oxycontin was reformulated, drug cartels started bringing heroin portended ait business model. >> yesterday, president trump presented the medal of honor to retired marine corps sergeant major john canley for acts of bravery in the vietnam war. this ceremony is 20 minutes. >> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states accompanied by sergeant major canley, retired. ♪ >> let us pray.

god, spiritholy rolled unto every breeze. this ceremony awards the medal of honor to sergeant major john canley. we call on your presence, lord, as we remember those days of fierce combat which the sergeant major and his marine corps combat team fought for their lives, and the crucible of the vietnam war. with knowledge unto each other and you that fear in those days

of action and intense, sustained fighting, are echoes of a battle long forgotten. hundreds of skirmishes and ofbats, and the traditions things endured, accomplished, even of battles yet to come, as regiments endowed forever. highgreat humility and respect, lord, we turn our heads to sergeant major canley and others so described in the citation. we are forever grateful for their sacrifices to our nation. in your province, we pray for all of your guardians on watch today. courage and strength to them is a protect our country. finally, righteous god, in this medal of honor testament, the fidelity and courage of sergeant major general canley may be where our country may find unity in the home of the brave. amen. pres. trump: thank you very

much. thank you. and thank you, chaplain. appreciate it. please sit down. pence, thankt mike you for joining us at today's ceremony. this is always one of my favorite events. i like brave people. we need them right here. marines ago an american fought with unmatched bravery in one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the vietnam war --the battle of wahuey city. the name of that man is sergeant major john ca canley. [applause]

pres. trump: i think you like him. today we proudly award john the congressional medal of honor. [applause] john's family is with us to pay tribute, his and patricia, along with his two grandchildren. thank you for being here. appreciate it. [applause] also with us is john's cousin, who has always

been like a brother to him. james canley. thank you very much. stand up, james. [applause] we are grateful to be joined by deputy secretary of defense patrick shanahan. thanks, patrick. the secretary of the navy, richard spencer. [applause] pres. trump: chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, general joseph dunford. [applause] hey john, there are some pretty big people up here when you are that. these are the biggest. these are the biggest, john. former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, peter pace. thank you. thank you. [applause] pres. trump: commandant of the marine corps, general robert kneller. thank you.

[applause] robert.ump: stand up, stand up. thank you. sergeant major of the marine corps ronald green, and -- [applause] stand up. [applause] pres. trump: it is like old .amily, he is doing a fantastic job. four-star general john kelly. stand up. [applause] pres. trump: and thank you as well to congresswoman jody a brownlee -- soanya brownlee. thank you.

beare especially thankful to joined by five previous medal of honor recipients. barnum,allard, harvey roger donlon, thomas kelly, and brian thacker. [applause] pres. trump: sergeant major john canley was born in caledonia, arkansas, in 1953. hishe age of 15 he used brother's to enlist in the united states marines. we did not know that, john? [laughter] ins. trump: john served

south korea and japan before shipping off to vietnam for five years of intense combat. 1968, vietnamese families gathered to celebrate the lunar new year known as tet. in the midst of the celebration, thousands of north vietnamese communists launched surprise attacks all over and throughout the country. this became known as the tet offensive, one of the largest enemy offensives that we have ever seen, and certainly of the vietnam war. the first day the communists seized control of a vital american stronghold, hue city. johne time of the attack was a gunnery sergeant without the company, first battalion, first marine regiment. this company of roughly 150 marines was tasked to help take back the city. on their way the enemy attacked them with machine guns, mortars,

rockets, and everything else they had. was's friend, pat fraley, struck by a rocket explosion and was about to be run over by a tank when john charged through enemy fire and carried him back to safety. 50 years later, pat is here with us at the white house to honor the hero who saved his life. thank you for being here, pat. where is pat? [applause] pres. trump: that is great, pat. thank you very much. i knew you would have no problem getting up. early in the battle, john's commanding officer was seriously

wounded. command then fell to john, who quickly organized his men and led them through the fight. one of his fellow warriors who joins us today, john legato, said it you followed him because he is a true leader. he loved his marines, and we love him back. where is john? where are you? stand up. beautiful. thank you. [applause] pres. trump: thank you very much for being here. by the end of the day john and his company had less than 150 successfully pushed into the city that was held by 6000 communist fighters. in the days that followed, john led his company through the fog house,n and house to very vicious, there he hard

combat. and,lled enemy fighters with deadly accuracy, did everything you had to do. he raced into heavy machine-gun fire on many occasions, all to save his fellow marines. in one harrowing engagement after another, john risked his own life to save the lives of those under his command. during the fifth day of combat, john and his company were tasked with liberating the joan of arc school, which had become a strategic stronghold of the communist's control of the city. as soon as john's company arrived, communist forces unleashed their machine guns with tremendous velocity and violence. undeterred, john and his comrad, sergeant alfredo

gonzales, killed the enemy and drove them from their positions. the enemy did not know what the hell happened. maneuver,s daring sergeant gonzales was shot and killed, giving his life for his nation and his fellow marines. today we are honored to be joined by sergeant gonzales is 's who i just met and is incredible. maria. where is maria? there is maria. [applause] pres. trump: thank you, maria.

