this weekend on c-span 3. >> up next, patrick o'donnell talks about his book the unknown, the untold story of america's unknown soldier and decorated 's most hero that brought him home and stories of ombat eight men that were selected to escort the remains. it's about an hour. national y records in the actions ofnt and national emetery this rest had place of 400,000 people, including 5,000 unknown soldiersment 1921, a

single unknown soldier chosen to represent those who have died being identified. war i.r of world a pim our motion picture holdings document progress of a soldier's remains from france to the united states. nd newly built tomb of the unknown soldier. nd there is a role of the relative. o we're going to hear from atrick o'donnell and learn the expert on elite units.

11 books and he is the recipient of several national awards. and counter insurgency. d winning mini series "band of brothers" and documents produced by ppc, history channel, fox news and discovery. and to read you a couple on this of reviews book he relates through soldiers experience and perfect today a gripping story by nell.'don a few authors have the same kind

of enthusiasm that o'donnell brings to this coppic. ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome pattic o'donnell to the stage. >> i spent every two decades here researching 11 books perfect american revolution to the unknowns right here in this s ilding, self of the storie about the navy body pearers rawn from research here at national archives. by many poermer tomb guards. i'd like to recognize the former sergeant of the faurdz as well azaro.hard

these are some of america's finest. y d oss society is here and m family, my mom and dad. i appreciate your support, thank years.ver the i wanted to know the best story on that story. the unknown is no different. i was given the opportunity to the guide in france for

fifth marines and wounded warrior renalingment. we walked patel ground, hallowed pening of bellawood hap 100 years ago to this day, marine corps and second division ve paris and they man drive.ger there is very little talk about the patel of striking the two generations have met in one place. it was a situation where fallujah had nearly killed all of us, were the former ottoman

empire, now iraq was the result of that. it was that meeting of .enerations that made me wonder and then i found out that ernest hansen made a charge in a place called gilmore -- he'll 142 -- hill 142. this is the high ground. 1918arines on june 6, charged across a wheat field under heavy machine-gun fire. they charged in civil war formation because they were ordered to by the french. it was a bloodbath. many of these men dropped from machine-gun bullets are they kept charging and making their 142.owards he'll -- hill they were able to take out a position held by a battalion of germans. they seized the hill.

against all enemies took it, but within 20 minutes they knew what germaning next, aging -- counterattack. and janssen and george hamilton and the 49th company, this book is a band of brothers on the 49th company, the story of the unknown soldier, braced for the counterattack. janssen saw in the distance nearly one dozen making their way up to his position, setting up several maxim machine guns. he knew if they were able to set those up, they would sweep the hill and take it. he let out a cry and charged or heard and stopped -- and charged forward and stopped the attack and potentially saved the hill. for his actions he was the first medal of honor recipient from the marine corps, but he was also pershing's body bearer. i wanted to know who the other men were. it was at that point the

unknowns found me. i spent years uncovering their story which is untold. it is untold within multiple untold stories. it is hidden in plain sight. the tomb itself has an incredible history, but it is history in plain sight. it is the back story behind the tomb. who were the people selected to bring back the remains, how the unknown was selected, all of these stories are woven into a single story, a narrative history that is very cinematic that brings you to world war i through the eyes of the men, the most decorated in listed men of the war, who saw some of the .oughest action in nearly every major battle, but general pershing, when he deflected -- when he selected his eight pallbearers, he chose the army, marine corps and navy

and within that individuals from the combat specializations, engineers for instance. these are not guys that build things. they blew things up. in the case of thomas sanders, a native american, given some of the most difficult assignments in the war, had to breach the wire with only a pair of wire cutters and breached the wire, making a whole to allow the rest to go through -- hold to allow the rest to go through. there were mounted troops in france. one of the great stories is body bearer harry taylor who was practically born in the saddle, a cowboy, that was raised in wyoming. taylor fought with the first cavalry at the beginning of his career. was involved in numerous conflicts, lived on in france training men, the wild west division, who makes an epic

