Bannon's War Room - Episode 4511： WarRoom Special： Live From West Point Cont.

00:00:00.720 Daniel Iscardo, James D. Justice, Brian A. King II.

00:00:07.240 What you see right there is the Corps of Cadets getting their diplomas, right, as cadets.

00:00:12.620 Let's go to Steve. We have a technical problem because there's so much trying to download at Mikey Stadium.

00:00:18.940 Let's go to Steve Gruber. Steve, your thoughts and observations about what you've seen in the ceremony

00:00:23.680 and, of course, the President's historic remarks, sir.

00:00:26.620 It is a stirring ceremony, to say the least, Steve.

00:00:31.660 It's been a wonderful day here.

00:00:33.700 President Trump very well received, by the way.

00:00:36.280 You've got the underclassmen down in the north end zone. 0.99

00:00:39.780 And it's pretty clear that they don't consider Russia to be the enemy, that they consider China.

00:00:45.160 That was one of the later comments in the speech there.

00:00:47.440 But, boy, did they boo China.

00:00:48.840 Not much of a response to Russia.

00:00:50.680 But they know what their assignment is, all of these people going forward, keeping America safe.

00:00:54.940 It's been a remarkable day here.

00:00:58.360 I was surprised.

00:00:59.460 It struck me, having come to Mikey Stadium here for a West Point graduation for the first time in my career,

00:01:07.940 the number of women here. 0.99

00:01:09.760 Of course, women joined West Point in 1976 after Gerald Ford signed them in.

00:01:16.000 119 women began this journey in 1976, and a lot of them here today, as you know, Steve, carrying with them the honor.

00:01:25.280 And there was one gentleman that Donald Trump, he called on a bunch of different folks graduating cadets out of the audience.

00:01:31.520 And they were very stirring.

00:01:32.900 He had a number of them come up to the microphone, but there was one that he called out, whose grandfather had served in World War I.

00:01:39.740 And his, maybe his great-grandfather, World War I, grandfather, World War II.

00:01:44.580 And his entire family, his mother and others, had graduated here.

00:01:47.340 His father died in service, 2004.

00:01:50.520 I think that was a particularly stirring.

00:01:51.900 And I think that it showed the emotion of this president, his connection with the military.

00:01:55.780 They feel a kinship with Donald Trump as their commander-in-chief.

00:02:01.140 And here come the helicopters overhead right now.

00:02:04.280 I think there is your 47th president flying over West Point.

00:02:11.500 A remarkable moment, Steve.

00:02:13.400 As Marine One exits the stadium, flying over and letting the cadets here know that the commander-in-chief is with them, I think it has been a remarkable day.

00:02:28.360 Steve, what was so amazing about his presentation, the president showed so much humanity about bringing cadets up and really bonding with the cadets.

00:02:37.980 And then geopolitically making a commitment that culture is destiny, our culture is winning, and we're not going to put people in harm's way, particularly these young second lieutenants, unless we are committed to win the military endeavors, the wars, and the conflicts we're in.

00:02:56.940 Your thoughts, sir?

00:02:59.220 I agree with that completely.

00:03:01.440 Let's reflect on Donald Trump's recent journey to the Middle East, to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.

00:03:07.980 His message as a candidate before November the 5th and through that journey last week and through today is a message of peace through strength.

00:03:17.460 We will have the most powerful military in the world.

00:03:19.060 We hope not to use it, but you, graduates here, 2025 of West Point, if we do go to war, you'll have the best equipment, the best ability to win, and we will win decisively.

00:03:29.140 We will not back down.

00:03:30.280 And again, I come back to the comments about Russia and China.

00:03:32.700 And Donald Trump asserting military strength, of course, coming up on June 14th, Flag Day, which is also the president's birthday.

00:03:40.440 He will be overseeing a military parade in Washington, D.C. to mark 250 years of the United States military.

00:03:48.340 So his kinship, like I said again, is reflecting his remarks, and you're right, the humanity that he brought by recognizing so many cadets and having them up at the podium with him and respecting them and the women that had had great achievement here today in recognizing those women.

00:04:05.200 And then Chris, Chris, who is quite an accomplishment, setting a new mark by 13 minutes, but then also being a century man.

00:04:11.560 And the whole crowd thought that was good fun.

00:04:15.020 The century men who, you know, maybe a little bit more problematic in their time at West Point, but recognizing that is humanity, too.

00:04:21.620 You've got people here that are, you know, they're not all the same.

00:04:24.680 They're from all walks of life, all corners of this country, and all willing to serve this great nation going forward.

00:04:30.060 And I think that was the remarkable thing here today.

00:04:32.020 It wasn't a traditional Trump campaign speech or a rally speech.

00:04:35.840 It was him connecting with young members of the military, these second lieutenants going forward.

00:04:40.940 And I think that he really commanded the audience here today.

00:04:45.860 Obviously, it's an audience that likes him, supports him, and as their commander in chief, are with him in that pursuit of peace through strength.

00:04:56.660 Now, talk about that.

00:04:58.480 Right now we're seeing, and on the screen you're seeing the graduates, the firsties.

00:05:02.980 This is really their last evolution as cadets.

00:05:06.000 They're getting the diploma.

00:05:07.100 They already heard from their commander in chief.

00:05:09.400 They will quickly, once they leave, they'll do the hat tossing, some other classic historic traditions that we'll see here in a moment.

00:05:18.140 Then they will go back to the barracks.

00:05:21.100 They will change out of their cadet uniforms.

00:05:22.920 They'll take photos of their family last time.

00:05:24.640 They will be in their cadet uniforms, and then they will change into their second lieutenant uniforms and then be sworn in.

00:05:32.960 They'll take their oath as officers, normally in smaller ceremonies throughout West Point today.

00:05:39.920 It's a very, very powerful moment for the families that have seen the struggle of these kids through the four years.

00:05:45.960 Or in Chris's situation, five years.

00:05:48.460 Talk about that for a second.

00:05:49.620 Chris had beaten the obstacle course at this nighttime run by 12 or 13 minutes.

00:05:55.160 And this is an international competition against Sandhurst, against, I think, St. Cyr in France, all the different military academies.

00:06:03.240 I think he broke that record by 12 or 13 minutes.

00:06:06.240 Then moments later, when President Trump is acknowledging the best and the brightest out of the Corps of cadets, he talks about the sentrymen, which I think have had 100 hours or something of marching for demerits, which calls up people like General Ulysses Grant, Patton, George Custer, Pickett, others who were at the bottom of the class, but great warfighters.

00:06:30.220 It was a great moment.

00:06:32.600 And then when Chris stood up, Steve, walk me through that.

00:06:35.080 When Chris stood up, Trump absolutely loved it, did he not?

00:06:45.220 Okay, we're getting Gruber's coming in and out.

00:06:48.200 Go ahead, sir.

00:06:49.380 Yeah.

00:06:50.400 Go ahead, sir.

00:06:51.160 I was going to say, Donald Trump had a great moment there calling Chris out.

00:06:55.620 Yeah, the sentrymen, the ones that spent the most time marching around the campus of West Point to atone for their bad behavior, I guess.

00:07:03.300 But let me tell you this.

00:07:05.280 I would put Chris in my foxhole.

00:07:07.940 I mean, a guy, he beat the international market by 13 minutes.

