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performed by Master Sergeant . Page 

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rubble from the United States Air Force 

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band and the invocation delivered by 

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chaplain Colonel Eddie Kinley Junior . 

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Oh say can 

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by the dawn's early light . 

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What so proud 

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at the time lights last gleaming 

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whose broad stripes and bright stars 

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fight or the part 

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we want for so govender , 

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me streaming . 

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Oh , say does that star 

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spangled 

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or not ? 

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Mm Thank you . 

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Let us fervently bar heads for a word 

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of prayer . Eternal ! Heavenly father . 

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We have assembled here this morning in 

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the Hall of Heroes in remembrance of 

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the brave men and women offered their 

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service and sacrifice in defense of 

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this great country and her allies . Let 

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us not forget the 72,000 lost in World 

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War two 7000 missing from the korean 

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war in the 1500 in Vietnam who raised 

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their right hand , leaving behind 

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friends and families and loved ones . 

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We thank you that we can take a moment 

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out of the daily grind of our day and 

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reflect and remember the unsung heroes 

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who never returned home who never had 

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the opportunity to reunite and yet who 

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were willing to give their all and 

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sacrifice and service to the recipients 

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of the Land of the Free and the Home of 

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the Brave today . Oh God , we honor 

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their loyalty , courage and selfless 

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service today we remember and reflect 

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and for this we thank you Hear our 

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prayer . Amen . 

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Please be seated . 

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Ladies and gentlemen , General Daniel 

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Hokanson , Chief of the National Guard 

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Baru . 

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Secretary Austin , Ambassadors of our 

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partner nations . D . O . D . Leaders 

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and our distinguished guests today we 

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honor and observe P . O . W . M . I . A 

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recognition day . We ache with the 

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absence of those who remain missing . 

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We wrap our arms around the families 

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who bear the burden of dark and heavy 

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questions . We find strength in our 

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international partners and our shared 

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humanity for this solemn mission . We 

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seek solace in the timeless efforts of 

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compassionate professionals and service 

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organizations who refuse to rest until 

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every american comes home . But more 

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than that , we grapple with the 

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concepts of always and never . And the 

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murky spaces in between always 

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stretches beyond time . It's a promise 

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that transcends death . Never is also a 

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promise . It is definitive , Final and 

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unmoving . And the murky spaces in 

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between are the timeless questions . 

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What are the limits of human endurance ? 

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Where can we find peace ? Who can bear 

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the weight of uncertainty and how 

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long can hope survive ? My family 

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grappled with these questions in 

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November of 1967 , when they received 

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word my uncle was missing in action 

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after his infantry company was overrun 

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during the Battle of Doc toe in Vietnam . 

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For the families in this room and more 

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than 81,000 families still awaiting 

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answers . The questions stretch across 

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months , Years and decades . Some even 

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the better part of a century . 

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Sometimes the answer is the happiest 

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one . Your loved one is alive and 

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coming home to you . Sometimes the 

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answer is nothing but bitter grief . 

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But sometimes our loved ones remain 

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missing , denying us the promise of 

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always and never . These are the 

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service members and families we honor 

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here today . But our nation has made a 

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promise . If you pledge your life to 

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our nation , if you pledge your life to 

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our constitution , we will not leave 

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you behind . We will never leave you 

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behind . And that is why we continue 

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the search unyielding relentless across 

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distance and time to keep our promise . 

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Always , First Lieutenant James 

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Wright from lumber bridge , north 

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Carolina cared about others . His 

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family described him as handsome and 

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kind and deeply committed to his 

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community . He began his military 

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service as a member of L company 120th 

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Infantry Regiment , which is today part 

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of the 30th armored Brigade , combat 

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team of the north Carolina National 

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Guard . He transferred to the 5th 

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Infantry Division in 1942 , which is 

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how he ended up on the banks of the 

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Moselle River in France in September of 

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1940 for his regiment crossed the river 

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and took a position in the woods , but 

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after sustaining heavy losses , they 

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were forced to pull back a few soldiers 

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stayed behind a search for the wounded 

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and the missing , Remembering their 

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promise to leave no one behind . 