charge, a suicide charge in the argon -- argonne. there is also the infantry, samuel would fill, one of the most decorated doughboys. there is the heavy guns. this is a forgotten aspect of world war i. there were rail guns in france and hillary -- heavy artillery and one of the pallbearers is represented there. the field artillery, forgotten branch. these are men that in most cases french 75's, pieces that moved with the infantry. in some cases they were in combat with the infantry as they moved up and provided close artillery support as the infantry advanced. this is the story that is in the unknowns. it is -- general pershing was trying to be very comprehensive

and fair in the way that he told the story of world war i through .he eyes of these men and then of course there is the extraordinary story of the tomb itself and how it was, how the unknown was selected. i follow a chicago in, a doughboy named edward younger through the entire war. he was part of the second infantry division, and elite unit in the american expeditionary forces, that fought through the greatest battles. younger is there. he is a doughboy, a regular front, a sergeant that fights from battle to battle. he is wounded twice severely, then i will get into the story how he is selected. it is extraordinary. then there is the story of how all these men and individuals come together. one in washington, dc, first

november 9, 1921, then they bring the most extraordinary individual, the unknown soldier, to his final resting place in arlington, virginia. let me go back in time and talk about these body bearers because this book is about the stories. it is about extraordinary stories. it is about extraordinary individuals that in many cases did the impossible. bookyou will see in this is individuals that had to overcome extreme hardship, talking about gas persistently, all the time as they fought, bodies that were covered with foughtd mites as they through combat because they were not able to change their uniforms.

they also had to battle and fight the greatest army in the world at the time, the german army. 1917e go back in time to when america was unprepared. america went from an army of 220,000 regulars to an army of over 4 million strong at the end of the war. it is an extraordinary story of need. in a time of great we mobilized. one part of the story is a forgotten story. that is the story of the navy, the american navy in world war i. wilsonh 1917, president had a real threat on his hands. german u-boats were sinking american shipping at an alarming rate. even before we entered world war i. there was a decision made to bring naval guards onboard merchant ships, to arm them with

typically five inch guns and give the merchant ship a crew of about 15 naval personnel. they are naval guards during one of those was james delaney. james delaney was a tough irishman from boston, massachusetts. his body was inked with the ships he served on, serving since 18. his life was the navy, and he was given command of a naval gun cam on the uss -- the ss pana, merchant ship. their journey in the summer was mid-summer andl they were making their way back to the united states, and all of a sudden a torpedo nearly hit the ship. it was then quickly followed by artillery fire. the men manned their guns and

began to respond. ewed by anwas cr expert, lieutenant captain dickman who had sunk 40 ships, na. no his prey was the campa they manned their guns and started to fire, but victor, the captain of the u-boat, was quite knowledgeable on these affairs and had sunk many ships. he stayed out of range of the campana's guns but it in suit a cat and mouse chase for hours. both sides fired their guns as the ship tried to flee the battle space. surrounds u-boat 61 are able to hit the side of the campana, one near the engine compartment. james delaney's men were firing so many rounds their eardrums again to believe, but they ran

out of ammunition and several of the u-boats' shells struck the campana. the captain on the campana decides to strike his colors and surrender his vessel. the u-boat moves in closely here they go by the actual rowboats, the crew and james delaney are in, nearly wiped them out as they go so close to it. now they have a boarding party that goes aboard the campana. they set several charges, but before they do that, they raid the food locker on board the campana, as life on a submarine was harsh. they only had canned goods or whatever they could bring on board once the journey began. the journey was also dirty and filthy. the engines on the u-boat 61 let off a lot of grace, and there was inside the boat something called u-boat sweat, literally

condensation inside the boat. it would get on the men's ,lothes, their coffee, food everything. remarkably the first thing they did was when they went on board was look for soap. they went for the soap and tried to clean themselves and got the food, and they also look for anything of intelligent value and detonated the ship and sank it. at that point the men including james delaney were brought on board. six were brought on board u-boat 61. the captain is a remarkable figure. he speaks perfect english and he begins to question james delaney. here is a meeting of two men. they both, they become i would not say -- there is a friendship formed, but there is a mutual respect that is formed including respect with the crews because