00:07:10.840 That's no small feat.

00:07:12.220 That's the guy I want next to me.

00:07:13.720 A guy who's got some courage, some guts, wanting to think outside the box.

00:07:17.240 And, hey, if he gets himself a little bit of trouble here and there, Donald Trump thought that was very humorous.

00:07:22.940 And so did we all.

00:07:23.580 But we all had a good chuckle out of that.

00:07:27.580 Steve, talk to me about the Corps of Cadets is in the – you see right there on the left-hand side of the screen, we have a split screen.

00:07:34.160 You see the Corps of Cadets, not the first.

00:07:37.000 He's not the greatest.

00:07:37.620 Corps of Cadets in white in the end zone.

00:07:42.220 Talk to me about the reception.

00:07:43.440 You know, all of those people are shocked that President Trump resonates so much with young people.

00:07:48.520 Obviously, the vote went his way with young people.

00:07:51.020 But talk to us about the reception.

00:07:53.280 You were there, the reception that the younger cadets had for President Trump.

00:07:57.420 Well, those younger cadets came in here very early, Steve.

00:08:02.200 They came in about 8 o'clock this morning, maybe a bit before that.

00:08:05.300 And that's back – and they're in T-shirts and short sleeves.

00:08:08.680 And it was raining, as I told you earlier.

00:08:10.840 They sat out there the whole time.

00:08:12.320 But they, by far, were the most vocal group in this entire stadium when it came to Donald Trump.

00:08:17.360 And I've said this before, and I think you could reflect on this a little bit.

00:08:21.060 I believe the younger generation right now is the most patriotic generation in many, many years.

00:08:27.700 Far more than the last couple when it comes to support of Donald Trump.

00:08:30.880 And I go back to things that are like the students at North Carolina and Alabama that went in and defended the American flag.

00:08:38.120 These were fraternity brothers and so forth that we saw on TV.

00:08:41.880 And that's reflected here in this group in the end zone here.

00:08:44.480 These younger cassettes very much identify with Donald Trump, very much identify with his America First agenda.

00:08:52.440 They are all bought in.

00:08:53.660 And you could tell every time that somebody said they were loud, they were vocal, they were supportive, they were patriotic.

00:08:59.160 They're the real deal here.

00:09:00.420 And I think that's an incredibly important thing you pointed out because this younger generation – you're right.

00:09:05.180 Younger people voted for Donald Trump.

00:09:06.480 And I can guarantee you the number of people voting in that end zone for Donald Trump, I don't know if it was consensus, but it would be darn close.

00:09:12.200 I can assure you of that based on the reaction.

00:09:14.100 Every time Donald Trump did something, they were cheering.

00:09:16.780 They were booing China.

00:09:18.180 They were cheering the idea of America having the best military.

00:09:20.560 And when you talk about increasing equipment and spending, and they were, like I said, by far the most vocal group in this entire stadium all day

00:09:27.560 were the young cadets down there in white on the split screen on the left there.

00:09:30.880 You can see them in the background.

00:09:32.680 And they are fired up for this America First agenda.

00:09:37.220 And so you'll see graduates out of that group over the next couple years.

00:09:40.240 They'll join the long gray line in the years to come.

00:09:43.300 And I can tell you right now, they have Donald Trump's back, but more importantly, Steve, they have America's back.

00:09:50.560 Steve, I think it's very important.

00:09:53.520 You see the tradition of the long gray line.

00:09:55.400 You're seeing the graduating class, the firsties of what they're called, the senior class, getting their diplomas now,

00:10:01.360 really the last evolution for them in this long four, sometimes five years, this incredible grind.

00:10:07.460 I can tell you through Mo's experience, it is a grind for these kids to get through all the military and the very high standard academics.

00:10:13.560 Academics, like I said, everybody either majors in engineering or minors in engineering.

00:10:18.300 So it's a very tough academic process.

00:10:22.560 I think what you're seeing, Gruber, is that the DNA of this country, the patriotism, and that's what's so important today.

00:10:29.260 And I think it's why President Trump wanted to come in that magnificent speech where he connected with the humanity of the core and the professionalism

00:10:37.560 and also had this kind of speech that laid out the fact that he wants peace and prosperity.

00:10:43.220 He will do this through partnerships, that it's peace through strength, and people will not – these dictators won't double-cross Trump

00:10:51.600 because that's why he had peace in his first term.

00:10:53.960 He didn't see Putin.

00:10:55.080 He didn't see the Chinese.

00:10:56.680 You didn't see Hamas.

00:10:57.720 He didn't see anybody trying to go to a violent conflict because they knew President Trump would drop the hammer.

00:11:02.900 But I think very, very important, this connection.

00:11:06.320 And Steve Gruber, let me have your comments before we go to break.

00:11:09.260 We've got a couple of minutes about these kids have been the ones that have come through an education system that has been total propaganda for them.

00:11:16.680 These are kids in their late teens, early 20s that are graduating.

00:11:20.400 Your thoughts, sir?

00:11:21.060 Well, and you make a big point there, but there's this evolution, this change of leadership, change in the commander-in-chief, certainly,

00:11:31.000 that is bringing back a more traditional education, dumping DEI and woke policies.

00:11:35.540 But I want to reflect a little bit on what you just said there, Steve, and that is Donald Trump's approach to diplomacy and peace.

00:11:42.280 He brought India and Pakistan to the table and said,

00:11:44.960 if you don't play ball and stop shooting at each other, we will remove trade from you.

00:11:49.760 So he used economic leverage to bring peace to that region.

00:11:53.080 He's willing to talk to anybody.

00:11:54.760 He's made that clear with his comments on Syria and Lebanon.

00:11:58.440 He will talk to anybody, even people that have been out of the League of Civilized Nations, if you will,

00:12:04.480 like Syria, has been out of the conversation for a good two decades.

00:12:07.860 He's inviting them back in.

00:12:09.180 And he gets criticized for that, and I don't think that that's a fair assessment,

00:12:14.220 because he's willing to talk to anybody, including the enemies of America, to say,

00:12:17.520 look, can we find common ground, when he went and crossed the DMZ with Kim Jong-un, comes to mind.

00:12:23.240 He's willing to go to places that American presidents have not gone in pursuit of peace,

00:12:27.580 but not without taking the big stick with him, as Teddy Roosevelt would say.

00:12:32.220 He takes the big stick and says, look, we have the American military.

00:12:34.780 We will do what needs to be done to protect this nation.

00:12:37.760 But he'll also put out the olive branch of peace in pursuit of a conciliatory world, a world of peace.

00:12:44.660 It's what he ran on, it's what he's trying to deliver, it's why he's working so hard with Steve Witkoff

00:12:50.380 and others to try to deliver peace in Ukraine, to try to deliver peace in Gaza,

00:12:54.980 to prevent wars between Pakistan and India, and to tell these recruits that we hope for peace.

00:13:01.380 We hope that you don't have to go fight wars.

00:13:03.500 We hope that the young man whose father died in 2004 in Iraq, that he doesn't have to see the same sort of thing.

00:13:09.060 But if it comes to that, he's willing to back them with the best equipment, the best training, the best education,

00:13:14.640 and without woke nonsense and DEI.

00:13:18.100 Yeah.

00:13:18.760 I think we can say we're going to go to a short commercial break.

