Bannon's War Room - Episode 5397： WarRoom Memorial Day Special Cont.

00:00:00.000 This Memorial Day, America honors her fallen heroes.

00:00:06.920 Live from Arlington National Cemetery,

00:00:09.360 President Donald Trump participates in the traditional wreath-laying ceremony

00:00:13.340 at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,

00:00:15.800 paying tribute to the brave men and women who gave everything for this country.

00:00:20.840 Real America's Voice and The War Room present special coverage,

00:00:25.300 starting right now.

00:00:30.000 Thank you.

00:01:00.000 Thank you.

00:01:30.000 It's Memorial Day in the Year of Our Lord, 2026.

00:01:34.780 Right there you have a shot of the Guard of Honor

00:01:37.440 at Arlington National Cemetery near the Tomb of the Unknown.

00:01:45.060 A Guard of Honor is what we're talking about with Patrick K. O'Donnell.

00:01:49.280 So to do a grassroots effort, people say,

00:01:53.800 hey, we have to have something that's equivalent to the French and the British

00:01:57.680 that have done this, particularly given the sacrifice.

00:02:01.100 And remember, World War I, like,

00:02:05.760 I think was such a shock of the intensity of the combat

00:02:10.520 and that it was very controversial.

00:02:13.740 There were a lot of Americans that did not want our boys

00:02:18.820 to go back and fight the wars of the old war,

00:02:21.820 particularly when there were so many kings and that.

00:02:25.820 But the American Expedition Force had such a magnificent, I mean, just incredible battle history, even in the short time they were there, that people wanted to make sure they honored people given the very high casualties and the intensity of things like mustard gas.

00:02:43.680 And remember, that really broke the French.

00:02:47.140 Well, the French didn't only blast for six weeks in World War II.

00:02:50.320 I think it was four million casualties in the French army.

00:02:54.460 the fact they used to they started having mutinies of the the troops they enlisted men who just said

00:03:00.060 i'm not doing this anymore i'm just like cattle and uh and they started showing the history of

00:03:05.020 showing their own truth because they were just randomly you know in paths of glory that great

00:03:09.180 film shows it but they would just they would say okay if you're not going to get out of the trenches 0.72

00:03:13.100 we're going to stand up and pick every tenth guy and just shoot them right so you get a choice you 0.54

00:03:17.420 go get shot by the germans or we're going to shoot you in fact they there's records of them shelling 1.00

00:03:22.380 their own troops i mean it was brutal the british the first day of the psalm with 60 000 i mean just 0.97

00:03:29.100 unheard of casualty rates very traumatic for the united states remember in after the war there's

00:03:35.580 not a ton of like rah-rah patriotic movies yankee doodle danny with cagney wasn't made until the

00:03:42.620 1940s sergeant york the film on sergeant or york with gary kubber which is so magnificent doesn't

00:03:48.860 come out until right before right around Pearl Harbor in 1941 these are 20 years after the thing

00:03:55.300 the first movies come out the silent movies the big parade all cry on the western front these are

00:03:59.660 not exactly rah-rah films this is like they're still fairly traumatized when the body or the

00:04:06.100 when the remains of the selected goes from the from Deauville which is right up there north of

00:04:11.840 Normandy I think so it goes to the the city center there and they go on to the and they go

00:04:18.620 onto the uss olympia which is still in the port of philadelphia that's this cruiser from the 1890s

00:04:26.400 is still around and it's the it's the ship that brings back the remains the the casket is so large

00:04:34.000 that they can't put it under in in you know under below decks so it's lashed above decks

00:04:39.800 and the olympia goes through a massive storm and the marines that are on board in the english

00:04:45.760 channel because you're really going from deville or to all the way back to the united states oh

00:04:51.140 that's right that's right and so they yes they go through a massive storm in the atlantic i thought

00:04:54.940 they stopped in portsmouth they go right from france they indeed and then but they all the way

00:04:59.380 they have to go through the atlantic and there's a massive storm and marines on board have lashed

00:05:04.280 themselves to the gasket to keep it from going overboard it's quite dramatic and then they have

00:05:09.320 do they have a do they have a 24-hour guard of honor on the on the olympia for the basket they

00:05:14.340 do they have some men that are selected to be bearers there and they're lashed and they lash

00:05:19.100 themselves so they go as well as the marines that are on board and they make it back uh it the ship

00:05:25.700 pulls into the navy yard on uh on november 9th up the potomac to the navy yes to the to washington

00:05:31.720 dc and it's here that the men that i write about the body bearers are assembled and it's here

00:05:38.600 that Pershing selects the most decorated men of the American Expedition Air Force.

00:05:45.220 And he selects men that are in each branch of service, the Navy and the Army,

00:05:50.220 and specialties like an artilleryman, even a cavalryman.

00:05:54.640 But also the Marines are represented by Ernest A. Jansen, who is, as I mentioned earlier,

00:06:01.140 he was on Hill 142 at Bella Wood.

00:06:03.460 and it's his efforts that will destroy a machine gun that's being several machine guns that are

00:06:11.080 being set up and he saves the hill with a bayonet charge on the machine gun is wounded and he and

00:06:20.080 his other eight men are escorting the remains. What is the purpose of the body bearers?

00:06:26.000 When they get here, what is the purpose of a body bearer?

00:06:28.420 To actually move the casket.

00:06:32.600 They put it on the catafault that Lincoln was buried on initially.

00:06:37.800 It was in Land State at the Capitol, Rotunda.

00:06:42.520 And then it was brought on a horse carriage.

00:06:45.900 A gun carriage.

00:06:47.960 Yes, a gun carriage through the streets of Washington to Arlington Cemetery.

00:06:53.480 and these men were the ones that were actually handling the casket and they were there but they

00:06:59.100 were done specifically to honor and sort of tell the story of the american expeditionary force

00:07:05.880 pershing selected each one of these men specifically for their story and each one is just is remarkable

00:07:13.340 several medal of honor recipients distinguished service cross members i mean and it's members of

00:07:20.160 the of the navy um james delaney for instance is a member of the he's on he's a navy gunner that's

00:07:28.560 attached to a civilian ship and he with his deck gun fights a u-boat in a running gun battle for

00:07:34.980 two or three hours and eventually the u-boat catches up and they sink his ship and he becomes

00:07:42.400 it's an american das boat he feels he gets experience what it's like undersea in a u-boat

00:07:48.760 for several months and the death charges

00:07:51.260 and going through the entire horror of that experience.

00:07:54.800 As you have the body bearers, you come into the Navy Yard,

00:07:58.000 you go lie in state to honor it in the Capitol

00:08:00.760 like only a handful of individuals, mainly presidents, have happened to.

00:08:06.860 It goes, you take it, you have a formal ceremony,

00:08:08.980 you're going to take it to Arlington.

00:08:10.620 How is one of the most powerful parts of this entire thing

00:08:17.180 is the beauty and grandeur and understated kind of elegance of the tomb itself where it's placed

00:08:26.300 it's viewed back over washington and just you know the the the tomb of the unknown where it's

00:08:32.720 situated who who is the architect how do they how do they get how do they conceive that they

00:08:38.780 they they hire an architect to conceive it they bring out the it's special marble and it's president

00:08:46.180 Warren Harding that presides over it. And there's a number of kind of firsts that are occurring

00:08:51.080 here. It's, this is a reunification of the United States in many ways. It's a, it's a bringing

00:08:58.960 together of disparate groups. There's, you know, Confederate veterans and Northern veterans there.

00:09:06.540 There's members of the Spanish American war. There's doughboys, but then there's heads of 0.94

00:09:11.600 state and then there's people within american society that are there that are uh um you know

00:09:18.720 the naacp is represented for instance and they decide to use um chief plenty clues and made a

00:09:27.200 sue war chief uh to preside the last portion of the ceremony and his war club is placed on top

00:09:34.480 the tomb tell me about that which is still there give me give me that again it's uh chief plenty

00:09:39.600 clues is a uh he you know he's the one that sort of says the final words and that's kind of another

00:09:44.320 way of healing you know we had this great war against native americans in the plains and he

00:09:49.920 has chosen as well as sergeant saunders who's a engineer who's a native american uh that's a

00:09:56.480 body bearer and it's a first because it's they use kind of an early form of radio to broadcast

00:10:03.440 uh warren harding's words uh coast to coast uh at the ceremony and um you know it's just a very

00:10:11.100 very powerful event that um unites the country in many ways it's also celebrates those that served

00:10:17.940 in the american expeditionary force hang on for one second i'm gonna come back to all this and

00:10:22.460 you're gonna tee us up for the president arriving and that we have the guard of honor i want to it's

00:10:26.900 the middle of the night in taiwan uh cleo pascal so all the war films a lot of the war films been

00:10:34.240 playing on tcm over the weekend a lot in the pacific showed this constant tension between

00:10:39.480 general macarthur and um and and chester and and admiral nimitz about do we come across the central

00:10:46.160 pacific or do we start in in australia and go through new guinea and we got to get to the

00:10:50.680 philippines the one thing they both agree on is that at that time for most of it taiwan is the

00:10:57.480 ultimate at least intermediate objective because that's going to be a staging base for this grand

00:11:02.920 assault you know to get to the islands closer to japan to be able to let curtis lemay and these

00:11:09.000 guys really basically bomb the japanese imperial uh army back into the stone age and so that

00:11:16.780 hopefully to avoid the 4 million man invasion that was planned with 500,000 to 1 million casualties.