the men, james delaney's crew and his men endure what the men of the u-boat indoor. if you have ever seen the movie das bot, it is a world war ii version of a u-boat undersea. this is a world war i dos boat -- das boat. they are deft charged. they have to endure what is known as a q boat, the the allies have, disguised as a merchant ship but is designed, as in of the u-boats surface, to reveal hidden guns and attack the u-boat. they go through a minefield. it is an extraordinary story. i will not tell the entire story , but i will tell you at the end of the voyage, both crews lined up for a photo.

what james delaney did not know and the other americans that day was u-boat 61's crew were all walking dead man because within a matter of weeks or months, they would never be seen again. this is the powerful story that is inside the unknown that took me years to unearth, including here. some of these stories were found ase in the national archives i unearthed them. is the incredible story story of the 49th company of the marine corps. the helmet to me is the 49th -- not the 49th. secondhe 205, the battalion, fifth marines. their story really begins at bella would which happened 100 years ago to this day.

i mentioned the epic charge on june 6 where the men -- this was world war i d-day that no one has heard about unless you are in the marine corps or a world war i buff. this is where the marine corps advance over several fields under heavy machine-gun fire. what happened before that was extraordinary. at the end of may, early june, the germans had launched a major offensive geared at rome -- sorry, paris. they were breaking through the french lines. literally the french army was melting away. how ithives talk about was like water on a hot iron. it was evaporating. the french army was evaporating. men from the 49th company and 25, the second division were all being trucked as quickly as possible along with the third division of the u.s. army into

the vortex of battle to hold the line at all costs. these were the only reserve units at the time. they were in many cases super divisions. the u.s. divisions were twice the size of a french division , muchmetimes more, larger more larger than a german division. they were rushed to the front. as they were in their trucks or camions, they saw french civilians passing them by an french, french members of the army, throwing down weapons saying the war is over. these men pushed forward into the front, and it was here that lloyd williams from 25, the men set up behind parts of the french army near bella would. was made by colonel preston brown, chief of staff for the second division, the french wanted to immediately

commit the marine corps and army piecemeal, thrust them into the line. he insisted they be able to dig in behind the french in shallow wait.es and weight -- this potentially helped save the war because the marines and army were ready. if the german army advance over the wheatfields, the french were clearing -- fleeing. according to the marine corps' lore and other documents, lloyd williams was confronted with this dilemma, and he said we just got here. they began to fire with their rifles, accurate rifle fire. most marines were marksmen. they took down the germans. they stopped them and on june 6, the allies go on the attack.

the french order them to push forward. it is janssens company, the 49th company which i followed through the entire war is advancing through the whitfield -- the wheatfield. hill against all odds. many of these men are killed as they cross the wheatfield. they take the hill, janssen survives. he is badly wounded but survives. he is able to disrupt the attack. these men fight. the 49th company fights through the entire war. they are in the major battles the aef fights in. it takes about three weeks to clear bellau wood. what happens is a newspaper with the what happened chicago tribune is in the field as they advance on the sick. shot through the eye, but before he goes, he writes his report.

-- it is for been to provide any unit designation of who is in the field. believe lloyd williams is killed. he is shot through the eye, badly wounded. he is badly wounded, but they believe he is dead. they go ahead and say let the report go through, which identifies the marine corps. all of a sudden the papers all read the marine corps helped save france, and paris. the army as well, but it creates a sensation. it goes viral. what happens is belleau wood, instead of just a local attack, takes on nation significance. the germans see the papers, and they rush their best units into belleau wood to try to crush the marine corps. over the course of three weeks, there is very heavy fighting and casualties, but ultimately the