00:13:21.100 I've got Steve Gruber at Mikey Stadium.

00:13:23.580 We have Patrick K. O'Donnell, the great combat historian, in studio.

00:13:27.760 We're going to be joined by a very special guest when we come back after break.

00:13:32.200 And I think we can say, and I think the Warren Posse would agree with this today, historic coverage.

00:13:37.060 And by the way, Real America's Voice is going to let us go past 12 noon as we incorporate all this,

00:13:41.920 including the classic hat toss at the end.

00:13:45.040 This is what we voted for, no doubt.

00:13:47.980 Short commercial break.

00:13:49.080 We're going to be back to the United States Military Academy, Mikey Stadium,

00:13:52.980 and our wall-to-wall coverage of the graduation of the class of 2025.

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00:18:04.320 Okay.

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00:18:08.660 We're in the M's, and they're ripping through this. 0.94

00:18:12.840 Got two lines going.

00:18:14.520 These are the cadets, the long gray line, getting their diplomas today.

00:18:17.480 Like we said before, this is their last evolution as cadets.

00:18:23.420 They will finish through the, we will do the, I think they're saying the alma mater.

00:18:29.080 Then they'll do the famous hat toss. 0.98

00:18:32.280 Then they will go and our coverage will wrap up after that.

00:18:35.740 And then they will go and change out of their cadet uniforms.

00:18:38.600 The last time they wear the uniforms as cadets.

00:18:42.600 Uniforms they've worn for four years, sometimes five years.

00:18:45.380 And they will change into their military uniforms as second lieutenants, and they will go have their bars put on them in their commissioning ceremony, which is done by family group and smaller groups throughout the day.

00:18:59.260 I think, have we lost, I think Mo took off to go down as a board member.

00:19:03.700 I think she's out doing her thing.

00:19:06.520 I'm still here.

00:19:07.040 Do we have Mo?

00:19:08.660 Okay, fine.

00:19:09.520 Any closing comments?

00:19:10.620 I know you've got to bounce.

00:19:13.240 Any observations on what you've seen today?

00:19:15.920 I mean, President Trump, the humanity he had with connecting, President Trump gave an address that was over an hour long, connected with the cadets, tremendous response by the parents and the Corps of cadets.

00:19:28.520 And then – but also gave a speech that had, I think, pretty big geopolitical impact, including on a day after he blew out 100 deep staters out of the National Security Council and sent them back to the Pentagon or sent them back to the CIA or DHS or Justice Department.

00:19:52.560 I actually think they ought to be sent home permanently, but that's a topic for another day.

00:19:56.800 Mo, your observations on what you saw today.

00:20:03.340 I thought it was a great speech by President Trump.

00:20:06.320 He addressed the Corps of cadets, not only the underclassmen that were sitting in the audience, but the graduating class, what he expected of them, and what he plans to do in these next four years for the military.

00:20:22.020 You know, he's going to make sure that they have everything that they need and that this is going to be the strongest military again.

00:20:29.140 You know, he rebuilt the military after President Obama weakened it.

00:20:34.240 He built it back up.

00:20:35.860 And he is going to do that again after President Biden.

00:20:39.980 And it pains me to say that word before Biden's name.

00:20:42.840 However, he is going to strengthen it again after this last four years.

00:20:47.920 So this class has a great commander in chief.

00:20:51.760 I'm truly honored to be here and to see them graduate.

00:20:55.140 And I also I thought it was great.

00:20:56.960 Not only did President Trump bring up athletes, he brought up the cadet whose father passed away in 2004.

00:21:03.720 That was very touching.

00:21:05.240 And the fact that his dad's class ring, part of it was melted into this current class's class ring.

00:21:12.980 So they will this entire class will carry a part of that.

00:21:15.980 Their classmates, their classmates, dad with them in their class ring.

00:21:20.220 And I also thought it was pretty cool how President Trump brought up that cadet that completed the ruck march in two hours.

00:21:27.040 And then when he asked for the cadets that were part of the century club, which for the audience, if they don't know, it's if you get in trouble and you're forced to walk hours inside, basically inside between the barracks, the asphalt.

00:21:43.960 If you have to walk there with your rifle for hours, depending on how many you got.

00:21:49.100 Or if you're a athlete like myself, I might have had to sit a few hours.

00:21:54.100 But for members that he asked to stand up, they had over 100 hours marching.

00:22:01.440 So that cadet that went up there that completed the ruck in two hours was also part of the century club.

00:22:07.060 So I thought it was pretty funny that President Trump had a comment about that in his speech as well.

00:22:14.340 No, it's amazing.

00:22:15.360 And also the other thing was the culture culture is destiny and the culture of winning is what he's trying to reinstall and reinstill in America and particularly at the academy.

00:22:26.740 He committed never to send these these young people into a conflict that he wasn't prepared to win.

00:22:32.820 And he talked about ISIS, which I was there at the time, and Obama told us to take a generation to destroy the caliphate.

00:22:39.760 President Trump destroyed it.

00:22:41.540 I don't know, in six weeks to six months, it was gone pretty quickly when people told us it would take decades.

00:22:48.600 Mo, any closing observations before you let your punch and we're going to get Steve Gruber up?

00:22:52.700 Let's go ahead and text Gruber.

00:22:54.500 Any closing thoughts, Mo?

00:22:55.520 You said President Trump has no plans to get us into forever wars again.

00:23:01.800 And I hope that this class does not have to live through a forever war like my class and many before me did.

00:23:10.900 And I believe in my heart that President Trump will make sure, like you said, that we do not get into any conflicts.

00:23:17.440 But if we must, that we will win those conflicts.

00:23:20.180 So I truly support our Commander-in-Chief, and I know these graduates do as well.

00:23:28.620 Mo, social media so people can follow your adventures throughout the day.

00:23:33.980 You can find me on Getter and Twitter at Maureen underscore Bannon and Instagram at Real Maureen Bannon.

00:23:39.080 I've been trying to post during my time at Mikey Stadium, but cell service has been spotty.

00:23:45.020 So I will get up my pictures and stuff after the graduation ceremony.

00:23:48.620 Okay.

00:23:50.180 Okay, Mo.

00:23:51.560 Good job.

00:23:52.500 Talk to you later.

00:23:53.380 Great job.

00:23:53.900 Thank you.

00:23:55.300 I want to thank Real America's Voice for letting us continue this coverage.

00:23:58.560 Right now, I think we're to the S's.

00:24:03.180 I think we're to the S's.

00:24:04.880 And going to the – these are the 1,000 cadets that are getting their diplomas.

00:24:09.100 President Trump spoke for over an hour.

00:24:12.080 And I think one of his best addresses I've heard, a mixture of high policy, direction of the country, what he's attempting to do, and had just tremendous humanity.

00:24:25.020 And I can tell you, as a parent that has been at one of these graduations, the connection he made with the class is what – you just sit there and go, the sacrifices these kids have made for the last four or five years, plus the sacrifices they're about to be made.

00:24:42.540 Remember, this afternoon they're going to be commissioned as second lieutenants right after graduation.

00:24:49.560 Do we have – can we let Steve Gruber text him and let's bring Gruber.

00:24:53.740 Gruber is actually on the field in Mikey Stadium.

00:24:56.600 I can say this, Steve, and I think it's a privilege and an honor to sit here and watch this graduation, 1,002 cadets.

