experience tha...