marine corps and the army prevail at belleau wood. and the 49th company continues to advance. , you know, in a place that is a turning point in world war i, where the allies go on the counterattack or counteroffensive. they are able to turn the tide of battle. and the germans, the war is changing, changing nature of the war. the 49th fight through another l where thean migue americans go on a true offensive to take down the germans. several of the body bearers are involved. one of my favorite stories is a forgotten battle the marine corps fought in. it was one of their bloodiest, even in some cases more bloody than june 6. ockmonta place called bl

ridge, where the french want to take this impregnable fortress. here -- it is called that because the face of the mountain is white. white mountain. it shows, but white mountain was deceptive in the sense it was ringed with machine guns as, machiney -- nests, positions. they had tried to take this, and nothing worked. there were bodies all over the place. there was an attack only days earlier. the french army failed to take it. they called in the second division as well as the 49th company and marine corps. what they were a part of. here was also another member of this book, edward younger, the chicago in.

-- chicagoan. many of these converge on blanc field artillery, combat engineers. there's always converge as they attack this seemingly impregnable position. they have to go across a mile of open ground. the bodies of the french are littering the area. they literally go by one of the positions which was shaped in a phalanx or arrow. it is all dead frenchmen. there was one with a beard, a large richman with a beard that has his eyes wide open with his bayonet pointed at the germans in horror. they passed them and continue to attack. it is a remarkable story. the seize blanc mont on first day and go over the ridge the next day and continue to fight in a position known as the

box. it was a natural kill zone the germans had created, and men of the 49th company were stuck in this position and were shelled mercilessly with high explosives , gas.ine gun bolts they were in this position as they tried to attack the german line. it is an extraordinary story of heroism and courage when an many cases they are outnumbered and they hold and eventually the position is consolidated. one of my body bearers, the native american, thomas saunders , is pushed into the line as a scout. he scouts into the early position, to penetrate the wire again. these are just some of the stories that are in the book. and i think saunders is an extraordinary story.

t deeceives the french croi guerre in the attack at blanc mont ridge. americans were unfortunately subjected to many of the stereotypes in world war ii era they were looked at as amazing warriors. in that sense we were given -- they were given some of the most assignments and saunders was an exception. he was given the assignment of doubt in this position at -- scout in this position at blanc mont ridge but also a wire cutter, breaching a whole -- hole in the wire to allow the rest of the infantry to go through. going back a month at san mig

uel, he was told to breach the wire there across no man's land. i can't imagine this, going withs no man's land alone maybe a partner, one man, and they were given the wire cutters to cut a hole, this forlorn hope to breach a hole in the wire. they make it through the wire, and they are the closest, they advance further than any other allied troops. they keep pushing forward, and they were able -- it is quite extraordinary. they make it to a german headquarters position in a castle, deep behind german lines. they are able to capture 63 german soldiers single handedly through their efforts. these are the stories that are in the unknowns. i will talk about one more story in the book, and that is the lee o'connorles

who is also with the navy. charles lee o'connor is given one of the lowliest jobs, a water tender on the uss mount vernon. captured vernon is a german jet vessel. in world war i we had very little american shipping. it was diminished. it was almost at civil war levels in some cases. there was a great need for shipping. we needed to take the american troops and army over to france. there was a race to quickly build ships, but another thing that is curious that isn't really documented in many places is there were a number of german to find safetried harbor in the united states at the beginning. they knew the united states was a neutral nation. they were afraid of france and england's navies that they crossed the atlantic, so they

tried to find safe harbor in the united states. one of those was the ss crown prince cassell. it was a german vessel that was nearly the size of the titanic. it was an ocean liner, but the german vessel also had a hidden secret. it was carrying millions of dollars of gold bullion from germany. they captured -- the ship goes into bar harbor, maine, and it is seized by the government. the crew and passengers are returned. for a year the ship languishes, and it is too tempting of a target. the ship is along with all the gold. ussship is renamed the mount vernon, a navy ship, troop transport. charles lee o'connor is assigned to the ship. it makes all the voyages across