00:25:04.840 They started with somewhere just shy of 1,300 when this class embarked on its journey to become the new leaders of the United States military and the United States Army.

00:25:15.080 And it really is a privilege.

00:25:16.220 I've never been to this event previously, and I feel honored to be here.

00:25:20.220 And I felt honored to see the President of the United States, who's obviously taking us on a different journey.

00:25:24.920 I heard you mention that he's going back to work more on the Ukraine-Russian war to see if he can bring some resolution to that.

00:25:32.280 And that was the message as he continues here today, is peace through strength.

00:25:35.760 And I think it resonated very well with the cadets here.

00:25:38.400 Of course, in a moment here we'll have the hat toss as tradition continues.

00:25:42.780 And tradition is a big part of what West Point is, obviously.

00:25:46.420 West Point has stood here since the Revolutionary War.

00:25:49.520 It's not lost on the people here.

00:25:51.420 It reflects in everyone that comes through this academy.

00:25:57.000 And you mentioned this, too, Stephen.

00:25:58.900 I think this is important.

00:25:59.660 These are the best of the best.

00:26:01.300 These are high-excelling students, athletes, leaders, people that have all the ingredients to be the next great leaders of the United States military,

00:26:12.060 maybe to be instructors here at West Point, maybe to lead America into battle, but maybe to lead us into the peace.

00:26:17.660 And, again, that was the message.

00:26:19.420 It has been the message on this president.

00:26:21.040 He does not want to be the president of endless wars.

00:26:23.360 He doesn't want to have folly.

00:26:26.820 He wants to talk to the countries of this world to bring peace through strength.

00:26:31.380 And he's willing to use levers that haven't been used in the past, economic levers, trade levers, tariff levers, to pursue peace.

00:26:37.740 And I think that is what is so special about this president.

00:26:40.740 I also heard you mention, Steve, that I was surprised by the number of women. 0.53

00:26:45.440 I was and I am.

00:26:46.820 I didn't realize that about 20% or 25% of this class are, in fact, women. 0.99

00:26:51.600 You obviously have a close understanding of that with Mo.

00:26:54.840 But for me, it was a revelation and a good one.

00:26:58.940 I certainly don't.

00:26:59.720 I would take anybody here in my foxhole, to be honest with you, as we head into this next critical phase of American history and world history.

00:27:07.820 Look, a lot of ignition points right now, be it China or Russia or Ukraine or Iran.

00:27:15.160 We have a lot of places where conflict could begin.

00:27:18.480 And hopefully this president heading back to work on peace can get us there.

00:27:24.860 But these cadets, they're here standing ready, willing, and able to do whatever it takes to defend this country in an America first world.

00:27:32.500 And God bless them for doing that.

00:27:34.560 And it is truly an honor and a blessing for me to be here today.

00:27:40.280 Steve, for the parents in the audience that responded so strongly for President Trump, I'd like your observations on –

00:27:48.500 he can't – oh, okay.

00:27:50.360 Steve, can you hear me?

00:27:52.140 Because I got a question about – he made a commitment.

00:27:54.980 I'm only going to send these troops in battles and wars are going to win.

00:27:57.820 I'm really peace through strength.

00:27:59.120 Okay, we don't have any return for Steve.

00:28:07.040 Let me go to Patrick O'Donnell.

00:28:09.060 We'll get Steve up in a minute.

00:28:10.300 We're having a text.

00:28:11.200 A couple points.

00:28:12.780 Obviously, it's a technical part.

00:28:14.200 Go ahead, Patrick.

00:28:16.100 Go ahead.

00:28:16.400 Steve, to springboard a little bit off of what Maureen mentioned about women in combat.

00:28:20.960 You know, West Point has a really rich tradition with women in combat, especially our first combat veteran.

00:28:26.360 It comes from the Revolutionary War, and this is a really great untold story that I uncovered in my next book.

00:28:32.420 It's Margaret Corbett who is in the paddle of Fort Washington on November 16, 1776.

00:28:38.600 The fort's surrounded, and they have the first Pennsylvania – they have a battery of cannon.

00:28:44.660 And she's next to her husband, and he is manning the gun, and he's wounded, and she takes over for him and mans the gun and keeps it firing.

00:28:53.140 But in the process, she's very critically wounded, almost to the point of a mortal wound.

00:28:58.480 And she recovers, but she is in the Corps of Invalids at West Point.

00:29:02.640 She is a member of the U.S. military at West Point during the war, and she is the first woman to receive a military pension from the United States government.

00:29:15.240 By the way, right there, I think that might be the tradition of the anchorman of last in the class.

00:29:23.840 And remember, some of the best combat leaders we've had have been the people that are at the bottom of the class.

00:29:29.200 In fact, I was at one of Moe's – her firsty dinner that starts the first year, and they had like two or three generals had shown up from Iraq and asked the cadets of the bottom of the class to stand up, the bottom 100.

00:29:44.840 And they said all three of us were in the bottom 100.

00:29:47.800 I think two were in the bottom 10.

00:29:49.600 And so the anchor – the traditional anchorman, which the tradition, I think everybody gives them a dollar as a kind of a tribute.

00:29:59.300 But these turn out to be some of the best combat leaders we have.

00:30:02.220 Patrick, talk about – I want to go back.

00:30:05.080 Why – you're the historian here.

00:30:06.960 Why has West Point been so central to – even before the academy was built, the reason the academy is built there is for a reason.

00:30:15.380 Why was it so important for General Washington and the revolution to the degree that Benedict Arnold made a deal with the British behind the scenes under the table to give it back to them?

00:30:27.100 What is it about West Point that was actually almost legendary even before the academy came in 1802?

00:30:36.960 The key is the Hudson River.

00:30:38.660 Basically, whoever controls the Hudson River would control – be able to divide the colonies, a large portion of the northern colonies and part of the southern colonies from New York.

00:30:49.100 And if you recall back in 1777, the British plan was to divide that by coming down from Canada.

00:30:58.080 They met at Saratoga, but there was a plan potentially to have a force, a larger force come up and meet them.

00:31:04.900 And, you know, Lord Howell went over to Philadelphia instead.

00:31:08.320 But a smaller force did come up, and they defeated some of the small forts that were there.

00:31:13.340 West Point becomes kind of the linchpin of those defenses, guarding the Hudson River.

00:31:18.240 They have this massive chain that they build to blockade the river from British ships from going up.

00:31:25.060 And then West Point and other forts in and around the area are the absolute key to the defense.

00:31:31.920 And, you know, basically they strengthened those defenses after the Battle of Saratoga, which is a glorious American victory, which leads to French involvement.

00:31:41.020 And then they strengthened the forts up at West Point and others to prevent the British from, you know, potentially taking over the Hudson River.

00:31:50.160 Patrick, you talk about the Hudson River.

00:31:53.840 When people go – and I just want to describe it to you – you go across the famous plains of West Point.

00:31:59.480 And that is not to be walked on or stepped on by any civilians, only cadets and members of the military.

00:32:06.920 This is kind of sacred space.

00:32:08.300 And the reason – this is where the Continental Army was really hammered in to being by Polish officers that had come. 0.95

00:32:19.420 And Washington had felt that they had the drill – they really understood the drills that were needed by European armies to instill.

00:32:29.280 But when you're there, it's actually – you're looking down and it's like a mountain gorge.