00:11:25.680 Think about that for a second.

00:11:27.460 And the days, to bring this currently, today's Financial Times, a big article right on the inside,

00:11:33.820 which is just now coming out, that some of the most heated conversations at that event they had,

00:11:38.980 you could tell there was a very big change coming out.

00:11:41.180 Oh, fine. We're going to cut right now to Arlington National Cemetery and the Commander-in-Chief, they're going to come out.

00:12:11.180 Present

00:12:22.600 We light, we light, we light, we light.

00:12:52.600 Thank you.

00:13:22.600 Thank you.

00:13:52.600 Order!

00:13:54.600 Order!

00:13:56.600 Part!

00:13:58.600 Present Present

00:14:24.080 Parts

00:14:28.640 I feel like I don't remember.

00:14:55.760 I knew.

00:14:58.600 Take a look.

00:15:10.180 9 loaves

00:15:36.320 I don't know.

00:16:06.320 Thank you.

00:16:36.320 Order!

00:16:55.320 Right shoulder! 0.99

00:16:56.360 Hard!

00:17:06.320 There he is.

00:17:21.380 riding.

00:17:27.180 Thank you.

00:17:57.180 We'll be right back.

00:18:27.180 so

00:18:57.180 if the official party has am i on okay the official party has a president has laid the

00:19:06.920 wreath at the tomb of the unknown is now um there's a shot from the inside that's actually

00:19:12.480 the reverse of the of the mansion right there this is where the president is going to address

00:19:18.400 we're going to have momentarily i think the army traditionally the army ban uh plays there i want

00:19:25.520 to thank everybody today that's been associated with this uh broadcast we do this every year and

00:19:30.980 want to thank the real american voice team and of course the war room production team and want to

00:19:36.820 thank um our our real america's voice production team in denver out there in the denver area that

00:19:43.580 always come in and give up their memorial day to come in and do this i think it shows you their

00:19:48.020 their commitment so outside do we have the before the president can we play some of the gold star

00:19:52.980 mothers. I want to play just momentarily before the president came, some of the Gold Star families

00:19:58.040 were addressing the Canada. Let's go ahead and cut to that and we will go back live as soon as

00:20:03.620 the president, the commander in chief comes out. Good morning. It's both an honor and very humbling

00:20:14.660 for Karen and I to be able to speak in front of you this morning. The first time I visited

00:20:21.620 Arlington National Cemetery was in 2003 with my wife Karen and our only son

00:20:27.260 Aaron at the entrance Karen took our picture beneath the sign that read

00:20:31.460 welcome to Arlington National Cemetery our nation's most sacred shrine please

00:20:38.220 conduct yourself with quiet dignity and respect at all time times remember these

00:20:43.660 are hallowed grounds we walk these grounds for hours that day understanding

00:20:48.200 though not yet fully, the weight of those words.

00:20:53.320 The second time I visited Arlington was on August 26, 2011, to bury Aaron.

00:21:02.760 For most of my life, I had heard the phrase, the cost of freedom.

00:21:06.540 Like many Americans, I honored Memorial Day, understanding what it represented, but never

00:21:11.880 truly feeling its weight personally.

00:21:15.280 For many, it becomes a three-day weekend filled with sales, family, friends, and backyard

00:21:21.460 barbecues.

00:21:23.560 But on August 6, 2011, the cost of freedom knocked on our family's front door.

00:21:33.040 Every Gold Star family member here today remembers that moment — the knock at the door, the

00:21:40.740 The phone call, the words that instantly divide your life into two chapters.

00:21:49.340 Before they died, and after.

00:21:54.420 For our family, it felt as though a mirror had shattered.

00:21:58.800 One piece was gone forever, and every remaining piece would never be the same again.

00:22:05.420 There were days, weeks, even months when it felt like it would be easier to die than to

00:22:10.420 continue to live.

00:22:12.860 But we cannot remain in that place forever.

00:22:16.700 Their sacrifice is too great.

00:22:19.700 Our families are too important, and this republic must endure for those who come after us.

00:22:26.820 As my friend Tim Brown has said, we can allow the weight of their sacrifice to crush us,

00:22:32.200 Or we can honor it by serving others and by living lives worthy of their sacrifice.

00:22:40.180 I want to thank President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and our military leaders

00:22:45.180 for giving our warfighters the freedom to fight as they've been trained to fight.

00:22:49.060 To defeat the enemy decisively, without unnecessary restrictions placed on them

00:22:55.260 that have too often hindered them in recent years.

00:22:58.520 And to every Gold Star family here today, your loved ones are not forgotten.

00:23:06.600 Their lives mattered.

00:23:08.880 Their sacrifice matters.

00:23:11.460 And may we live every day worthy of the freedom they helped preserve.

00:23:15.980 Thank you.

00:23:16.460 For 250 years, the world has waited for America to fail.

00:23:33.740 Empires around us have risen and fallen, borders have shifted, and governments have collapsed.

00:23:40.380 But through every trial faced, our republic endured.

00:23:44.320 Why?

00:23:45.760 this nation was founded upon a single idea powerful enough to outlive kingdoms and empires.

00:23:52.980 And that idea was freedom.

00:23:56.580 For 250 years, Americans have possessed the God-given right to confront injustice, to

00:24:03.100 resist tyranny, to worship freely, to speak openly and make our voices heard, not only

00:24:09.600 in voting booths but also in the streets, something most people in the world are unable

00:24:14.720 to do without facing prison or even death.

00:24:19.180 And by the way, one of the greatest lies Americans absorb is this, that freedom is normal.

00:24:27.320 It isn't.

00:24:28.560 It never has been.

00:24:30.680 Freedom is not humanity's default condition.

00:24:35.040 Those of us fortunate enough to have grown up in America have never known life without

00:24:39.780 it.

00:24:40.780 Because of that, we rarely stop to consider how precious it is or how staggering the price

00:24:47.020 has been to preserve it.

00:24:49.540 But our surroundings today memorialize one important truth.

00:24:54.260 We only remain free because of the brave men and women throughout our history who have

00:25:00.100 signed their names on that dotted line and said, even if it cost me my life, I will fight

00:25:06.000 to preserve and defend this, the American dream.

00:25:11.640 Every stone surrounding us represents a name, a story,

00:25:17.560 a circle of family and friends who loved that person so much

00:25:20.840 that they could not imagine a world without them in it.

00:25:25.400 Which brings me to my son, Aaron.

00:25:27.880 Aaron Vaughn was many things.

00:25:30.320 A son, a brother, a husband, a father, a Navy SEAL,

00:25:34.080 a fierce warfighter, a really good football player,

00:25:37.560 and a warm, loving, kind, funny man

00:25:41.080 who would give you the shirt off his back.

00:25:44.200 But the most important thing I will ever tell you about Aaron is this.

00:25:48.600 He had a personal and deep relationship with Jesus Christ.

00:25:53.100 And that's why you see hope, joy, and resolve

00:25:56.960 on this mother's face today,

00:25:58.740 because I know that one day I will hold my son again.

00:26:04.080 Throughout my life, freedom was a concept, a moment in history, a story about brave people

00:26:13.080 who refused to bow any longer to the chains of tyranny.

00:26:16.080 It was something we celebrated on the 4th of July.

00:26:20.120 But on August 6, 2011, freedom became a sentence that began with, we regret to inform you.

00:26:28.720 Freedom became the silence left behind by a boy whose laughter filled every room he ever

00:26:34.900 entered.

00:26:36.740 Freedom became a folded flag placed in my arms on behalf of a grateful nation.