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Lieutenant Wright was one of those 

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soldiers after rescuing three wounded 

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soldiers on the german occupied side of 

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the river . Lieutenant right across the 

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river . One more time . He was never 

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seen again except never in this 

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case was not never last year , 77 

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years after his death along the Moselle . 

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Lieutenant Wright came home After an 

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anonymous burial in the Luxembourg 

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American cemetery . After research by 

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the 7th Armored Division Association . 

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After his remains were sent to the P . 

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O . W . M . I . A accounting agency 

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laboratory . After generations of 

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questions in the murky space between 

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when it right came home to lumber 

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bridge , he was buried at the Oakdale 

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cemetery in the community he loved and 

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nearly in sight of the home where his 

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family waited for his return 

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Nearly 4300 miles away . Lieutenants 

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right name is still on the walls of the 

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missing at the up and all American 

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cemetery in France . But now next to 

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his name is a rosette , a symbol the 

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missing has been found and that brings 

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us to the promise of always and never a 

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concept that is never far from those 

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who serve our nation . But when we 

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bring to the fore on P . O W . M . I . 

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A remembrance day , love is always 

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family is always duty , Service and 

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honor . They are always My 

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family's news . In 1967 was bittersweet . 

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Uncle Steve's battalion of 330 size guy 

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soldiers suffered 95 killed and 87 

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wounded at doc toe . After his company 

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was overrun , steve hidden . The north 

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Vietnamese occupied airy caring for his 

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best friend , robert Bly , who was 

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severely wounded when the U . S . 

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Retook the area steve was found alive 

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next to the body of his best friend . 

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Our family received the good news , 

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robert . Bligh's family received the 

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opposite news , but their son's name 

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lives on in my uncle's firstborn son , 

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My cousin robert Bly Hawkinson . 

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Because of love and because of our 

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family and because of duty , service 

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and honor . We never leave our fellow 

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service members behind . We never let 

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their memory fade . We never give up 

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hope and we never give up the search . 

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We always remember . We never forget 

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and we will never rest until every last 

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american comes home . 

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Thank you ladies and gentlemen , It is 

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now my honor to introduce the honorable 

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Lloyd J . Austin , our 28th Secretary 

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of Defense . 

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Well , thank you . General Wilkinson . 

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And good morning everyone . Thanks for 

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joining us for this important occasion . 

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I'm especially honored to welcome 

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Colonel Mike Brazelton 

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Brazelton , an 

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accomplished Air Force pilot who spent 

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more than six years in captivity in 

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Vietnam . Colonel Brazleton . Your 

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monumental courage and sacrifice 

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inspires us all . And I thoroughly 

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enjoy spending some time with you this 

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morning . There's a rumor out 

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there that Colonel Brazleton actually 

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conducted a parachute jump yesterday or 

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earlier this week . I confirmed that 

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that rumor is true . So he's still 

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still very active . I'd also like to 

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recognize your your daughter Adriana , 

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who's carrying on your legacy of 

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military service . We're also joined 

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today by ambassadors of partner 

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Nations whose support has been 

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invaluable in searching for and 

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recovering our missing missing . So 

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thanks to all of you for being here , 

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we are tremendously grateful for your 

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support and welcome to the pentagon 

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to the family members of those who are 

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still missing . You have shown an 

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unimaginable strength amid terrible 

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uncertainty and please know 

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that your loved ones are always in our 

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hearts and we are humbled by 

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your fortitude through the long years 

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of waiting . Every year on National P . 

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O . W . And M . I . M I . A recognition 

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day . We gather to honor american 

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service members who were taken captive 

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and to stand with the families of the 

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missing and the unaccounted for and 

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to renew our commitment to bring home 

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our missing heroes . 

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Just a few days ago , we saw how much 

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this solemn mission matters As one 

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American family got the chance to honor 

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the heroic service of a loved one 

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in 1943 . And in an Army Air Corps , 

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lieutenant colonel named Addison baker 

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was leading his pilots in a low flying 

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attack on enemy controlled oilfields in 

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Romania . As he neared his target , 

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the enemy hit him with an anti aircraft 

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shell . His plane was burning and 

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damaged and he could have chosen to 

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land . But Colonel baker 

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was determined to complete the mission 

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so he kept going until he hit his 

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target , but afterwards his damaged 

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plane tragically crashed into the town 

242
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below . The following 

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year , Colonel baker was posthumously 

244
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awarded the medal of Honor for his 

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valor and we're proud to have his name 

246
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on the wall right here in the Hall of 

247
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Heroes . Now the 

248
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department never gave up on recovering 

249
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his remains and nearly eight 

250
00:13:25,860 --> 00:13:28,370
decades after his daring mission 

251
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scientists at Offutt Air Force Base 

252
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used innovative forensic techniques to 

253
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identify him . And so this week his 

254
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family got to say a proper goodbye and 

255
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to bury Colonel baker at Arlington . 