00:32:33.900 The Hudson River, this is not like around New York.

00:32:37.320 As you get up to Hudson at West Point in this big turn it takes at West Point to go up, you're literally in a mountain gorge.

00:32:43.520 West Point is on a very high cliff where the plains is that looks over this.

00:32:47.980 At the bottom, you're right, and people almost think it's like insane.

00:32:52.000 They put a chain – they put a chain, a shot of chain across the entire river to essentially block – try to block the British from coming up. 0.95

00:33:01.420 And this is one of the whole reasons that Benedict Arnold – it was such a strategic location because it's really the high ground on the Hudson.

00:33:09.400 And the Hudson was considered the central – at least in the beginning of the war, the central zone of conflict because to control the Hudson,

00:33:17.980 you would break off the more radical New England and particularly the John Adams, the Sam Adams, the Hancocks and the revolutionary fervor of Lexington and Concord and obviously Bunker Hill of what you're coming up to in just a couple of weeks.

00:33:34.780 That's why there was such a big deal, and this is why it was such a central part of the formation of the American army, that this is really, Patrick, in your thoughts about hammering really what was militia and really backwoodsmen into an army that could actually withstand the onslaught of really one of the best field armies in the world.

00:33:57.660 And that was the British Expeditionary Force.

00:33:59.600 Your thoughts, sir?

00:34:01.620 Yeah, this is – the Hudson Valley is an absolutely crucial area, as I mentioned, beginning in 1777, Battle Saratoga.

00:34:08.460 And then we move forward in time, and the British continually try to creep up the Hudson. 0.98

00:34:13.120 And I brought out in my book, Washington's Immortals, the Battle of Stony Point, which is really one of the great special operations missions of the American Revolution.

00:34:23.520 The British capture Stony Point, which is a little bit below West Point, and then they fortify it with about 19 guns.

00:34:30.780 They build some Atabay and other things.

00:34:33.380 And Washington sends in his light infantry.

00:34:36.180 And these are men that are lightly armed.

00:34:39.180 They're early precursor to special operations forces.

00:34:42.260 They surround the fort, and they seize it, and they take hundreds of prisoners.

00:34:46.680 It's an incredible story.

00:34:48.160 It's around this time that, you know, Benedict Arnold, who's really one of the great heroes of the early American Revolution, he's vitally important up north in Canada.

00:34:57.540 He's vitally important at Saratoga.

00:35:00.700 But many things occur that he is – his honor is tarnished.

00:35:05.580 Hold on.

00:35:06.540 Hang on.

00:35:07.460 At Saratoga, which was the – when Burgoyne's army surrenders, and I still think the biggest victory we had, if you actually talk about a military victory in the entire war, Benedict Arnold was absolutely central on the last day of Saratoga.

00:35:24.920 It was his leadership on the battlefield.

00:35:26.780 He is.

00:35:27.620 He's very critically wounded.

00:35:29.080 I think that he – critically wounded.

00:35:32.120 This is what starts his whole downward spiral of what led him in his – really his madness and his bitterness about that and not being recognized like Gates to actually betray his country.

00:35:44.880 Tell me about that.

00:35:45.780 Yeah, there's a number of things that have happened, and he's also accused of profiteering later on.

00:35:53.100 A lot of these things are dismissed, but it really doesn't sit well with him at all.

00:35:58.740 He's a guy that sacrifices everything for his country.

00:36:02.260 And he's critically wounded in tremendous pain after a musket ball strikes his leg, and he's crippled from it.

00:36:11.040 And he decides to betray his country.

00:36:13.840 And he is the commander at West Point, and he decides to weaken West Point's defenses deliberately and then deliver the plans to General Clinton on where the American forces are deployed.

00:36:30.600 In return for being a brigadier general within the British Army, which he turns coat, and then he becomes a general within their army.

00:36:39.380 And he's a fairly effective general.

00:36:47.160 Talk to me about West Point as a historian, and you've done – I think every war now.

00:36:52.340 You're doing a series on the Revolution.

00:36:53.940 You've got a new book out about the Civil War, West Point through the ages.

00:36:58.640 Right now you're seeing what we call the Long Gray Line.

00:37:01.740 And this you saw in March in a Day.

00:37:03.320 Very powerful.

00:37:04.160 But this is connective tissue for every American war all the way back to Thomas Jefferson's administration.

00:37:13.560 Walk me through the importance of West Point in American memory, American culture,

00:37:19.560 and in the actual fighting – combat fighting of our military, sir.

00:37:25.040 It's – you know, in many cases, a great general or leader can change the course of history.

00:37:30.380 And what we've seen is many of these great leaders come from West Point.

00:37:35.400 Either Robert E. Lee, for instance, or Ulysses S. Grant, who, as you mentioned, you know, graduates at the bottom of his class.

00:37:41.960 But he's really one of the greatest military leaders in history, and he's also a great president.

00:37:48.080 You know, maybe his greatest accomplishment is at Appomattox, where he recognizes the importance of respect and forgiveness.

00:37:57.500 And as he defeats Robert E. Lee, he offers an olive branch and a way of reconciliation, which will change our country.

00:38:06.560 And it's at Appomattox that I bring out in The Unvanquished that, you know, the healing begins and we start to come back together.

00:38:14.880 But it's Grant's terms at Appomattox of, you know, paroling Lee's army versus putting everybody in a POW cage, which has just this dramatic transformative effect of where men are going home.

00:38:33.120 And there's still, you know, 250,000 Confederates in the field.

00:38:37.400 But as these other armies are still fighting, they're seeing men go home to their homes, which has a completely demoralizing effect on their ability to continue to fight.

00:38:48.000 And, you know, once you lose that, it's very tough to keep fighting as an insurgency.

00:38:53.700 Hey, Patrick, Patrick, hang on for a second.

00:38:55.780 We're going to take a short commercial break.

00:38:57.140 They're still going through the cadets themselves getting their diplomas.

00:39:00.820 We're going to continue this to its culmination.

00:39:04.220 Still a few more things to do.

00:39:05.920 Let's go and take a short commercial break.

00:39:07.240 We'll be back in Real America's Voice and the War Room's continual coverage of the graduation ceremony at West Point, the United States Military Academy.

00:39:17.000 Let's go and go.

00:39:17.960 That's it, sir.

00:39:18.800 Parker C. Massey.

00:39:20.860 Okay.

00:39:21.340 We're returning to the last few.

00:39:23.260 Here we go.

00:39:25.880 Emma L. McGovern.

00:39:31.900 William F. Niven.

00:39:35.980 Congratulations, sir.

00:39:37.240 Michael M.

00:39:41.000 Nick Swasilek.

00:39:46.200 Nellie B.

00:39:47.540 Ray.

00:39:47.940 Keep going.

00:39:49.100 Keep going.

00:39:49.700 Let's go.

00:39:52.260 Matthew D.

00:39:53.420 Rhodes.

00:39:53.900 Carl J.

00:39:59.720 Stahlberg.

00:40:00.320 Grayson M. Stewart.

00:40:02.020 Grayson M. Stewart.

00:40:10.080 Ronald D. Taylor, Jr.

00:40:18.360 Gordon Z. Turner.

00:40:20.200 Okay.

00:40:20.560 We've given out the last diploma to the long gray line.