00:26:42.560 My son had given his life for me, for us, for every American who wakes up under the

00:26:51.140 protection every day of the red, white, and blue.

00:26:55.840 In this after, it has become my mission to remind people that freedom is not an abstract

00:27:03.540 idea and certainly not something owed to us simply because we're here.

00:27:10.040 As Ronald Reagan once said, you and I have a rendezvous with destiny.

00:27:15.820 We can preserve this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we can sentence the next

00:27:21.940 generation of young people to take the first step into 1,000 years of darkness.

00:27:28.080 And he went on to say, and this is my favorite part, if we are destined to fail, if this

00:27:32.840 way of ours is to be lost, then at least let our children and our children's children

00:27:38.820 know that it did not fail because we failed to try.

00:27:44.820 And I wonder, have you ever stopped to consider that our national anthem ends with a question

00:27:49.300 mark?

00:27:50.300 Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave.

00:27:54.900 For generations, our military has defended that banner on battlefields across the globe.

00:28:01.080 But my greatest fear has never been that America will be conquered from abroad.

00:28:07.320 My greatest fear is that we, the citizens of this nation, will fail to preserve her

00:28:13.580 from within, that we will grow so cynical, so divided,

00:28:18.220 and so ungrateful for what we've inherited

00:28:21.220 that we forget what was sacrificed to give it to us

00:28:25.260 in the first place, and God forbid we ever let that happen.

00:28:30.780 The men and women buried in these sacred fields

00:28:33.140 left us with one charge, don't let America fall.

00:28:39.940 You can almost hear their final pleas around us,

00:28:43.520 make sure my sacrifice was worth the cost, not only to me, but to all those who had to go on

00:28:53.000 living without me. I make no apologies for loving this country. America is not perfect.

00:28:59.460 We have flaws, we have failures, and we have dark chapters in our history. But the reason I love

00:29:06.060 this country so much is that because I understand a fundamental truth, that history can only be

00:29:12.940 shifted where freedom exists. Freedom to speak, freedom to challenge, to protest and disagree.

00:29:21.340 Freedom to strive towards something better. And if you've started believing that America's best

00:29:27.580 days are behind her, I encourage you to do two things. Turn off your television and step away

00:29:34.460 from social media. Because when you or I walk into a grocery store and we begin chatting with

00:29:41.020 with the people around us in line, or when we witness strangers helping each other after

00:29:46.340 a devastating storm, or when we're standing in a crowd at a ballgame cheering for our

00:29:51.360 favorite team, it is of no concern to us how the person standing beside us voted.

00:30:01.360 What we're witnessing there in those situations is the real America, not the America we are

00:30:07.020 constantly told to hate, but the America still worth believing in, still worth fighting for,

00:30:14.460 and still worth dying for.

00:30:17.180 Over the past 15 years since our family lost Erin, we have been loved on so well by this

00:30:22.400 nation.

00:30:24.200 Americans literally and figuratively wrap their arms around us through our darkest hours.

00:30:29.640 I've seen too much generosity, too much goodness to ever buy into the lie that the

00:30:36.300 American way of life was not worth the cost. So no, I don't look around this

00:30:42.000 country and see only the bad. Everywhere I look, I see the reason Aaron Vaughn gave

00:30:49.920 his life. My prayer I leave you with today is this, that you see it too, and

00:30:55.920 that we as a nation of people blessed enough to live in the United States of

00:31:01.380 America live lives worthy of the sacrifices that brought us this far. Thank you.

00:31:31.380 Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States, accompanied by the Vice President,

00:31:39.140 the Secretary of War, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

00:32:01.380 Ladies and gentlemen, Chaplain Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Trimble, Deputy Command Chaplain,

00:32:19.860 Joint Task Force National Capital Region, and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington.

00:32:31.380 In your faith tradition, would you bow with me in a word of prayer?

00:32:42.560 Almighty God, creator, sustainer, and redeemer of all mankind, on this day of remembrance, we gather as one people here in America's cemetery,

00:32:56.000 humbled by the cost of freedom and united in gratitude for those who have given their lives

00:33:02.540 in the last full measure of devotion. We remember the soldiers who stood in the breach when liberty

00:33:09.840 was threatened, the sailors who braved the seas in defense of our peace, the airmen who soared

00:33:16.940 into danger so others might live, and the guardians of our homeland who did not return

00:33:23.960 to their families embrace from the fields of Gettysburg to the beaches of Normandy

00:33:30.880 from the hills of Korea to the jungles of Vietnam from the sands of the Middle East

00:33:36.980 to the skies above distant lands their courage has been the shield of our nation Lord grant us

00:33:45.040 wisdom to honor their memory not only with words but with lives worthy of their sacrifice

00:33:52.620 May we cherish the freedoms they have preserved, defend the justice they have

00:33:58.380 sought, and extend compassion they carried in their hearts. Comfort the

00:34:05.040 families who still feel the ache of absence. May they know their loved ones

00:34:09.540 are not forgotten, that their names are spoken with reverence, and their legacy

00:34:15.020 lives on in the soul of our nation. As we stand among the markers of the fallen,

00:34:21.360 may we be reminded that liberty is never free.

00:34:26.780 It is fought and paid for in courage, in service, and in love.

00:34:31.660 God, we pray for peace, that one day swords may be beaten into plowshares

00:34:37.460 and no mother need weep for a child lost to war.

00:34:41.400 Until that day, give us strength to be faithful stewards of the freedom entrusted to us.

00:34:48.620 In your holy name, we remember, we honor, and we render thanksgiving.

00:34:55.160 Amen.

00:34:59.100 Please remain standing and join the United States Army Band Pershing Zone

00:35:04.200 in the playing of our national anthem.

00:35:17.940 Thank you.

00:35:47.940 Thank you.

00:36:17.940 Ladies and gentlemen, General Cain.

00:36:39.100 Well, good afternoon, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President,

00:36:43.660 Secretary Hegseth, members of the President's Cabinet,

00:36:46.440 distinguished guests, veterans, my fellow Joint Chiefs, my fellow Americans, and most importantly

00:36:53.460 our Gold Star families. Welcome to Arlington National Cemetery and thank you for being here

00:37:00.800 on this special day. Memorial Day is a day of remembrance, a day of mourning, and a day of

00:37:08.900 celebrating the great American spirit,

00:37:13.800 and most of all, gratitude.

00:37:16.680 Gratitude for the men and women who stepped forward

00:37:19.780 without hesitation when their nation called

00:37:22.840 and said, simply, send me.

00:37:26.380 Today, as we gather on this sacred ground,

00:37:29.760 surrounded by rows and rows of beautiful white headstones,

00:37:34.200 We are reminded as Americans that each marker represents a life cut short, an individual story of American courage, tenacity, and grit.

00:37:46.760 This summer, our nation will mark its 250th anniversary, and two and a half centuries have passed since a group of patriots declared themselves an independent nation.

00:37:59.540 But words alone were not enough to deliver on this declaration.

00:38:06.540 Gaining independence as a nation required action, and a young group of soldiers, sailors, and Marines went out into the battlefields to fight and secure our independence and set the course for our great nation that we know today.

00:38:23.920 Many of them lie here on this hallowed ground.

00:38:26.920 For 250 years, the men and women of America's armed forces have always been willing to sacrifice for something greater than themselves.

00:38:38.580 The patriots buried here connect the frozen encampments of Valley Forge to the cold forests of Europe,

00:38:46.120 the sands of the Pacific to the mountains of Korea, and the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of the Middle East.

00:38:55.920 Across the centuries, the character, courage, and commitment of the American warfighter has never wavered, and it never will.

00:39:05.160 It's that same warfighting spirit we recently saw in Operation Epic Fury, and we remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice, adding their names to the story of American heroism.

00:39:20.720 To the Gold Star families here today and those watching across this great nation, we know that for you, Memorial Day is not a single date on a calendar.

00:39:32.660 It's literally every single day.

00:39:35.760 You bear a burden that most of us cannot comprehend, but you do so with a grace and resilience that inspires an entire nation.

00:39:47.000 We cannot replace what you've lost, but we can promise you this, your loved ones' names will never be forgotten.

00:39:57.720 Their names are etched into the stones in this great cemetery, but more importantly, woven into the fabric of the story of our nation.

00:40:07.240 May we always strive to be worthy of their sacrifice,

00:40:10.060 and may we honor them by continuing to fiercely defend the nation they died to protect.

00:40:17.960 We will never forget our fallen and their families,

00:40:21.820 and may we always keep in mind our members of the deployed joint force right now and their families.