the atlantic. in september 1918, they are acrossthe fifth or sixth here they are carrying troops from the american expeditionary force that are wounded. they are carrying a congressman, but they are also carrying the plague, influenza running rampant across the decks of the uss mount vernon. things look good in the sense they have somewhat contained the virus even though many of the crew members are falling victim to it. the voyage looks good on the way back. they have never had hostile and ready until this point, then that morning, there is a rainbow. to the experienced mariners of the mount vernon, it is an ominous sign. literally sure enough an hour later, a torpedo slams into the side of the mount vernon, rupturing a massive hole in the

boiler where charles lee o'connor is tending the boilers. he is shoveling coal. his body -- mountain of a man, massive, big, built, shoveling coal every day in this hot furnace like hellish environment of the mount vernon. thousands, tens of thousands of gallons of water are rushing in to the compartment. his body is nearly burned alive by the boiler, the cinders coming out. he is being hit by massive amounts of water. he has got to make a split-second decision. there are men inside the compartment. there is water tight door that needs to be closed. , does heave his life save the men in the compartment, or does he save his ship? that is the dilemma i will leave you with. [laughter]

patrick: you will have to read the book. but these men all come together. they come together on the field of battle and in some cases the final night of the war four of these body bearers come together. they also come together november 1921, to bring back the remains of the unknown soldier. the unknown soldier in world war soldier is notwn our own concept. france and england were the first. and in 1921 they established tombs of the unknown soldiers to honor all that had fallen. it was an opportunity to recognize all that had fallen. it was an opportunity to provide closure for those nations and the sacrifices they had made. we did not have one in the

united states. there was a hope all 2200 americans unidentified or unknown could be identified. the army blissfully believed that was possible. it was not until 1920 that an editor from a very popular women's magazine, marie maloney, who was the editor of the via --ted or -- billion , suggested we need an unknown soldier, representing all those who have fallen from the american revolution to world war i to provide closure. it is about who we are as americans. she was able to convince the war she createdut also a movement. the new york times picked up on the story, the ap, and a young congressman named hamilton fish from new york city, who was a white officer in what was known as the heartland -- harlem hell

fighters, a segregated unit that fought bravely and heroically in france, fish decided it was time to recognize his men and all of those who had fallen in world war i and spearheaded a campaign to get through the tomb of the unknown soldier. got through the funding and the bill. president wilson signed it. year goes by, it is 1921. the four major cemeteries in france which contain unknown soldiers, the remains are removed from each of the cemeteries. at belleau wood, at san miguel, where saunders and all the others fought, at the muse ar gonne, the somme, the four remains are removed, they are checked to make sure there are no dogtags, letters, diaries, anything to identify these individuals. then at that point that

registration people burned the tickets that revealed where these individuals were actually removed from, so it is impossible to identify who these individuals are. the four remains are brought back to another place in france where a french honor guard greets them along with other dignitaries. they are placed in city hall. they are flag draped, and there is a procession. the next day, the unknown will be selected. the plan is initially to have a general officer from the united , the make the selection last second though, the french , a, we use the regular grunt man that just had been through the trenches, that had been through this hell. there were six men escorting the

body tonight including edward younger from chicago. each of these men had revealed their records of service during the war, and that night edward younger was selected to choose the unknown soldier. and hadup that morning this awesome responsibility on his shoulders. the man that had been through voe,ninth infantry near near belleau wood the attack, the final day of the war where they crossed the river, this doughboy that had seen it all was given a bouquet of white roses. chopin's funeral dirge was playing in the background. the floor of the room was littered with white petals, and edward f. younger slowly walked into the room and nervously

wasn't sure who to select. he made a quick prayer. i found the original notes and typewritten account at the national archives and personnel records center, which reveals exactly what he felt and how he nervously inlked between the caskets. he looked at the flag and said, that was sublime. his hand, his hand was guided towards one casket. it was an almost immovable action. he was guided there. he felt the man in the casket was somebody he went over the -- with you that man, that new that man. at that point the selection was made. the body was moved to le havre,