00:40:37.380 We're going to continue with our coverage.

00:40:38.940 Thank you.

00:40:39.060 Thank you.

00:40:41.380 Thank you.

00:40:42.120 Sir.

00:40:42.900 Awesome.

00:40:44.480 Thank you.

00:40:45.000 Thank you.

00:40:53.760 Thank you.

00:40:56.860 That's got a grip.

00:40:58.520 Thank you.

00:40:58.740 Thank you.

00:40:59.000 Awesome.

00:40:59.520 Awesome.

00:41:00.560 Thank you.

00:41:30.560 Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the singing of the alma mater.

00:42:00.560 Thank you.

00:42:07.560 Hail, all the mater dear, to us be ever near.

00:42:21.440 Help us, I'm not over through all my years.

00:42:34.520 Let you see me, ever, for the glory there on top.

00:42:48.520 Country be ever armed, Westport by me.

00:43:07.520 Hey, breathe, cover.

00:43:26.520 Class, breathe, cover.

00:43:35.520 Please remain standing while the oath of office is administered to the Class of 2025 by the United States Military Academy Commandant of Cadets, Brigadier General R.J. Garcia.

00:43:49.520 Class of 2025, raise your right hand and repeat after me.

00:43:56.520 I state your full name.

00:44:03.520 Having been appointed an officer in the Army of the United States in the grade of Second Lieutenant, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States.

00:44:23.520 Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

00:44:30.520 That I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same.

00:44:38.520 That I take this obligation freely.

00:44:41.520 That I take this obligation freely.

00:44:43.520 Without any mental reservation.

00:44:45.520 Without any mental reservation.

00:44:46.520 Or purpose of evasion.

00:44:48.520 Or purpose of evasion.

00:44:49.520 And that I will well and faithfully.

00:44:51.520 That I will well and faithfully.

00:44:52.520 Discharge the duties of the office.

00:44:55.520 Discharge the duties of the office.

00:44:57.520 Upon which I'm about to enter.

00:44:59.520 Upon which I'm about to enter.

00:45:01.520 So help me God.

00:45:02.520 So help me God.

00:45:03.520 So help me God.

00:45:04.520 Congratulations.

00:45:05.520 Please lower your hands.

00:45:18.520 Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing and join in the singing of the official Army song.

00:45:24.520 The Army goes rolling along.

00:45:25.520 The Army goes rolling along.

00:45:26.520 The Army goes rolling along.

00:45:31.520 By Sherlock Holmes' words.

00:45:32.520 It was an Бог from Every. 0.95

00:45:37.520 This is my Vietnam Warrior.

00:45:38.520 Well, we're going to become a song.

00:45:39.520 This is my hometown.

00:45:41.520 I'll sing a song.

00:45:43.520 By the army of the free.

00:45:44.520 And the brave the truth.

00:45:47.520 I want to end all ring .

00:45:52.520 We're the army, proud of our king.

00:45:56.620 We're the army, and proud of our king.

00:46:00.760 This is white, the world is white, 0.88

00:46:02.740 it's meant to kill the nation's whites, 0.99

00:46:04.920 and the army goes away, goes wrong.

00:46:08.900 Proud of all we have done,

00:46:11.120 white until the battle's done,

00:46:12.900 and the army goes away, goes wrong.

00:46:17.240 And it's high, high, gay, the army's on its way. 0.97

00:46:21.400 Now drop it in, it's on its way.

00:46:25.580 And we know you've always been,

00:46:29.580 and we all need you, so we all know.

00:46:38.180 Hey, come on. 0.77

00:46:42.180 Come.

00:46:51.400 Class, on cover.

00:46:58.340 Please remain standing for the benediction

00:47:05.340 by United States Corps of Cadets Chaplain,

00:47:08.340 Father Matt Pawlikowski.

00:47:16.840 Lord of Life,

00:47:19.060 throughout this land on Memorial Day weekend,

00:47:22.380 we honor all military members

00:47:26.340 who lost their lives in the line of duty.

00:47:31.120 And it is in the light of such sacrifice

00:47:35.100 that we are so grateful

00:47:37.980 for this legion of lieutenants,

00:47:41.560 just now commissioned,

00:47:44.400 the air of their oath

00:47:46.000 still floating before their faces,

00:47:49.720 who are prepared,

00:47:52.260 perhaps to give,

00:47:54.420 but certainly to live,

00:47:56.580 their lives for our country.

00:48:00.360 Such character

00:48:01.720 and selfless service

00:48:04.060 demands respect

00:48:06.120 from our citizens

00:48:07.540 and is worthy

00:48:09.680 of your grace.

00:48:10.960 And so, God,

00:48:14.120 we beg your blessings

00:48:15.780 upon all of them,

00:48:18.600 now in the army

00:48:19.740 and later in life,

00:48:22.420 that they will always

00:48:24.300 live honorably,

00:48:27.040 lead honorably,

00:48:28.800 and demonstrate excellence

00:48:31.000 to all around them,

00:48:33.460 now and all the days

00:48:35.740 of their lives.

00:48:37.700 Amen.

00:48:38.000 Amen.

00:48:56.860 Come on.

00:48:57.880 Take charge.

00:48:58.460 Dismiss the class of 2025.

00:49:01.540 Go Army.

00:49:02.300 Be David, sir.

00:49:03.240 Go Army.

00:49:03.640 Second Lieutenant Robinson, dismiss the class of 2025.

00:49:10.640 Yeah, there we thrive. Go Army, sir.

00:49:12.640 Go Army. Beat Navy.

00:49:18.640 Graduating class, re-covered!

00:49:27.640 Class of 2025, dismissed!

00:49:33.640 Thank you!

00:50:03.640 Okay, right there you're seeing the joy.

00:50:07.640 Okay, right there you're seeing the joy of after four or five years of, uh, of, uh,

00:50:11.640 struggle and tribulation.

00:50:15.640 They will now go change out of their cadet uniforms into their Second Lieutenant uniforms,

00:50:19.640 into their Second Lieutenant uniforms,

00:50:21.640 and they will now go change out of their Second Lieutenant uniforms,

00:50:23.640 and they will now go change out of their Cadet uniforms into their Second Lieutenant uniforms,

00:50:25.640 and they will have these private, um, commissioning ceremonies.

00:50:27.640 will have their Second Lieutenant bars put on them by family members and, uh,

00:50:29.640 and commissioning folks that are going to commission.

00:50:31.640 They will now go change out of their Second Lieutenant uniforms,

00:50:35.640 and they will now go change out of their Cadet uniforms into their Second Lieutenant uniforms,

00:50:37.640 and they will have these private, um, commissioning ceremonies, will have their Second Lieutenant bars put on them by family members and, uh, and commissioning folks that are going to commission.

00:50:43.640 Normally, um, either members of the faculty or staff or, uh, people they know.

00:51:01.640 Tremendous music today, too.

00:51:04.640 The Girl I Left Behind, a Cavalry song right there.

00:51:09.640 Tremendous.

00:51:16.640 Uh, Patrick K. O'Donnell.

00:51:18.640 We're going to try to get Gruber back.

00:51:19.640 He may be down hard because of the batteries.

00:51:22.640 Patrick K. O'Donnell, you're our best combat historian.

00:51:25.640 Put in perspective what, uh, what we saw today.