00:40:30.020 It is now my distinct honor and privilege to introduce the Secretary of War

00:40:35.240 and a combat veteran himself.

00:40:38.100 Ladies and gentlemen, the Honorable Pete Hegseth, Mr. Secretary.

00:40:53.520 Well, Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, Chairman, thank you, Gold Star families,

00:41:00.880 Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us to remember our fallen warriors.

00:41:06.900 From the sacred names of bygone eras to the 13 souls of epic fury.

00:41:13.960 On this sacred occasion for our nation, we take the day for memories of our very best.

00:41:20.760 They now lie in silent rows here at Arlington in more than 170 national cemeteries throughout our nation

00:41:27.280 and across 17 countries around the world.

00:41:32.000 They answered the call when it mattered the most.

00:41:35.320 And they gave the last full measure of devotion

00:41:38.060 so that this great republic of ours might endure.

00:41:43.240 This day began as Decoration Day

00:41:48.120 when widows and orphans and other mourners

00:41:50.560 placed flowers and ribbons on some 20,000 graves.

00:41:54.620 They were soldiers once.

00:41:57.280 And as they marched off to battle, they sang the lines of the hymn.

00:42:02.480 In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea,

00:42:06.900 with a glory in his bosom which transfigures you and me.

00:42:10.860 As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free, while God is marching on.

00:42:20.900 The mourners of that first Decoration Day knew what we know on this Memorial Day,

00:42:26.140 that these graves are more than names and dates with a dash in between.

00:42:32.200 Each grave marker is a story.

00:42:35.640 The young American on the battlefield away from home,

00:42:38.220 he stayed in contact with loved ones by writing letters.

00:42:44.960 In World War II, they called it victory mail.

00:42:48.660 G.I.s wrote of coming home and watching sunsets again,

00:42:51.600 of having a cigarette and a beer with their buddies,

00:42:54.040 going to football games and on dates, loving their wives, seeing their children grow tall

00:43:00.520 and great. Different wars, still the same letters today. Those we remember today will never get

00:43:08.900 those sunsets. They'll never get those dates. They'll never get to raise their children. Instead,

00:43:15.740 they were delivered from the battlefields into the arms of a loving Lord and Savior.

00:43:20.580 year, their families and their buddies greeting them home with a folded triangle of stars,

00:43:27.840 and the piercing sound of a soul bugle playing taps.

00:43:33.340 Picnics, barbecues, and time at the beach, those things are wonderful aspects of Memorial

00:43:39.040 Day weekend, and we should enjoy them for the fallen.

00:43:42.260 They would want it that way.

00:43:44.600 But this solemn day, we must remember that our republic was forged and purchased with

00:43:49.660 blood, American blood.

00:43:53.640 So take pause today and consider the transformation these warriors went through for our nation.

00:43:58.720 Share it with your kids and your grandkids.

00:44:02.120 We must.

00:44:04.580 Ordinary men, when called, can become our heroes.

00:44:09.740 They fought not because they hate what's in front of them, but because they love what's

00:44:15.380 behind them.

00:44:17.160 And so may the ones we remember today live on in every flag that flies.

00:44:22.820 May they live on in every voice of a school child who says the Pledge of Allegiance.

00:44:27.680 May they live in our prayers to Almighty God.

00:44:31.960 Today with this humble ceremony, we owe at least this, that with every salute, with every

00:44:41.420 ceremony, with every parade, with every prayer, every day and every year, we remember.

00:44:50.100 That by our remembrance we guard the eternal flame that they lit with the price of their

00:44:56.600 youth.

00:44:58.320 They were Americans from small towns and big cities, and in the words of the Apostle Paul,

00:45:03.400 they stood against the darkness of the world wearing the breastplate of righteousness.

00:45:09.600 They've now gone on to their reward, but we remember them here on this hallowed ground.

00:45:15.480 To them, to those, I say your watch is finished, but the legacy of what you left is eternal.

00:45:25.260 You raced to the breach so that we could walk in freedom and prosperity.

00:45:30.300 May we live lives worthy of their sacrifice and boldly carry forth their fight for freedom,

00:45:38.060 picking up the sword of the Spirit and charging forward daily.

00:45:43.900 May Almighty God bless our warriors, and may Almighty God bless our fallen and those they

00:45:50.960 love.

00:45:52.160 Always remember and amen.

00:45:55.080 Thank you.

00:46:07.180 Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome special guest

00:46:10.340 Craig Morgan and the United States Army Band

00:46:13.680 performing Soldier.

00:46:25.080 All right?

00:46:27.080 Ready?

00:46:49.080 Here we go.

00:46:51.080 One, two, one, two. 0.99

00:47:21.080 Might get screamed or they might get bruised

00:47:24.180 Yeah, you could drive the worst of use

00:47:26.880 And that's why it's called a moment of truth, yeah

00:47:30.720 I'll get it if you need it

00:47:33.920 I'll search if you don't see it

00:47:37.080 If you're thirsty, I'll be rain

00:47:39.660 If you get hurt, I'll take your pain

00:47:43.260 I know you don't believe it

00:47:46.540 I said it and I still mean it

00:47:49.720 When you heard what I told you, when you get worried, I'll be your soldier.

00:47:56.800 I'm fighting when time's getting hard, at the last moment when you're supposed to charge.

00:48:03.080 Always on the longest yard, oh, they better be getting cold.

00:48:09.140 Hiding here and hiding there, fire them underneath the stairs.

00:48:14.640 Yeah, people hiding everywhere

00:48:17.080 Trying to be as still as the stars

00:48:20.380 I'll get it if you need it

00:48:24.480 I'll search if you don't see it

00:48:27.620 If you're thirsty, I'll be a rain

00:48:30.200 If you get hurt, I'll take your pain

00:48:33.720 I know you don't believe it

00:48:37.100 But I said it and I'm still breathing

00:48:39.720 When you heard what I told you

00:48:43.160 When you get worried, I'll be your soldier

00:48:46.180 My aim is so true

00:48:49.500 I want to show you

00:48:52.680 I'll try forever

00:48:55.320 I'm never gonna say surrender

00:48:58.800 And I'll get it if you need it

00:49:02.060 I'll search if you don't see it

00:49:05.500 If you're thirsty, I'll be your rain

00:49:08.180 If you get hurt, I'll take your hand

00:49:10.900 Don't believe in it

00:49:16.120 And I still mean it

00:49:19.140 But I told you when you get worried

00:49:22.220 I'll be your soldier

00:49:23.900 I'll be your soldier 0.87

00:49:28.860 I'll be your soldier

00:49:34.980 I'm

00:49:47.280 Ladies and gentlemen, Vice President J.D. Vance.

00:50:17.280 Thank you all, and Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, Mr. Chairman, all of our honored guests, but

00:50:34.040 especially our Gold Star families.

00:50:36.800 I want to say just a few things today because I believe that the most important lesson of

00:50:42.240 Memorial Day is perhaps that all of us owe a debt. That we owe a debt to the people who

00:50:47.900 went overseas and gave their lives that the United States might be prosperous and peaceful

00:50:53.160 and free. That we owe a debt to the people who put on a uniform knowing they might never

00:50:59.640 come back and indeed today we pay tribute to those who never came back. I think like

00:51:06.040 Like a lot of veterans, and we're joined by so many of you, sometimes Memorial Day is

00:51:11.720 the most somber and the most sacred of the days on the American calendar.

00:51:17.060 People will come up to our veterans and say things like, happy Memorial Day, or may you

00:51:20.900 have a blessed Memorial Day.

00:51:23.840 And those of us who served know acutely that today is not for all veterans as much as we

00:51:28.880 love all of our veterans.

00:51:30.940 is for those veterans who put on the uniform, who went overseas, and who never came home.

00:51:37.940 When I think about the debt that we owe them, I think about all the things that they gave,

00:51:42.980 which can't be measured in dollars or in the things of this world, but are measured in

00:51:48.420 things like weddings that they never got to attend, children that they never saw grow

00:51:54.660 up, daughters and sons that they never got to hug and kiss again, loved ones, husbands

00:52:00.640 and wives, they traded every moment from the moment where they gave their lives to the

00:52:07.900 moment where they would ultimately meet their natural end, every single one of those moments

00:52:12.800 they gave up that the United States might remain the freest and best country in the

00:52:18.700 entire world. What an amazing thing. What an amazing gift.

00:52:32.700 On this Memorial Day, I just ask two things of all of our fellow Americans. The first

00:52:37.580 is that we be the very best version of ourselves in honor of those who gave everything that

00:52:44.900 this nation might be worthy.