france, where the great ship, the uss olympia, was waiting. the men brought the casket on board the uss olympia, and the olympia made the voyage across the ocean, the atlantic, to the washington navy yard, right here it appear. the p or is still -- right here at the pier. the pier is still here. the eight body members -- eight body bearers assembled and removed it. the photo on top is this exact moment i am describing. the casket was greeted by the body bearers, general pershing, president harding and other dignitaries. it was brought to the rotunda where it lay in state. then on november 11, the same warshe war to end all ended, november 11, the body was

removed by the body bearers, on -- on the same case caisson that carried president lincoln, and they made the journey on foot to arlington national cemetery. here in this procession was a remarkable procession. all of the medal of honor recipients from world war i were there. the men, many of the civil war veterans that had received the medal of honor were present and walking in procession. president harding was there, wilson was there, general pershing, who was supposed to be on a white horse, decides to walk as a common mourner behind the casket. the men bring the casket to arlington. to bring this is meant groups in the united states together. history is meant to heal. the great stakeholders in the country, the in the blaze ep,

members of various government and even the french, all common. they present their finest honors, their greatest metals. the medal of honor is presented to the unknown. words are said. the body is brought to arlington cemetery and is lowered into the ground in one of the desk and one of the final people to speak is an american indian, a chief. it is meant to heal. the entire moment, a man that .ad fought the u.s. government thomas saunders, whose father had fought and grandfather had thought the united states government who now served, were laying to rest in our greatest memorial, the unknown. dirt was shoveled from france into the open hole, and the body

was laid to rest. this is our greatest war memorial. this is who we are as americans. it is also about a forgotten generation. the world war i generation that changed and remade the world, and that is why i wrote the unknowns. thank you very much. [applause] patrick: i will be happy to take your questions. [applause] >> if you have questions, please go to the microphones. >> very good talk, thank you. am i correct in saying that the supposedly unknown soldier from vietnam was subsequently identified, right, in the 1990's through dna testing?

is there any chance that could happen with the supposedly unknown soldier from world war i? fromck: the unknown vietnam was identified. they felt strongly that individual was their son, and dna analysis was performed, and he was re-interned with full military honors and identified. i think it is unlikely that there is, you know, proper dna and the database to identify the world war i, there is possible contamination, degradation, a lot of issues. the biggest thing is, this is a national symbol. it is who we are as americans. it is why we fight. it represents who we are. i don't think -- i think that is why it is. >> thank you. patrick: yes. >> congratulations on your

for savingess and this part of our military history. my question is in particularly to the unknowns but does your book make any mention of the legendary fighting 69th infantry regiment were receiving that medal of honor -- he would go on to lead the officers' strategic services, predecessor to the cia? patrick: it does. some of the greatest heroes brought them home but it also includes the greatest heroes of the war. york,ncludes sergeant whittles be, and the fighting 69th. the 60 -- they fight in his area ne, thisn the muse argon is america's largest battle and one of its most bloody. if you picture the opening scene of siding -- saving private

ryan, that is what they had to go through. they were bunkered, machine guns, barbed wire and across it, colonel donovan, many of these other extraordinary individuals had to cross this field. they are taken out in many cases. it is very tragic. donovan is shot in the leg. the book chronicles his experience there. what is extraordinary and interest in is this experience changes his life. assaults, heontal feels there is a better way that will cost less lives. in world war ii general donovan 's first the coordinator of information, which is the precursor, predecessor of the oss, which is a predecessor which most people don't realize.

it is a predecessor to most special operations forces. this is borne in the trenches by general -- born in the trenches by general donovan. it comes from his experience in world war i. if you look at the u.s. army special operations forces, the green berets, their direct heritage comes from the operational groups and the others in world war ii. many of these are donovan's ideas himself. the oss maritime unit is the navy seals. i wrote a book called the first seals which chronicles their extraordinary story where a medical student from the university of pennsylvania who tinkers in the summer with old asked masks and bicycle pumps -- gas masks and bicycle pumps comes with a rebreather for the united states. the navy seals are born in a

pool at a hotel a few blocks away from here which was a large indoor pool. they test the rebreather. hmgntist from hollywood, woolly, who is a screenwriter for paramount but also a commando and liaison officer with the british government. they come together, and eclectic group that developed the first seals. it is extraordinary. taylor survives a german concentration camp after he parachutes behind the lines. oss is a storye hidden in the national archives. i spent 20 years digging through literally cubic miles of records , some that had never been seen since the war to reveal these extraordinary stories. can you talk about the