00:51:27.640 By the way, I want to thank Real America's Voice.

00:51:29.640 Historic coverage, wall-to-wall coverage of a graduation at West Point.

00:51:33.640 Never been done before in national television, uh, including a one-hour address.

00:51:38.640 By the 45th and 47th President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Donald J. Trump.

00:51:47.640 Auld Lang Syne playing right now.

00:51:49.640 Patrick K. O'Donnell, your thoughts, sir?

00:52:00.640 This, uh, Steve is, you know, really a glorious and historic day for this class.

00:52:06.640 That oath of commissioned officers goes all the way back to 1775, June 14th, 1775.

00:52:12.640 When first, it was Congress that, um, that commissioned the first Continental officers.

00:52:18.640 And then the, uh, the men in the 10 rifle companies, seven or six from Pennsylvania, two from Maryland.

00:52:27.640 And, uh, and two others, um, uh, came together.

00:52:33.640 And then they chose the Continental Congress chose their officers for them.

00:52:38.640 And then they, they elected their own officers within that, those, those companies.

00:52:43.640 Um, you know, this is a very special moment.

00:52:46.640 They taking the oath of commission, uh, that, that, you know, goes back to 1775.

00:52:52.640 Uh, Patrick, uh, talk to people before we punch you.

00:52:57.640 Patrick's going to be with me.

00:52:59.640 He will be in studio.

00:53:00.640 We're going to cover, uh, the, uh, ceremony, uh, for our honored dead at, um, at Arlington

00:53:07.640 National Cemetery on Real America's Voice live from 10 a.m. to noon on, um, on Monday.

00:53:14.640 I want to thank, uh, of course, Robin Parker Sieg for doing this.

00:53:17.640 The president of the United States will make, I think, remarks at about 11 o'clock.

00:53:21.640 Uh, so we'll cover the entire thing as we did here.

00:53:24.640 Patrick, how can people get, uh, your books, particularly your last couple I know have

00:53:29.640 resonated so about the revolution and the civil war as you expand out from Korea and,

00:53:35.640 and, uh, and, uh, in the Iraq war, uh, where do people go to get your writings?

00:53:41.640 Uh, and, uh, and, and all the, all your, um, comments you're putting up on Instagram

00:53:46.640 and, uh, and all that, how, where they get it, sir?

00:53:49.640 Yeah.

00:53:50.640 I'm at an exit at combat historian as well as getter.

00:53:53.640 Um, the unvanquished best place to get that is probably Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

00:53:58.640 They typically have it at the front of the store or an independent bookstores, Washington's

00:54:04.640 Immortals and the indispensables, which now it still isn't, we're approaching, uh, 2,000

00:54:10.640 five-star reviews on Amazon, uh, many, many readers from the war room, which I'm very

00:54:15.640 grateful for.

00:54:16.640 Um, and many of the other books, uh, you know, which has been 26 years.

00:54:21.640 Well, your, your last, all your, your, your, your, your books have been bestsellers, but

00:54:25.640 man, you're really picking up steam.

00:54:27.640 Even these last couple have been blockbusters.

00:54:29.640 I mean, it's a Patrick.

00:54:30.640 Yeah.

00:54:31.640 The unvanquished in particular, that's the word posse.

00:54:33.640 Yeah.

00:54:34.640 Yeah.

00:54:35.640 The posse has gone to many of my book signings.

00:54:38.640 Uh, we had one in Warrington where we had over 400 people in the, uh, the theater there,

00:54:44.640 which was just tremendous.

00:54:45.640 Uh, just many others as well.

00:54:48.640 Uh, you know, many members of the word posse have been there.

00:54:50.640 Uh, been ardent supporters and great readers.

00:54:54.640 I really appreciate them right there.

00:54:57.640 You're seeing the families now down with the cadets.

00:54:59.640 They're going to momentarily, the cadets will leave.

00:55:01.640 They'll go do their last administrative things, change out of these cadet uniforms.

00:55:04.640 The last time they'll be in their cadet uniforms is today.

00:55:07.640 They'll change into the uniforms of second lieutenants in the United States army.

00:55:12.640 Um, and, uh, and they will have these private commissioning ceremonies with the families

00:55:18.640 who's there and then either family members of people that close to actually do the commissioning,

00:55:22.640 uh, themselves and to put their, to put their bars on, uh, which is very, uh, very powerful.

00:55:27.640 One more time, Patrick, Patrick's going to be with me on Monday as we do a Memorial Day.

00:55:33.640 Traditionally, Patrick and I do a couple of specials, but because of live coverage, we're

00:55:37.640 going to be doing commentary and, uh, and we'll have a little time before the, uh, event

00:55:42.640 starts at Arlington.

00:55:43.640 Patrick, one more time.

00:55:44.640 Where do people go?

00:55:45.640 Because, uh, when people dip into your writings, they normally go back and want to buy as many

00:55:50.640 of your books as possible.

00:55:51.640 Cause they get a real sense.

00:55:53.640 What I'm so proud of you.

00:55:54.640 You don't really write at 60,000 feet.

00:55:56.640 You really do the research.

00:55:58.640 Uh, you, you started with oral histories of the greatest generation of world war two.

00:56:02.640 Uh, you've then gone as you've gone back in time to the civil war and the revolutionary

00:56:07.640 war, your archival, uh, research is amazing.

00:56:11.640 And that's what brings these books to life, whether it's Washington and mortals, uh, whether

00:56:16.640 it's the other books in the revolution, this new book, the unvanquished, I I've read, you

00:56:20.640 know, hundreds, if not thousands of books on the civil war and, uh, your book, the unvanquished.

00:56:25.640 And this is my part of the country, my part of the country.

00:56:28.640 It reads like a novel.

00:56:29.640 There's so many things I didn't understand or didn't know because you went back and did

00:56:34.640 basic research that other people hadn't done.

00:56:36.640 And your writings today, these books read like novels, whether it's the first person account

00:56:40.640 of your time with your unit, uh, that you went as combat historian in the Iraq war or

00:56:45.640 these new books.

00:56:46.640 So one more time, where do people go to get all your writings at combat historian or my

00:56:51.640 website, Patrick K O'Donnell.com.

00:56:53.640 Amazon.com is a great place to purchase the unvanquished or Barnes and Noble or other independent

00:56:59.640 bookstores.

00:57:00.640 And thank you so much for those compliments, Steve.

00:57:02.640 All my books are, are true stories.

00:57:04.640 Many cases, they're untold stories that tell a larger story.

00:57:08.640 It's about, you know, Americans, a small group of Americans, one or two people that have made

00:57:13.640 a difference or changed history, bent or shaped history in a way that, you know, is unexpected,

00:57:18.640 but changed the course of history.

00:57:21.640 You know, uh, we started this before, even before war room and real America's voice.

00:57:27.640 We started this and I don't want to had the Breitbart radio, uh, I don't know, 10, 11 years

00:57:32.640 ago.

00:57:33.640 So we've been doing, uh, the big, um, Veterans Day and of course Memorial Day, such a, and

00:57:38.640 we want to, we've always focused Memorial Day, not on veterans, but really on, uh, on the honored

00:57:43.640 dead of the American military.

00:57:45.640 And I think that's why these shows have had so much power.

00:57:47.640 And it's because, uh, Patrick, from the very first time I did it at Breitbart radio, you

00:57:50.640 were the first guy I brought on and we did these and it just resonated.