00:52:54.320 To all the husbands and fathers, that we be the best husbands and dads that we can.

00:52:59.480 To all the mothers and wives, that they be the best moms and wives that they can.

00:53:05.000 To the sons and daughters, that they be the very best version of themselves.

00:53:08.840 And second, we always remember that every moment that we're able to enjoy with our

00:53:13.800 loved ones. Everything that gives our life and our nation meaning and purpose was

00:53:19.020 given to us, often by total strangers who laid down their lives that this might

00:53:24.040 be the best nation in the history of the world. And finally,

00:53:35.580 and finally to our Gold Star families, I hope you know that I will never forget,

00:53:41.420 I'll never forget your loved ones that the good life that I have and that my

00:53:47.240 family have is fundamentally because you paid a debt that I can never repay. I'll

00:53:52.760 never forget their smiling faces. I'll never forget their skill and bravery in

00:53:57.740 battle. I'll never forget that all the moments that I'm able to have with my

00:54:01.040 family they're not able to have with theirs. And most of all I know from every

00:54:06.620 American, across every political persuasion, that we love you, we're grateful to you,

00:54:12.640 we're proud of you, and we commit to make the United States of America the very best

00:54:18.740 version of itself. And that is how we honor those who gave their lives to this country.

00:54:26.320 And without further ado, it is my great honor to introduce the 45th and 47th Commander-in-Chief

00:54:40.440 of these United States, President Donald J. Trump.

00:54:43.600 Well, thank you very much, everybody.

00:55:08.600 What a beautiful day, as it turns out.

00:55:11.960 It's just perfect.

00:55:13.240 We'd rather have this than the heat.

00:55:15.480 It's just beautiful.

00:55:16.780 It's always beautiful being here.

00:55:18.780 My fifth time, and it never changes.

00:55:25.020 Vice President Vance, Secretary Hegseth,

00:55:29.460 Chairman Cain, members of the Cabinet,

00:55:32.860 members of the United States Armed Forces,

00:55:35.160 veterans, and fellow citizens.

00:55:38.840 Today, here at Arlington, a very special place.

00:55:43.100 that how burial grounds, battlefields across the country.

00:55:49.240 And around the world, we unite in solemn observance.

00:55:55.680 With reverent hearts, we honor those who fell

00:55:59.080 so that our republic might stand,

00:56:02.120 those who died so that our nation could live,

00:56:04.660 those who gave up their sacred light on Earth

00:56:09.320 so that the sublime light of American freedom

00:56:13.100 would shine forever and ever.

00:56:17.100 This Memorial Day, we salute them, we exalt them,

00:56:22.680 and we thank them for all that we have and for all

00:56:26.540 that they gave.

00:56:27.340 They gave everything.

00:56:29.920 God bless our fallen heroes.

00:56:31.720 We're joined today by some of those they left behind,

00:56:36.320 our incredible Gold Star families, incredible people.

00:56:41.760 To every person here and across America who holds

00:56:45.340 tight to the memory of a warrior taken from them,

00:56:48.760 we will never, ever forget the ones you loved.

00:56:52.900 Gold Star family members, please stand.

00:56:56.600 Receive our thanks, please.

00:56:58.480 Thank you.

00:57:11.760 Thank you very much, my honor.

00:57:25.480 Less than six weeks from now, our nation will

00:57:28.640 reach a historic milestone — 250 years of

00:57:32.640 majestic American independence — something.

00:57:41.760 But it's only right that, first, we remember the immense sacrifice that has been brought to us

00:57:49.920 in this momentous anniversary year. That's what it is. It's a momentous year.

00:57:57.560 Before we hail the founding, we honor the fallen. Before we celebrate the triumph,

00:58:03.020 we pay the tribute. Before we crown the victory, we count the cost. Today, we are reminded that

00:58:10.260 there could be no Fourth of July without America's armed forces and there could be no Independence

00:58:16.100 Day without Memorial Day.

00:58:19.760 We owe our liberty, our self-government, the glories of our history and our very nation

00:58:25.880 itself to the generations who paid for it with everything they had, the ultimate sacrifice.

00:58:34.720 The first Americans to give their lives in battle fell on April 1775, when eight patriots 0.82

00:58:42.660 were cut down by redcoats.

00:58:47.240 Those guns, they were shot on Lexington Green.

00:58:53.200 They had answered the call to muster against their force five times their strength.

00:58:58.880 They said at the time, the greatest in the world in defense of their cherished rights

00:59:03.920 and their cherished liberty.

00:59:06.820 As the British approached the Massachusetts,

00:59:09.800 militiamen summoned destiny itself, saying,

00:59:13.100 if they mean to have a war, let it begin right here.

00:59:25.400 Taleb Harrington was 23 years old

00:59:28.040 when he accompanied his father to the green that day,

00:59:32.280 torn apart from each other in the chaos of combat.

00:59:36.580 That American son died trying to fight his way

00:59:39.580 back to his father.

00:59:40.780 He wanted to get back to dad.

00:59:43.820 Caleb's cousin Jonathan was struck down at age 31,

00:59:47.300 shot within the side of his home,

00:59:49.200 and his young wife and child who awaited his return.

00:59:54.600 Jonathan crawled, bleeding back to them

00:59:58.240 to die on his own doorstep.

01:00:00.240 for a final terrible but beautiful farewell his widow and orphan were perhaps the very first

01:00:10.720 gold star family in a long unbroken chain that reaches up through the ages to us right here today

01:00:18.020 when our founding fathers put the ideas of the declaration of independence to paper in

01:00:24.420 Philadelphia. They signed and sealed an oath that had already been written in blood by patriots at

01:00:31.380 Lexington Concord and Bunker Hill. Their sacrifice birthed the most incredible and exceptional nation

01:00:39.040 in all of history. And our nation is doing better today than it's ever done before.

01:00:54.420 That's right.

01:00:58.940 The cause of independence exploded from that part of the American soul that will not be

01:01:05.000 tamed, that will never be conquered, that will rather face death than to live as slaves

01:01:11.440 to the arbitrary will of another.

01:01:16.420 This is the unyielding spirit that has always set Americans apart and driven generations

01:01:21.660 of American warriors into battle, their chest beating with a cry that says, we will govern

01:01:30.140 ourselves. We will control our destiny. We will bow to no one but the righteous God who made us

01:01:39.380 and who gave us our rights and blessed this land of free and the bravest of the brave.

01:01:45.400 Ten days into the legendary Battle of the Bulge, in World War II, Lieutenant Colonel Keith Ware led 11 men in a tank against entrenched German positions, the toughest positions anywhere in the world.

01:02:03.280 Half the patrol, including Ware himself, were soon wounded.

01:02:06.640 Yet still, he killed five enemy riflemen, demolished three German machine gun nests, forced a fourth to surrender.

01:02:15.400 and captured the hill.

01:02:17.720 For his heroism, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

01:02:23.260 Unlike most drafted soldiers, Ware stayed in the Army

01:02:26.280 and rose to the rank of general, a highly respected general.

01:02:30.700 In Vietnam, as commander of the 1st Infantry,

01:02:33.800 the Big Red One, they called it.

01:02:39.020 That's very nice.

01:02:41.960 He led from the front.

01:02:43.600 And in 1968, that's where he was shot down, surveying enemy positions for the famous assault on Hill 222.

01:02:55.400 Known as the Fighting General, he's buried here in Arlington.

01:02:59.340 And with us is his grandson and namesake, Staff Sergeant Keith Ware at Air Force Veteran.

01:03:08.400 Keith, where are you, Keith?

01:03:10.380 Where are you, Keith?

01:03:11.500 Hi, Keith.

01:03:13.600 Thank you very much, great honor.

01:03:24.600 We're also honored to be joined by a man who, like General Ware, is a veteran of the largest

01:03:31.440 battle in U.S. Army history, the Battle of the Bulge.

01:03:36.100 At 15, Harry Miller lied about his age, to enlist, and was soon fighting to stop the

01:03:42.360 SS Panzer Divisions as part of the famed 740th Tank Battalion, the Daredevils they were called,

01:03:51.320 of which he is among the last surviving members at 97 years old. Within six months after the battle,

01:03:58.760 Harry's unit lost 42 comrades. He's remembering them today. Sergeant Miller,

01:04:04.920 It is a true honor to have you with us, Sergeant Miller.

01:04:34.920 And it looks great, thank you.