? adition of the silent guard was that done simultaneously when the soldier was rested, or what is the background? i,rick: after world war there was not a tomb guard. it was basically the tomb was there, people could picnic there and vandalized it. in the 1930's there was a tomb guard. i think it is better if i let one of the people that are some of the finest americans sort of answer that story. richard, would you take that on? >> [indiscernible] when it started, was a tradition from europe? it was mentioned about wrench and british had unknown soldiers? >> [indiscernible]

is american, that the idea of an unknown as patrick has mentioned started with france, britain, and then the united states. other countries followed as well , but the tomb guard as you see it is strictly an american tradition, and it is united states army. it begins just as patrick mentioned. at first there was no need for any protection, but as time went on, people began to treat it as a place to visit and then picnic and even sit on it. it was one gentleman, a navy officer, witnessed it, literally went over to the white house. back then you could go visit the president. he said a few things to him which started the guarding process, first civilian guard and then the united army is chosen to take over the military

honor guard. >> what year was that? >> 1937? >> 1936. >> i have the former sergeant of the guard -- >> the first civilian guard was 1925, military 1927, started 24 hours. patrick: it is important to recognize this is a 24 hours a day, seven days a week activity in any weather situation. can you sort of describe the things you endured that even a beast -- into what it is like to be a member of the honor guard tomb of the unknown soldier. i was there from 1963 to 1965. , andave intensive training that is intense in many

different levels, mental, emotional, physical. but then they prepare you for what you will experience, what they think you will experience while you are on the match. it is what happens to you out there that really starts to shape you finally as what we refer to as tomb guards. be, as patrick reminds me, i had an occasion walking in the summer, hours, as i was beginning to cross the match, i was stung by a bee on my ear. as i mentioned to patrick, i have never experienced pain like that then or ever since. my head literally exploded with pain but because of the kind of training that you have, and you have a very profound understanding of who you are and what you are therefore, you don't rate.

we take great pride in the fact we never break, and we never quit. day,e there 24 hours a seven days a week. having said all that, there is two things i would like to say. whatis nothing compared to our men and women experience in combat. as tough as it gets out there and challenging, and the second thing and most profound thing is it is not about us. we are representatives of the american people. what is going on out there and what this is really all about is the sacred duty of the american people to never ever forget those web served and sacrificed -- those who have served and sacrificed. we will never forsake those who were out there yet and we have not downed them. this is what it is about. it is what defines us. defines us as americans because what we really are projecting is the question of why.

what is it that connects us to those who serve today and those who serve in the american revolution? lincoln talked about it as his electric cord speech. it is the principles that define our founding documents. that connects us. that is what is going on out there. we appreciate the recognition for our service. we are proud of it. there is no mistaking that, but we are humbled by the trust. [applause] patrick: beautiful. i want to say, i met richard two weeks ago. i met him on a radio show. npr.s on he came up to me and said i would like to shake your hand. been wanting to shake your hand for two years. i am what, really? "i read your book, washington's

immortals." i was blown away, then he said, "i traveled by an old house every day, and that old house contained one of washington's greatest immortals, watkins. 6'2"ns was a statuesque, in height, member of the maryland line that fought in every major battle of the american revolution andamericant in the american event in brooklyn where there is still a mass grave. " he noticed the name of the home in the book. it was a footnote almost. he did not realize it, but that was the house he had been passing every day for years. he went to the house. he went near the house, covered in brambles and bushes. there was his grave that had been hidden in plain sight.

