For a memorial day ceremony. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the president of the United States, donald j. Trump, and the first lady, melania trump. Pres. Trump thank you. I stand before you at this noble fortress of american liberty to pay tribute to the immortal souls who fought and died to keep us free. Earlier today, the first lady and i laid a wreath in their sacred honor at Arlington National cemetery. Now we come together to salute the flag they gave their lives so boldly and brilliantly defend we pledge and their Cherished Memories that this majestic flag will proudly fly forever. We are joined for todays ceremony by secretary of defense mark esper. Secretary of the interior david bernhardt, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general mark milley, congressman andy harris, and a number of Service Members and veterans of the armed forces. The dignity, daring, and devotion of the American Military is unrivaled anywhere in history and anywhere in the world. In recent months our nation and the world have been engaged in a new form of battle against an invisible enemy. The men and women of the United States military have answered the call to duty and raced into danger. Tens of thousands of Service Members and National Guardsmen are on the front line of our war against this terrible virus. Caring for patients and delivering critical supplies, working night and day to safeguard our citizens. As one nation, we mourn alongside every Single Family that has lost love ones including the families of our great veterans. Together, we will vanquish the virus and america will rise from this crisis to new and greater heights. As our brave warriors have shown us from the nations earliest days, in america we are the captains of our own fate. No obstacle and no threat is the match for the sheer determination of the american people. This towering spirit permeates every inch of the hallowed soil beneath our seat feet. In this place more than 200 ago, american patriots stood more than 200 years ago, american patriots stood their ground and repelled a british invasion in the battle of baltimore during the war of 1812. On a september morning in 1814 , the british fleet launched an assault on this peninsula. From the harbor, 30 british warships attacked this stronghold. Rockets rained down and bombs burst in the air, and the deck of one ship, a gallant Young American was held captive. His name was Francis Scott key. For 25 hours, he watched in dismay as fire crashed down around him. Through rain and smoke, he could make out 15 broad stripes and 15 bright stars, battered but still there. American forces did not waver, they did not retreat, they stared down the invasion and the hell that they had to endure, they held like nobody could have held before. They held this fort. The british retreated and independence was saved. Francis scott key was so inspired by the site of our flag in that battle, that the grounds he fought on became hallowed and he wrote a poem. His ageless words became the anthem of our nation, the starspangled banner. Every time we sing our anthem, every time its chorus swells, our hearts with pride we renew the a turtle bonds of loyalty to our Fallen Heroes and we think of the soldiers who spent their final heroic moments on distant battlefields to keep us safe at home. We remember the Young Americans who never got the chance to grow old, but whose legacy will outlive us all. In every generation, these intrepid souls kissed goodbye to their families and loved ones , they took flight in planes, set sail on ships and marched into battle with our flag , fighting for our country , defending our people. When liberty was in jeopardy , american warriors carried the flag through ice and snow to vic reed at trenton and they hoisted it up the mast of great battleships in manila bay and they fought through hell to raise it high atop a Remote Island in the Pacific Ocean called iwo jima. From the Philippine Sea to fallujah, from new orleans to normandie, from saratoga to saipan, from the battle of baltimore to the battle of the bulge, americans gave their lives to carry that flag through piercing waves, blazing fires, sweltering deserts, and storms of bullets and shrapnel. They climbed atop enemy tanks, jumped out of burning airplanes , and leapt on live grenades. Their love was boundless, their devotion was without limit. Their courage was beyond measure. Army green beret captain daniel edgars grew up in cape coral , florida determined to continue his Family Tradition of military service and it was a great addition. He attended the legendary Citadel Military College in South Carolina and soon he met a beautiful cadet and they fell in love, married, and had two sons. In 2004, daniel left for his second deployment in afghanistan. On the morning of may 29, he and his team were courageously pursuing a group of deadly terrorists when he was killed by an improvised explosive device. This week is the 16th anniversary of the day that he made the supreme sacrifice for our nation, he laid down his life to defeat evil and save his fellow citizens. At the time of his death, his sons billy and john were three and five years old. Today they have followed in his footsteps, both students at the citadel, planning to serve in the military. Their amazing mom rebecca has now served more than 23 years in the u. S. Army and everywhere she goes, she wears the goldstar pin on the lapel of her uniform. Colonel Rebecca Edgars and her two sons are here today along with daniels father, bill, and mother, margo. To the entire family, your sacrifice is beyond our ability to comprehend or repay. We honor daniels incredible life and sacrifice and promise you we will treasure his blessed memory forever. Thank you very much for being here. [applause] thank you. Thank you. Great family. Thank you very much. To every goldstar family here today and across our land, our debt to you is infinite and everlasting. We stand with you today and all days to come, remembering and grieving for americas greatest heroes. In spirit and strength and loyalty