01:04:45.440 Many of the greatest men of that generation followed along an epic path from World War

01:04:51.260 II to Korea and to Vietnam.

01:04:54.580 Major Charles Kelly was the father of aggressive dust-off helicopter flying that made Army

01:05:01.200 medical evacuation pilots among the most fearless in Vietnam, the greatest helicopter pilots they

01:05:08.260 say that ever lived. Like Sergeant Miller, Charles enlisted to serve in World War II at age 15. He was

01:05:16.460 wounded at the Battle of Aiken and went on to fight in Korea. But flying helicopter ambulances

01:05:24.500 and Vietnam is what etched his name into history.

01:05:28.100 Since I have been here, he wrote in 1964,

01:05:32.240 we have evacuated 1,800 casualties.

01:05:36.120 And in the last three months, we've flown 242 hours at night.

01:05:41.300 No other unit can match this.

01:05:42.900 And they flew the most dangerous routes

01:05:45.200 probably in the history of warfare.

01:05:48.000 Two weeks later, under brutal enemy fire,

01:05:50.580 Kelly refused to withdraw until he had loaded

01:05:52.980 the wounded aboard as he prepared for takeoff an enemy bullet pierced his heart yet charles

01:06:00.920 kelly's heroic life-saving style lived on his comrades and command passed on to captain patrick

01:06:08.560 henry brady and four years later brady piloted three damaged helicopters in turn to evacuate an

01:06:16.080 incredible 51 wounded warriors under intense fire,

01:06:20.580 fire like no one has seen up until that point.

01:06:23.960 For this, he received also the Congressional Medal of Honor.

01:06:29.560 General Brady is with us at 89 years old as we salute

01:06:34.640 his fallen mentor, Charles Kelly.

01:06:37.340 Thank you very much.

01:06:38.300 Thank you for being here.

01:06:46.080 Thank you very much.

01:07:01.420 Sergeant First Class Matthew McClintock enlisted in the Army in 2006 and became a very special

01:07:08.780 green beret in 2016 he found himself in an hours-long firefight with afghan terrorists

01:07:18.300 when a comrade was severely wounded matthew wanted to find a landing zone for a medevac

01:07:24.300 rescue very dangerous horrible horrible way to be flying he was reminded on the dangers but

01:07:32.460 But Matthew replied, we have to save him.

01:07:34.820 We have to do it.

01:07:36.900 Running out in the face of mortars and rocket-propelled

01:07:40.060 grenades, he went to work, but was soon gravely wounded.

01:07:44.140 He was hit from every possible angle.

01:07:47.480 Matthew fell that day, but the soldier he gave his

01:07:50.320 life to save survived and thrived.

01:07:53.580 And Matthew was awarded the Silver Star.

01:07:57.520 We're deeply honored to be joined by Matthew's mother,

01:08:00.520 Joyce, his widow, Allie, and his precious young son,

01:08:04.360 Declan, here to remember Matthew at his grave in

01:08:08.900 Section 60, 10 years later.

01:08:12.140 So, Joyce and Allie and Declan, we salute

01:08:14.760 Sergeant Matthew McClintock as an American hero.

01:08:18.640 Please, thank you.

01:08:30.520 These are tremendous people.

01:08:42.760 These are brave, brave people.

01:08:44.800 In two wars recently, we've lost a total of 13 service

01:08:50.200 members in Venezuela, which was a complete and total

01:08:54.440 victory, where we're working very closely with

01:08:57.420 the venezuela government right now we took that over in one day lost no one in operation epic fury

01:09:06.780 we lost 13 wonderful souls wonderful special people these incredible men and women gave their

01:09:13.020 lives to ensure that the world's number one state sponsor of terror will never have a nuclear weapon

01:09:19.900 oh and they won't they will never have a nuclear weapon i'm sure you i'm sure you know that 0.60

01:09:27.420 One of them was Major Ariana Savino Lince, and we're

01:09:35.820 joined by her great family, Omyra, Darren,

01:09:40.440 Zevin, and Wick.

01:09:43.400 Stand up, please.

01:09:44.780 Please.

01:09:47.180 There he is.

01:09:47.980 There he is.

01:09:49.340 Thank you very much.

01:09:53.740 Thank you, Vic.

01:09:57.420 Thank you very much.

01:10:12.400 To all of you, Ariana's selfless gift will not be in vain.

01:10:17.020 Our debt to you is everlasting, and it's always going to end in victory.

01:10:22.180 We're having victories all over the place, more

01:10:25.080 than we've had in many, many decades.

01:10:28.780 Scripture tells us precious is the sight of

01:10:33.100 the Lord, is the death of his faithful servants.

01:10:37.060 Four hundred thousand souls rest on these

01:10:40.140 grounds, these beautiful grounds, in the sacred

01:10:43.560 soil, which is first consecrated in the hours

01:10:47.180 of America's greatest division to be eternal

01:10:50.300 symbol of national unity.

01:10:53.140 It cannot be by chance alone that the very first

01:10:56.280 service member laid to rest here in this place of

01:10:59.680 supreme sacrifice was a Union soldier by the name

01:11:03.680 of Private Christman, Private William Henry

01:11:09.620 Christman of Pennsylvania, who died as 19 years old.

01:11:16.320 He was a great young man, they say.

01:11:20.300 Beside him are more than 18,000 other young men named William.

01:11:24.560 Over 20,000 named John.

01:11:26.600 Over 13,000 named James.

01:11:31.260 Joined over time by Isaac, Elijah, Earls, Hanks, Helens, Wands, Margarets, Marius, Donalds.

01:11:43.600 not too many, and others whose names tell the true story of American greatness, and greatness

01:11:53.700 it is. Here beneath arching trees and white stones so beautiful, these many are made one

01:12:00.900 again, united forever as brothers and sisters in arms and children of our fathers in heaven.

01:12:09.900 And from coast to coast, from proud cities to humble towns, and from heartland fields,

01:12:15.980 from every race and religion, they came because they could not bear the thought that the nation

01:12:22.220 they loved so much might ask for heroes and hear no answer.

01:12:28.280 But they answered, and they answered very, very loudly at Ticonderoga and San Juan Hill,

01:12:36.720 At Manila Bay and Midway, at Point Du Hac and Busan,

01:12:42.360 the courage of the American warrior

01:12:44.300 has forged a path through every sea

01:12:46.560 and every place that's marked a trail

01:12:49.960 to every corner on the Earth.

01:12:52.660 In 250 years, America's heroes have saved more lives,

01:12:57.040 freed more captives, accomplished more good,

01:12:59.980 and spread more hope than any other people

01:13:03.880 at any time in the history of the world.

01:13:06.720 Whole nations, no liberty today, entire generations, no freedom.

01:13:12.320 Billions and billions of people have been delivered from poverty, tyranny, and oppression

01:13:17.740 because of the sacrifices we honor this day.

01:13:22.520 That's why, from Brittany to Sicily, from Panama City to Saipan,

01:13:29.060 from the Netherlands to North Africa to New Zealand,

01:13:33.560 This whole planet is adorned with memorials

01:13:37.200 to America's fallen and to America's greatness.

01:13:41.400 To their courage, carved in marble

01:13:43.880 and engraved in the hearts of all of mankind,

01:13:48.140 we will never forget you.

01:13:50.420 From 1776 to 2026, America has always stood

01:13:56.340 as a great and moral cause.

01:13:59.380 Our warriors are no mere mercenaries.

01:14:02.260 They are guardian angels who stride across the

01:14:05.360 battlefields of history and stand watch over the

01:14:09.300 highest and most beautiful plains the human spirit

01:14:14.040 has ever seen, holding the line between liberty and

01:14:16.940 tyranny, between civilization and barbarism,

01:14:20.820 between good and evil.

01:14:23.980 Wherever the American soldier walks, wherever

01:14:27.360 he fights, wherever he fails, and wherever he

01:14:31.120 falls. He does it for the destiny of a nation like no

01:14:37.060 other. There's never been anybody like you. And for the

01:14:42.040 fate of freedom on this earth, we salute you like nobody has

01:14:47.080 ever been saluted before.

01:14:49.720 By their deaths, those who have gone before us in battle have redeemed the promise of

01:15:04.460 our founding for each future generation. They've not just made the ultimate sacrifice,

01:15:11.900 they've offered the ultimate proof that we Americans do indeed love liberty. We do cherish

01:15:18.180 the self-government given to us by our forefathers.

01:15:22.580 We do believe with all our souls in the mission that God has given to America.