history in plain sight for all these years. he organized an eagle troop and others, and on memorial day we went home and we talked, we spent time with watkins. we honored his grave and the eagle scouts erected a flagpole. that is what this book, the unknowns and washington's immortals is all about. it is about who we are as americans and recognizing history and the back story behind history we passed every day. i will take the next question. >> i enjoyed immensely learning all about the tomb of the unknown. someone else had about the same question i did. you mentioned four unknowns. this gentleman picked one. what happened, where are the other three? patrick: they have been reburied. they are marked as unknown soldiers that were part of that

ceremony. they are in france. they are all in the same place in france, and their graves are next to each other. yeah. , have not visited their graves but they are still there. >> thank you. patrick: thank you. we have one more? we are out of time? thank you very much -- [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2018] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] announcer 1: our nine week 1968, america in turmoil, is available as a podcast. you can find it on our website

c-span.org/history this is "american history tv" only on c-span3. announcer 2: sunday night on afterwards, political commentator amanda carpenter discusses her book gas lighting america, why we love it when trump lies to us. she is interviewed by daily news columnist [indiscernible] >> and then suspense. he made suspense. all the time i have investigators going to hawaii. there is a report coming soon. he has suggested there was a videotape coming. that generates more media interest. let see what he has to say and see if something comes up. it never comes up. then he selects a detractor to attack. >> at this point people say, we think donald trump is lying. i am not lying, other people are just talking about this. i am just looking into it. anybody that pops up, loser,

crazy, hack. if he can find a target, that is when it starts to create a dynamic. then finally he deserves retreat. >> like he did with the press conference at the trump hotel in these the -- in the sea. you can look at my dutiful new hotel. he essentially said yes, barack obama is a citizen, i cleared it up, i am the winner but hillary clinton started it. i finished it. announcer 2: watch afterwards sunday night at 9:00 eastern on c-span 2's "book tv." week "americanch s" "reel america" provides context for issues. today the united states,

keenly aware of its role as leader in the free world, has allied itself with other nations dedicated to the preservation of peace and the welfare of mankind. our big picture camera today focuses on one of the most important of these alliances. as our guest narrator, the distinguished news analyst edward r. murrow tells the story behind nato, the north atlantic treaty organization. ♪ narrator: the war came to an end. ♪ this had been the price of europe's unpreparedness. but in may 1945 our hard-won peace seemed secure. ♪ narrator: a few days before,

allied forces from the west joined hands with russians from the east. their statesmen met cordially at yalta. they agreed the countries they had occupied should be truly liberated and freely elected government should be set up as soon as possible. the countries of western europe and scandinavia were free and independent. when a country is occupied by russia, stalin had other ideas. europeout eastern elections were held, but the russians had placed the communists in key government positions and in the secret police. within a short time the non-communist leaders had been liquidated. russia had swallowed up eight european countries without firing another shot other than those of the execution squads. great britain and the united states are tested that these countries had been coerced by

threat of force and russia had broken her treaty, but russia ignored the protests. stalin knew the greater part of the allied forces had gone home, leaving their yard -- arms to rest in the fields of europe. in the west men were impatient to be demobilized. the war was finished and they had other work to do. ♪ narrator: but the russians have not demobilized. they retained the largest or seeing europe. -- force in europe. men in theup of kremlin had long ago dedicated themselves to the spreading of communism by all possible means.

they knew an army can be used not only to fight wars, it can be used to intimidate. to the south lay two more possible victims, grace and turkey. in march 1946 the russians announced their treaty with turkey. they offered to renew it if the turks would give up part of their territory and allow the russians to establish aces controlling the bosporus and the dardanelles. the turks refused. communists had already started civil war. russia was sending arms to the neighboring satellites take to bring bitterness, despair and death to the greek people. ♪ narrator:

in march 1947, the president asked the united states congress in a historic speech to modify its traditional policy of neutrality. >> i believe it must be the policy of the united states to support free people resisting subjugation by foreign minorities or outside pressures. this and otherh american history programs on our website, where all of our video is archived. that is c-span.org/history. history,n lectures in university of connecticut professor teaches the class about the reconstruction era of the civil work. she outlines ways historians have interpreted the time, whether it is the rights granted under the new