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And we have some of Colonel baker's 

257
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family here with us . We welcome you to 

258
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the pentagon and I absolutely enjoyed 

259
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having the opportunity to meet with you 

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earlier today . Thanks for your 

261
00:14:00,800 --> 00:14:02,689
sacrifices , your patience , your 

262
00:14:02,689 --> 00:14:05,220
determination , your great example of 

263
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persistence . 

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We all know how much this moment means 

265
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to you and your family and we couldn't 

266
00:14:19,180 --> 00:14:21,660
be prouder to be here with you today . 

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So thanks for sharing this day with us 

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you now . Over the years thousands 

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of families have had the chance to 

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honor loved ones who have been in 

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prison or missing . And that's because 

272
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of the dedicated work by public 

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servants in this department and the 

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service organizations that work 

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alongside them . But we know that we 

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have more work to do . A lot more work 

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to do . As you heard . General 

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Hawkinson say earlier , more than 

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81,000 American service members and 

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civilians remain unaccounted for 

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And the experts that the defense P . O . 

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W . M . I , a accounting agency say 

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that nearly half of those may be 

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recoverable . This is a monumental 

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task , but it's also a sacred 

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obligation because everyone who serves 

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the United States military makes a 

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solemn commitment to this country and 

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their families do as well . And this 

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country makes a solemn promise to them 

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in return to provide the fullest 

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possible accounting for anyone who goes 

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missing in the line of duty . And it's 

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our solemn obligation to do right by 

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those who sacrifice to defend our 

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security and our democracy . 

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And so I'm incredibly grateful to 

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everyone who works so hard to honor 

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that commitment . Our experts said the 

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defense P . O . W . M . I . A . 

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Accounting agency work in 46 countries 

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and they painstakingly search for 

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remains and then use cutting edge 

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forensic testing and techniques to 

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identify the missing and our partners 

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around the globe lin vital support 

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including former foes that have become 

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friends and family and veteran 

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service organizations . Many of them 

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here today shine a spotlight on this 

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important cause and help us fulfill our 

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pledge to those who have served 

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these efforts combine innovation and 

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skill with compassion and unwavering 

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resolve all to ensure that 

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America fulfills the sacred promise . 

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Over the past year , the department has 

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identified more than 150 missing 

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individuals including Colonel baker 

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and behind each successful 

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identification is a family story . 

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These are stories of pain and 

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uncertainty , but also of hope 

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and endurance and relief 

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when long sought answers are finally 

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found . The black 

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and white flag that we fly in honor of 

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our P . O . W . And M . O . S . M . I . 

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S . Bears a simple but powerful message 

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to the families of those still missing 

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and to all those who serve 

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into our nation . And that message is 

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that we will never forget . We will 

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never give up hope and we will never 

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stop working to find answers and to 

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bring home are missing 

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and to all those who are taken captive 

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and have come home . You have born 

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unspeakable hardship with 

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resilience and patriotism . 

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We are enormously grateful 

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and to the families of the captured and 

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missing your strength 

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and your faith inspire us every day . 

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Thank you to all who sacrificed so much 

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to keep this country safe and to ensure 

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that we keep our most sacred pledge to 

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the men and women who serve 

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May God bless you and may God continue 

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to bless the United States of America . 

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Thank you very much . 

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We're all family members representing 

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prisoners of war and they're still 

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missing in action . Please stand to be 

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honored with a moment of silence . 

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Thank you 

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ladies and gentlemen , this includes 

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the Department of Defense 2022 P . O . 

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W . M . I . A recognition day ceremony . 

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Thank you for joining us today . Please 

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join us in the back of the room for 

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some refreshments