and love, character and courage, they were largerthanlife itself. They were angels sent from above and they are now rejoined with god in the glorious kingdom of heaven. Wherever the stars and stripes fly, at our schools, churches, town halls, firehouses and national monuments, it is made possible because there are extraordinary americans who are willing to brave death so that we can live in freedom and live in peace. In the two centuries since Francis Scott key wrote about the stirring sight of our flag in battle, countless other american patriots have given their own testimony about the meaning of the flag. One was a world war ii veteran from ohio. He and his twin brother fought sidebyside in general Pattons Third Army at the battle of the bulge. The twins volunteered for a dangerous mission, they took out four enemy tanks, two machine gun nests, and another position that was powerful and loaded up with mortars. His brother was mortally wounded. Jim held his dying brother, praying together as his twin passed away. Jim fought to victory and came home to build a Great American life. He married and became an electrical engineer and taught young people about war. As an old man, he was asked about the American Flag and what it meant to him. Jim said, the flag to me is as precious as the freedom that the flag stands for. Its as precious to me as the thousands of lives that have been lost defending her. It gave me a value of life that i could never have gotten any other way. It gave me a value of my lord, my family, my friends, loved ones, and my country. What more could i ask . Last month, jim died peacefully at his home at the age of 94. This afternoon, we are honored to be joined by his grandsons, andy and ron. [applause] thank you very much. Thank you very much. As we remember the sacrifice of jack, we honor jims service, and we are moved by his beautiful words. Andy and ron, thank you for being here to remember your grandfather and his brother and what they did for us all. Most importantly, what they stood for. From generation to generation, heroes like these have poured out their blood, sweat, heart, and tears for our country. America is strong, safe, mighty , and free. Because of them, two centuries on, the starspangled banner still proudly waves. For as long as our flag flies in the sky above, the names of these fallen warriors will be woven into its threads, for as long as we have citizens willing to follow their example to carry on their bird and you their legacy, American Freedom will never die. Today we honor the heroes we have lost. We pray for the loved ones they left behind, and with god as our witness, we solemnly vowed to protect, preserve, and cherish this land they gave their last breath to defend. God bless the military and the memory of the fallen. God bless our goldstar families and god bless america. Thank you very much. [applause] cspan has unfiltered coverage of congress, the white house, the supreme court, and Public Policy events from the president ial primaries through the impeachment process. Now, the federal response to the coronavirus. You can watch all of cspans Public Affairs programming on television, online, or listen on our free radio at. Be part of the National Conversation through cspan staley Washington Journal Program or through our social media feed. Cspan, created by americas Cable Television companies as a Public Service and brought to you today by your television provider. [inaudible] this week, live coverage of the launch of space exes commercial to group test fight. The first launch on american soil since 2011. Live on cspan, the countdown clock briefing with Jim Bridenstine im. Wednesday, our live coverage of 12 15ew launch begins at p. M. Eastern on cspan two with left off at 4 30 p. M. They launch to the International Space station, said a postlaunch briefing at 6 00 eastern. At 11 15, all they live coverage of the spacex crew dragon as it docs with the International Space station, and the opening of the hatch between the two space vehicles. Watch live on cspan and cspan2 , online at cspan. Org, or listen on the free cspan radio app. Engines, 8, 7, six up and burning. Liftoff. The final dream. Will continue the on wednesday, nasa will launch to u. S. Astronauts into space for the First Time Since the retirement of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. The astronauts will join the current team on board the International Space station. Tomorrow night at 8 00, we explore the history of Space Exploration as we tour the country to hear the stories of the people and places key twist development. You see the sun. Its incredible. It changes you. It changed me fundamentally. It made me have a cognitive shift in the way that i think about humanity. In 1935 an early flight to study the curvature of the earth. A recordbreaking 72,000 feet. We take you to nasa training sites. We are in the laboratory for the cognitive communication test. We still talk about the role that we played on the frontlines of the cold war. The space race was a Major Initiative within the cold war. Here forauts came navigation training. They needed to know the night sky better than anyone. An observatory in operation since 1884 that specializes in the photography of the moon. Stories of two women who left their mark on the nation. I made friends of the last two weeks. When that shuttle goals goes there will be 10 solveig taking with me. Thank you. Figures showed everyone who Katherine Johnson was, what she did, and how profound she was in the pages of american history. The history of Space Exploration as the cspan cities tour explores the american story. We are checking and around the country this morning with your calls and with reporters as well from around the country, talking about reopening in various states. We want to head now to the buckeye state. We are joined by said seth richardson. Cleveland. Com, the political reporter there. ,ne of your recent stories summer looks like its back on at least a little bit. What is back in ohio . Guest all kinds of things are back. Part of it is because governor mike