in this room had great respect for your son, you know that. thank you very much. we also joined by henry murphy, whose brother walter died fighting courageously in the battle of hue city. where are you, henry? please, stand up. [applause] pres. trump: we are eternally in your debt. sergeant gonzales and major murphy are heroes who will live forever in the hearts of all americans. thank you both very much for being here. thank you very much. on, sergeant raged fought his wayey into the joan of arc school. wentd his fellow marines room to room and brutal, close

quarters combat. john raced straight into enemy fire over and over again, saving numerous american lives and defeating a large group of communist fighters after an intense day of fighting. he and his fellow marines liberated the school. but john was not done yet. despite sustaining serious injuries -- very, very serious injuries -- he continued to face down the enemy with no thought for his own safety. john waged seven straight days of unrelenting combat, personally saving the lives of more than 20 marines. americanstles end, had defeated the communists and taken back the city. the bravere joined by marines who fought with valor in the battle of hue city. would you please stand? [applause]

pres. trump: you make us all very proud. thank you very much. sergeant major john canley continued to serve long after training thousands of marines in combat drills and overseas. at 80 years old -- you do not look 80 years old to me, looks like we could put him in right away and no one would know the difference -- that is really great. he still goes to the gym. i asked how he keeps in shape.

he said he still works out. he goes right to the base near his home in california and gives advice to young marines. john's fellow marines have described him as a marine warrior, and i can see it. he is bigger than life and beyond the reach of death. he is truly larger than life. it is because of your extraordinary personality and tong and whatever it takes, really do something very special for our country. america is the greatest force for peace, justice, and freedom the world has ever known. because of people like you, brave people but very few like you, john. it is now my incredible privilege to present sergeant

major john canley with the congressional medal of honor, and i would like to ask the military aide to come forward and read the citation. thank you. >> the president of the united states in the name of congress takes pleasure in awarding the congressional medal of honor to gunnery sergeant john canley for conspicuous bravery in the call of duty against the enemy. while serving as got a resurgent of out the carpeting -- as gunnery sergeant.

out the company fought off multiple vicious attacks as it moves along the highway toward hue city. despite being wounded in these engagements, gunnery sergeant repeatedly swept across terrain to carry his wounded marines to safety. after his commanding officer was wounded, he took command and led the company into hue city. caught in deadly fire, maneuvered with a platoon a flanking attack that eliminated several enemy positions. retaining command of the company for three days, he led attacks against multiple fortified positions while braving fire to carry marines to safety. he led a group of marines into an unlocked -- into an occupied building. enemy, fire, located the eliminated the threat, and expanded the company's hold on

the building room by room. large satchela charge forcing the enemy to withdraw. during a fierce firefight at a he twicecompound, scaled a wall in full view of the enemy to carry wounded marines to safety. by his undaunted courage, hefless sacrifice, and duty, reflected great credit upon himself and upheld the highest traditions of the marine corps in the united states naval service. -- and the united states naval service.

[applause] >> let us pray. almighty god, we give you thanks for all good things. and especially today for sergeant major john canley. anddevotion to his country his court may instill in us hope that we may bring the best out in each other, and also in our nation. according to thy will, a man.

men. >> amen. ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seats until the president has departed the east room. [applause] >> c-span's "washington journal," live every day with news and policy issues that impact you. weing up this morning, review role calls list of the most notable house incumbents. at youth voting and millennials in the 2018 midterms. as part of c-span's 50 capitals

maine's governor discusses the top policy issues affecting his state. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal," live at 7:00 eastern this morning. join the discussion. americaneekend on history tv on c-span, saturday at 10:00 p.m. eastern, the 1968 broadcast, the nixon answer. i do not believe that nuclear bombs or weapons should be using the it not -- should be used in vietnam. i think weapons should be reserved only for what we hope will never,, and it will have to great confrontation with a nuclear power. tour theen, we will baseball americana.

at 8:00 on the presidency, former president george w. bush, cokie roberts, and friends reflect on the life of former first lady barbara bush. motto that you are going to be judged about the yourss of your life, by relationships with your family and friends and coworkers, and people you meet along the way. >> at the white house yesterday, president trump and member of his cabinet called for removing burdensome federal regulations to improve the economy. also at this event, a reporter questions the president about saudi arabia's role in the disappearance of jamal khashoggi. this is a half hour. pres. trump: thank you very