01:15:28.740 And we do intend, with all our strength and heart,

01:15:32.260 to hold high the torch our heroes handed to us.

01:15:35.460 And we will never, ever let it fall.

01:15:40.340 Thank you very much. You are special, special people.

01:15:44.020 We love you all. God bless the families of the fallen.

01:15:47.620 God bless the men and women who serve, and God bless the United States of America.

01:15:53.560 Thank you very much, everybody.

01:16:17.620 Ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing for the plague of taps and the benediction.

01:16:47.620 PIANO PLAYS

01:17:17.620 Now receive the benediction.

01:17:39.700 god of all creation we pray you bless our nation our leaders and those who make decisions over us

01:17:49.680 with wisdom unity and grace toward all now may the god of peace who provides freedom to gather

01:17:57.260 equip us and guide us as we leave this place may we carry the burden of the brave who paid

01:18:04.160 the ultimate sacrifice by honoring their legacy

01:18:07.580 through our pursuit of justice and compassion.

01:18:12.260 In your strong name I pray, amen.

01:18:29.300 Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated.

01:18:34.160 Please welcome back Craig Morgan and the United States Army Band performing Paradise.

01:19:04.160 They gave me a green uniform and black boots for my feet, 18 and wild as hell I thought

01:19:31.160 They put me on a plane to some strange foreign land I said goodbye to mom and dad and their old love of Sam

01:19:47.160 Once I was a soldier not afraid to die Now I'm a little older not afraid to cry

01:20:00.160 cry. Every day I'm thankful just to be alive. When you've been where I've been, any kind

01:20:14.500 of life is paradise. Christmas of 89 was a lonely time for me.

01:20:30.160 And the mall was probably fine, but it was nothing like Tennessee. I never thought the day would come when I might have to kill a man. I did not sleep, I winked that night, but we won for Uncle Sam.

01:20:50.680 Once I was a soldier, not afraid to die

01:20:57.420 Now I'm a little older, not afraid to cry

01:21:03.500 Every day I'm thankful just to be alive

01:21:11.500 You've been where I've been any kind of life

01:21:18.560 It's paradise

01:21:20.560 You've been where I've been

01:21:43.980 Any kind of life

01:21:46.220 It's paradise

01:21:48.220 It's paradise

01:21:56.220 It's paradise

01:22:16.220 Ladies and gentlemen, please rise as you are able and remain in place as the official

01:22:30.600 party departs and the colors are retired.

01:22:46.220 Thank you.

01:23:16.220 Thank you.

01:23:46.220 Thank you.

01:24:16.220 Thank you.

01:24:46.220 Thank you.

01:25:16.220 Thank you.

01:25:46.220 Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's Memorial Day observance.

01:25:51.660 Thank you for attending and enjoy the rest of your day.

01:26:08.040 Okay.

01:26:09.140 If the Army band plays any more tunes, which they normally do when people file out, we'll go back to that.

01:26:14.960 As you know, we love the Army band here at the War Room.

01:26:18.700 I want to thank everybody involved with today's broadcast.

01:26:21.940 We've still got a little bit more we're going to get to.

01:26:24.260 Number one, I really want to thank our sponsors for this,

01:26:28.040 particularly Patriot Mobile, who you've seen all weekend.

01:26:30.700 They had the great sponsorship yesterday of our musical festivities

01:26:35.860 down in Texas, Patriot Mobile, 972 Patriot.

01:26:40.420 Don't ever forget Jenny and Glenn Stewart.

01:26:42.960 I'm going to have them on tomorrow.

01:26:43.920 Tomorrow, back to work, and we're going to really get back to work

01:26:47.440 because it's the Texas runoff election with Ken Paxson,

01:26:53.240 and we have to make sure everybody turns out to vote.

01:26:55.720 The team over at Patriot Mobile has been doing a fantastic job of that.

01:27:00.960 I want to thank Glenn and Jenny Story.

01:27:03.720 Jenny, one of the foundational elements of the grassroots movement in Texas.

01:27:09.380 I want to thank that 972 Patriot.

01:27:11.260 also Birch Gold, birchgold.com slash Bannon, not promo code, as Mo tells me. Beats me about the

01:27:19.320 head and shoulders on that. Appropriate remarks by the commander-in-chief. You also had the vice

01:27:26.460 president of the United States. You had the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the secretary

01:27:30.260 of war, all giving different elements. Benediction, very solemn. And of course, the laying of the

01:27:37.680 wreath on the tomb of the unknown uh with everything that went on today i gotta tell you i

01:27:42.620 was very very impressed with the um with the um comments what we call appropriate remarks from the

01:27:52.660 gold star families uh and um karen vaughn at the end that was aaron carson vaughn who's a navy seal

01:28:00.960 who gave his life in defense of his country in afghanistan was one of the up there and we're

01:28:07.100 to go back i want to play that in its entirety because i think it was some of the most important

01:28:11.480 things i've heard uh in a while at these commemorations on um on memorial day the

01:28:18.140 president united states is headed back back to the white house where they're working on this

01:28:22.540 peace deal i think we can tell you that the president is telling you that he'll be able to

01:28:27.660 announce it when he's ready to announce it that they're working through this and a lot of moving

01:28:31.560 pieces of this the president put out today about the abraham accords the president's talking about

01:28:36.400 you know uh no dust no dollars as far as the nuclear goes it's very complicated and uh he's

01:28:42.240 been very critical as i think he should be of folks jumping into the middle of this negotiation and

01:28:47.520 saying he's surrendering and you know you need to continue to um to bring kinetic activity back to

01:28:54.320 the amulas and to the ayatollahs so president trump's been pretty adamant he's working on this

01:28:59.840 he's working through all these complex issues and try to sequence this all appropriately

01:29:03.600 capital markets particularly oral markets been responding I think positively thinking something's

01:29:08.580 going on but obviously tomorrow we're going to have all of that uh tons of new things on

01:29:13.520 artificial intelligence there's so much going on in the world geopolitically but on today

01:29:18.000 kind of in the high church of a civic religion of the United States Memorial Day is the most

01:29:23.380 profound day we have because it is remembering our honored dead and I want to thank uh Patrick

01:29:28.680 k o'donnell uh go to patrick day o'connell patrick k o'donnell's website and get all his writings

01:29:34.200 you will any book you get you will be um mesmerized by because it's just absolutely

01:29:40.660 uh terrific here's what we're going to do uh once again i want to thank our sponsors patriot mobile

01:29:45.720 birch gold two of the best sponsor all these activities we have the entire team at real

01:29:51.020 america's voice i always want to thank the denver team uh that gives up first off they always give

01:29:55.480 of their Saturdays to support us on the Saturday show,

01:29:57.520 and then when we have these specials, the team's always in there.

01:30:00.760 What we're going to do is we're going to play, go back.

01:30:02.620 It's about 10 minutes.

01:30:04.040 I want to play the remarks from the Gold Star families,

01:30:08.720 and it ends with a Gold Star mother, Karen Vaughn,

01:30:12.940 about her son, Aaron Carson Vaughn.

01:30:15.480 And then we are going to cut in the time remaining cut

01:30:18.200 to the Charlie Kirk show that's doing a prerecord, I think, special,

01:30:22.860 and then continue on with the regular broadcasting of Real America's Voice throughout the afternoon.

01:30:29.320 Let's go now back to Arlington National Cemetery just moments ago, the Gold Star families.

01:30:38.280 Good morning.

01:30:41.140 It's both an honor and very humbling for Karen and I to be able to speak in front of you this morning.

01:30:48.080 The first time I visited Arlington National Cemetery was in 2003 with my

01:30:54.560 wife Karen and our only son Aaron. At the entrance, Karen took our picture beneath

01:31:00.200 a sign that read, Welcome to Arlington National Cemetery, our nation's most

01:31:04.940 sacred shrine. Please conduct yourself with quiet dignity and respect at all

01:31:10.760 times. Remember these are hallowed grounds. We walked these grounds for hours

01:31:16.680 that day, understanding though not yet fully the weight of those words. The second time

01:31:23.480 I visited Arlington was on August 26, 2011, to bury Aaron. For most of my life I had heard

01:31:33.480 the phrase, the cost of freedom. Like many Americans, I honored Memorial Day, understanding

01:31:38.940 what it represented, but never truly feeling its weight personally. For many, it becomes

01:31:45.680 It was a three-day weekend filled with sales, family, friends, and backyard barbecues.

01:31:53.120 But on August 6, 2011, the cost of freedom knocked on our family's front door.

01:32:02.580 Every Gold Star family member here today remembers that moment.