00:57:55.640 It, it, we stuck the landing with the audience, so to speak, cause they just loved it.

00:57:58.640 And that's what we've made it a tradition.

00:57:59.640 Thank you, Steven.

00:58:00.640 Yeah.

00:58:01.640 And on Monday I'll have a story on the man that's on the cover of this book, Sergeant

00:58:06.640 Frith, the lost man of, of Memorial Day.

00:58:09.640 I mean, he was killed in action as a Jesse scout and his pictures is sort of haunting.

00:58:15.640 I mean, he just looks back at us in time, but Sergeant Frith was killed in a gun battle

00:58:20.640 by a clerk that wasn't supposed to be with him.

00:58:23.640 He just discharged his pistol, the ball lodged in his abdomen and he writhed in pain for,

00:58:29.640 for two days.

00:58:30.640 And, um, I found a letter from his father from Milan, Ohio, you know, that was just a

00:58:36.640 very powerful story about how in, in the letter he quote, it's, it's, I'll summarize.

00:58:41.640 It basically says, Joseph taught you how to live, but also how to die.

00:58:47.640 And he died, um, you know, a dignified manner in a very quiet manner.

00:58:52.640 Wow.

00:58:53.640 And, you know, one of the goals, my goals and when writing this book is to find his grave

00:58:57.640 because he's buried somewhere in Covington, Virginia, uh, in a, in a homestead behind,

00:59:03.640 likely behind the house that he was, um, you know, mortally wounded at somewhere in Covington,

00:59:08.640 Virginia, we're trying to track him down for his family members.

00:59:12.640 So the, the coverage we'll have on Monday starts at 10 o'clock in the traditional war

00:59:17.640 room morning slot.

00:59:18.640 It'll be the, uh, we're going to cover a wall to wall coverage of the, uh, commemoration

00:59:23.640 ceremony and event at Arlington national cemetery with the commander in chief and president

00:59:28.640 United States, president Trump, Patrick K O'Donnell, uh, social media.

00:59:31.640 Where do people get you over the weekend, sir?

00:59:33.640 Um, at combat historian on getter or, or X, uh, and, um, Patrick K O'Donnell.com or on amazon.com.

00:59:41.640 Just look up, uh, the unvanquished.

00:59:44.640 And then there's, uh, 13 other books, uh, up there with just scores and scores of reviews.

00:59:49.640 And this one had the wall street journal, give it a glorious review and just about every

00:59:54.640 other one.

00:59:55.640 It's probably my best selling book right now and my best reviewed book.

00:59:59.640 And, um, you know, the wall street journal, eventually it always catches up to the wall.

01:00:04.640 The wall street journal always eventually catches up with the war room.

01:00:07.640 Eventually Patrick K O'Donnell.

01:00:09.640 Thank you.

01:00:10.640 Okay.

01:00:11.640 And I want to thank really Parker Sigg, Rob Sigg, the entire crew in Denver.

01:00:16.640 Uh, of course, my own production crew in, um, in Washington DC and the nation's capital

01:00:21.640 and here on the road had a great team, uh, that set this up.

01:00:25.640 Do we have Steve Gruber Gruber?

01:00:26.640 I think we're maybe down on battery.

01:00:28.640 Steve Gruber has done such an amazing job.

01:00:30.640 Steve is at West point at Mikey stadium.

01:00:32.640 No, we lost the battery.

01:00:34.640 Steve is going to be, uh, there live at Arlington national cemetery on Monday.

01:00:40.640 So we're going to have coverage again.

01:00:42.640 Steve Gruber will be there in person.

01:00:44.640 We'll have a great camera crew from real America's voice.

01:00:46.640 And, uh, Patrick K O'Donnell is going to be in the war room.

01:00:49.640 So this will be, uh, another, uh, another event.

01:00:52.640 So, so honored to do these.

01:00:53.640 And I got to tell you, president Trump delivered today, uh, a speech that was over an hour long

01:00:59.640 and it had something for everybody.

01:01:01.640 It, I can tell you as being a parent of, of West point grad, the comments he made about,

01:01:06.640 I will not send your sons and daughters into these forever wars of conflicts.

01:01:11.640 We're not going to win because if you want to understand how little power you have in the

01:01:17.640 world is, uh, have your, uh, have your, uh, child, uh, uh, go to West point or going

01:01:22.640 to the military and to deploy overseas where it's totally out of any of your control.

01:01:26.640 I think for a parent, I can tell you president Trump saying that, uh, makes today even more

01:01:31.640 special.

01:01:32.640 And you look at Trump and you look at president Trump's actions that people know that he backs

01:01:37.640 this up.

01:01:38.640 So incredibly powerful.

01:01:41.640 Um, I want to thank everybody.

01:01:42.640 I want to thank real America's voice.

01:01:43.640 We're going to take off right there at West point, the closing shots.

01:01:47.640 We will see you Monday morning at, uh, at 10 AM also Eastern daylight time.

01:01:53.640 I will also tell you, we're going to replay today and tomorrow, this amazing historic coverage

01:01:58.640 first time ever national television from the beginning to the end of the graduation of

01:02:03.640 United States military class 2025 with a one hour.

01:02:08.640 Fantastic speech by president Trump.

01:02:10.640 We'll see you back here on Monday.

01:02:12.640 We'll be up on getter all weekend.

01:02:13.640 Grace will be up.

01:02:14.640 Mo everybody.

01:02:15.640 We'll see you back here.

01:02:16.640 Monday morning, live 10 AM Eastern daylight time.

01:02:18.640 When you will be back in the war room.

01:02:19.640 I want to thank real America's voice, uh, for expanded coverage here in the war room,

01:02:34.640 uh, as we, uh, cover the, uh, the graduation ceremony at the United States military academy

01:02:40.640 at West point.

01:02:41.640 Steve Gruber is with us at Mikey stadium live.

01:02:44.640 It's a historic day.

01:02:45.640 It's a new future for America.

01:02:47.640 Ladies and gentlemen, the 47th president of the United States of America.

01:03:04.640 A few moments will become graduates of the Musta Lee story military academy and human history.

01:03:13.640 Cadet Chris Verdugo.

01:03:15.640 Completing the task in two hours and 30 minutes flat.

01:03:19.640 Smashing the international record for the competition by 13 minutes.

01:03:25.640 Where is he?

01:03:26.640 Where is he?

01:03:27.640 Come up here.

01:03:28.640 Come up here, Chris.

01:03:30.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:31.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:32.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:33.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:34.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:35.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:36.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:37.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:38.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:39.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:40.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:41.640 It's been a long five years, but I cannot do that.

01:03:44.640 Hey, these guys.

01:03:45.640 Love you again.

01:03:46.640 Hey.

01:03:47.640 Heic. 0.99

01:03:48.640 Like all of you have picked up the banners that you have carried forward the flag of freedom.

01:03:57.640 No matter the odds, no matter the cost, no matter the danger, through every challenge and every battle, you'll stand strong, you'll work hard, you'll stay tough, and you will fight, fight, fight, and win, win, win.

01:04:19.540 This has been a live special report.

01:04:22.400 We now join our programming already in progress.

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Bannon's War Room - May 25, 2025

Episode 4511： WarRoom Special： Live From West Point Cont.

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