01:32:08.300 The knock at the door, the phone call, the words that instantly divide your life into

01:32:16.200 two chapters.

01:32:18.880 Before they died and after.

01:32:23.980 For our family, it felt as though a mirror had shattered.

01:32:28.360 One piece was gone forever, and every remaining piece would never be the same again.

01:32:34.960 There were days, weeks, even months, when it felt like it would be easier to die than

01:32:39.840 to continue to live.

01:32:42.400 But we cannot remain in that place forever.

01:32:46.240 Their sacrifice is too great.

01:32:49.240 Our families are too important, and this republic must endure for those who come after us.

01:32:56.360 As my friend Tim Brown has said, we can allow the weight of their sacrifice to crush us,

01:33:01.720 Or we can honor it by serving others and by living lives worthy of their sacrifice.

01:33:09.700 I want to thank President Trump, Secretary Hegseth, and our military leaders for giving our warfighters the freedom to fight as they've been trained to fight.

01:33:18.540 To defeat the enemy decisively, without unnecessary restrictions placed on them that have too often hindered them in recent years.

01:33:28.060 And to every Gold Star family here today, your loved ones are not forgotten.

01:33:36.140 Their lives mattered.

01:33:38.400 Their sacrifice matters.

01:33:41.000 And may we live every day worthy of the freedom they helped preserve.

01:33:45.520 Thank you.

01:33:46.000 For 250 years, the world has waited for America to fail.

01:34:03.280 Empires around us have risen and fallen, borders have shifted, and governments have collapsed.

01:34:09.920 But through every trial faced, our republic endured.

01:34:13.860 Why?

01:34:15.300 this nation was founded upon a single idea powerful enough to outlive kingdoms and empires.

01:34:22.520 And that idea was freedom.

01:34:26.100 For 250 years, Americans have possessed the God-given right to confront injustice, to

01:34:32.640 resist tyranny, to worship freely, to speak openly and make our voices heard, not only

01:34:39.140 in voting booths but also in the streets, something most people in the world are unable

01:34:44.260 to do without facing prison or even death. And by the way, one of the greatest lies Americans

01:34:52.440 absorb is this, that freedom is normal. It isn't. It never has been. Freedom is not humanity's

01:35:02.360 default condition. Those of us fortunate enough to have grown up in America have never known

01:35:08.720 life without it. And because of that, we rarely stop to consider how precious it is or how

01:35:15.540 staggering the price has been to preserve it. But our surroundings today memorialize one important

01:35:22.560 truth. We only remain free because of the brave men and women throughout our history who have

01:35:29.700 signed their names on that dotted line and said, even if it cost me my life, I will fight to

01:35:35.720 preserve and defend this, the American dream. Every stone surrounding us represents a name,

01:35:44.620 a story, a circle of family and friends who loved that person so much that they could not imagine

01:35:51.860 a world without them in it. Which brings me to my son, Aaron. Aaron Vaughn was many things.

01:35:58.880 A son, a brother, a husband, a father, a Navy SEAL, a fierce warfighter, a really good football player, and a warm, loving, kind, funny man who would give you the shirt off his back.

01:36:13.700 But the most important thing I will ever tell you about Aaron is this.

01:36:18.080 He had a personal and deep relationship with Jesus Christ.

01:36:21.380 And that's why you see hope, joy, and resolve on this mother's face today, because I know that one day I will hold my son again.

01:36:34.400 Throughout my life, freedom was a concept, a moment in history, a story about brave people who refused to bow any longer to the chains of tyranny.

01:36:45.560 It was something we celebrated on the 4th of July.

01:36:48.000 But on August 6, 2011, freedom became a sentence that began with, we regret to inform you.

01:36:57.540 Freedom became the silence left behind by a boy whose laughter filled every room he ever entered.

01:37:05.840 Freedom became a folded flag placed in my arms on behalf of a grateful nation.

01:37:11.940 My son had given his life for me.

01:37:14.540 For us, for every American who wakes up under the protection every day of the red, white, and blue.

01:37:25.220 In this after, it has become my mission to remind people that freedom is not an abstract idea

01:37:33.500 and certainly not something owed to us simply because we're here.

01:37:38.940 As Ronald Reagan once said, you and I have a rendezvous with destiny.

01:37:44.540 We can preserve this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we can sentence the next generation of young people to take the first step into 1,000 years of darkness.

01:37:57.100 And he went on to say, and this is my favorite part, if we are destined to fail, if this way of ours is to be lost, then at least let our children and our children's children know that it did not fail because we failed to try.

01:38:12.340 And I wonder, have you ever stopped to consider that our national anthem ends with a question mark?

01:38:20.800 Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave.

01:38:24.320 For generations, our military has defended that banner on battlefields across the globe.

01:38:30.280 But my greatest fear has never been that America will be conquered from abroad.

01:38:35.400 My greatest fear is that we, the citizens of this nation, will fail to preserve her

01:38:43.080 from within.

01:38:44.460 That we will grow so cynical, so divided, and so ungrateful for what we've inherited

01:38:50.720 that we forget what was sacrificed to give it to us in the first place.

01:38:55.780 And God forbid we ever let that happen.

01:39:00.360 The men and women buried in these sacred fields left us with one charge.

01:39:05.360 Don't let America fall.

01:39:09.540 You can almost hear their final pleas around us.

01:39:13.200 Make sure my sacrifice was worth the cost.

01:39:17.920 Not only to me, but to all those who had to go on living without me.

01:39:25.180 I make no apologies for loving this country.

01:39:28.080 America is not perfect.

01:39:29.520 We have flaws, we have failures, and we have dark chapters in our history.

01:39:34.560 But the reason I love this country so much is because I understand a fundamental truth

01:39:40.540 that history can only be shifted where freedom exists.

01:39:45.940 Freedom to speak, freedom to challenge, to protest and disagree, freedom to strive towards

01:39:52.680 something better.

01:39:55.000 And if you've started believing that America's best days are behind her, I encourage you

01:39:59.580 to do two things. Turn off your television and step away from social media. Because when

01:40:06.440 you or I walk into a grocery store and we begin chatting with the people around us in

01:40:11.540 line or when we witness strangers helping each other after a devastating storm or when

01:40:18.120 we're standing in a crowd at a ball game cheering for our favorite team, it is of no concern

01:40:23.860 to us how the person standing beside us voted.

01:40:30.880 What we're witnessing there in those situations is the real America, not the America we are

01:40:36.560 constantly told to hate, but the America still worth believing in, still worth fighting for,

01:40:44.000 and still worth dying for.

01:40:46.720 Over the past 15 years since our family lost Erin, we have been loved on so well by this

01:40:51.940 nation. Americans literally and figuratively wrapped their arms around us through our darkest

01:40:58.360 hours. I've seen too much generosity, too much goodness, to ever buy into the lie that the

01:41:05.940 American way of life was not worth the cost. So no, I don't look around this country and see only

01:41:12.980 the bad. Everywhere I look, I see the reason Aaron Vaughn gave his life. My prayer I leave

01:41:22.180 you with today is this, that you see it too, and that we, as a nation of people blessed

01:41:28.840 enough to live in the United States of America, live lives worthy of the sacrifices that brought

01:41:35.840 us this far. Thank you.

01:41:42.980 Thank you.

01:42:12.980 We'll be right back.

01:42:42.980 I'll see you next time.

01:43:12.980 And his father's soul is good at all

01:43:22.460 And his wild horse's love

01:43:26.640 And his wild horse's love behind him

01:43:31.380 And the song says that the warrior has bowed

01:43:39.380 All the world will betray me

01:43:47.380 I'm sore than me

01:43:51.380 My eyes shall come

01:43:55.380 Where a painful heart

01:43:59.380 Shall praise me

01:44:09.380 We'll be right back.

01:44:39.380 The man strove out

01:44:57.360 Out of all my chains

01:45:01.640 Could not bring this proud

01:45:05.760 So I'm in love, I'm in love

01:45:14.360 I never spoke again

01:45:18.360 But it's all for it's cause of love

01:45:26.760 The sand and the chain shall suddenly leave

01:45:34.760 The soul of love and bravery

01:45:42.220 Thy songs were made for the pure and free

01:45:51.280 I shall never sound slavery

01:46:04.760 We'll be right back.

01:46:34.760 We'll be right back.

01:47:04.760 This has been a live special report.

01:47:14.160 We now join our programming already in progress.

Bannon's War Room - May 25, 2026

Episode 5397： WarRoom Memorial Day Special Cont.

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