Thank you. For. Ladies and gentlemen will you please be seated . And in a moment, you will stand again again. As all of you ladies and gentlemen, please. Be seated. At a moment, you will stand again. As all of you know, this is the largest dinner ever held in the white house. That, in itself, would make it important. I think we should also know that, in this great house, the most distinguished men and women of the world have been entertained. Emperors, kings, president s, and leaders from virtually every nation of the world have been honored here, and of course, they have honored this house by being here. I know that i speak for all the American People when i say that , never, has the white house been more proud than it is tonight because of the guests we have tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. Im jim byron, president and ceo of the Richard Nixon foundation. Its my honor to welcome you. Thank you. To welcome you all back to the Nixon Library on behalf of the board of directors and the nixon family. Its a special privilege for us to honor you this evening, 50 years to the day that you celebrated your homecoming at the white house. This evening, were joined by a few special guests to celebrate with you representing the family of president mrs. Nixon, please welcome tricia nixon cox, the eldest daughter of mr. Nixon. And edward cox, her husband, and the chairman of the new york republican party. Ed and tricia have an additional distinction in that they were at the dinner 50 years ago at the white house with all of you. I would also like to welcome melanie eisenhower, youngest granddaughter of resident mrs. Nixon and the daughter of julie nixon eisenhower. Melanies husband, joseph sergio. We are joined by a number of members of the board of directors at the Richard Nixon foundation, including Robert Obrien, chairman of the board. Charlie jane, treasurer, Albert Alvarez, who i know you all know, larry d, ken keegan, lori young, and a great former governor for the state of california, governor pete wilson. Id like to welcome senators harper, the only vietnam war veteran serving in the United States senate from we will be hearing a bit later in the evening. Thank you for being here, senator. I would be remiss if i didnt acknowledge the major sponsors in support of this 50th anniversary homecoming celebration. You are now going to be able to see them on the screens inside me. I like to thank our major supporters, the airpower foundation, american airlines, Randy Dillinger is here, this evening, managing all the military affairs, the carries in his foundation, innout burger, sara and ross perot junior, in order of ross perot sr. Thank you for all you have done. Of course, lane and charlie jane, underwriting the dinner this evening. Thank you. Working with the organization, we pulled together a tremendous group of individuals, companies, and foundations to welcome you this evening. On behalf of the dan powell organization and he Nixon Foundation, i want to thank everyone for their support. In a room in which everyone is a special guest, and can be a tad awkward to single out a few, i know you will support me in this brief indulgence, and i want to recognize medal of honor recipient robert patterson, who is a guest this evening, awarded the medal of honor for conspicuous gallantry in the intrepidity in action at the risk of his life by president nixon at the white house rose garden in 1969. Take you. I like to welcome his excellency, ambassador, michelle otani, the ambassador of qatar to the United States of america. Thank you for being here, ms. Ambassador. As well as general t. Michael mosley, longesttenured for the notices air force. Major general benjamin watson, commanding general, first marine division. We not only welcome but thank him for his support and the support of the United States marine corps for the 50th anniversary brought to life. Thank you. Like to recognize also tamra martin, recently appointed director of the nixon president ial libraries with the administration. Thank you, tamara. Now, lets begin our evening in prayer, as robert delivers this evenings invocation. Let us pray. Oh, lord, our governor, blessed leaders of our land, that we may be at peace among ourselves, and a blessing to other nations of the earth, to the president and members of the cabinet, to governors who have states, mayors, and cities, all administered of authority, great wisdom, grace, and exercise of their duties, to senators and representatives, and those who make laws that have states, cities, and towns, your courage, wisdom, and foresight, provide for the needs of our people and to fulfill our obligations in the community of nations. To the judges and officers of our courts, give understanding and integrity, as human rights may be safeguarded and justice served. We commend to your gracious care in keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace. Strengthen them in their trials and temptations. Give them courage to face the perils which beset them, and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be. Look a favor upon all of our members of our vietnam prisoners of war, as we strive to fulfill our commitment to live in honor. Give us courage, patience, and vision, and strengthen us to speak clearly, to this nation, about the honorable was encompassed by men and women in uniform, in defense of this nation, and our allies. And to advocate for those who have been left behind. Finally, teach our people to rely on your strength, and to accept their responsibilities to their fellow citizens. That they may elect trustworthy leaders, and make wise decisions for the wellbeing of our society. That we may serve you faithfully in her generation, honor your holy name, for yours is the kingdom, o lord, and you are exalted as above all. Amen. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I invite you to stand for the presentation of colors in the National Anthem by the United States honor guard, oc music and dance. Trumpet, at the ready. One, two, three. Ha ha ha ha oh, oh, ha. Rate, color color. Ready colors, present colors oh. My. Are you are color very colored welcome. Color. Ready ready, but colors order go ready, sweep ready, cut fall out. Right, set, forward, march. Lade seated. Welcome. P. O. W. Everett alvarez and tom han. Ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. Welcome, p. O. W. S Albert Alvarez and tom hatton. The lamp house organization, i want to take this opportunity thank you. On behalf of the campos organization, i want to take this opportunity to show appreciation to the Richard Nixon president ial library, to the board of directors, for hosting golden anniversary reunion celebrating 50 years of freedom. I also want to recognize tim barr, and staff, and the people that work long and hard in arranging all of the events, the ceremonies, beginning yesterday, followed by the tors, the barbecue, and tonight events, due to a lot of the hard work, but they did it with enthusiasm, and i can see that in their words of expression, and i can see that. We can see it in the results. And so, i want you all to know that this is, truly, appreciated for all of the staff and volunteers, and all who worked on these events. I also want to note, fellows, you think you received enough attention now . Well, for the past 50 years, each of you, in your own way, have been telling our story, and what you have done is that youve established a legacy of what we are and what we represent, all of you. You know, our circumstances were unique, but what people recognize, what the American Public recognizes is how weve dealt with those circumstances. They recognize that, you know, you responded with care to, courage, resiliency, and honor, and thats what we see when we talk about p. O. W. S of the vietnam war. I get that those statements from people, strangers, all the time, and im sure you do exactly that. So, this profile that we now have established is one thats going to be around for generations all i want to say is , you guys, you can be proud of that. I want to note we came home 50 years ago, as many did not, and i have, we have, tom hanson to remind us of those memories of which we are talking to remember, a m. I. A. S. Theres nothing more enthusiastic for me than being around a bunch of likeminded warriors and patriots. Tonight is, pure, the best of all. To those of you who are unfamiliar with how warriors pay homage to their missing, this small table is the vietnam warera depiction of that. A little history. It was started as tactics conferences in highland in the mid60s, when the navy, marines, and air force Fighter Pilots gathered to improve their tactics, and at the end of those tactics conferences, they would have a dinner. Not as an elaborate dinner, but similar. More formal. As formal as you can be in a combat zone. I dont know the name, and i dont think the names of the guys who designed this table but i will describe the items that are on this table to give you the context of it. How we pay homage to our missing men, and in todays world, the men and women i use that term generically so, the small table indicates one man, soldiers, battling against many. Its covered with a white tablecloth to honor the soldiers pure heart when they answer their country whos called to duty. His life is placed on the plate with grains of salt. It shows a captive soldier whos better fate and the tears of the families who wait for that they treats return. An empty chair is at the table for the missing soldiers who are not with us tonight. The black napkin, which is sorrow of captivity, for those who are p. O. W. S, and the turnover glass is symbolic of the meal that will not be eaten. The white candle is for peace, and finally, the red rose, in the vase, tied with a red ribbon, for the hope that all of our missing will return someday. Lets eat. Ladies and gentlemen, wed like to begin the program this evening in your honor, with someone who was not only there 50 years ago, at the white house dinner on the south lawn, but whos negotiating skills in paris, representing president nixon, no doubt, helped put the wheels in motion and secured your freedom. Dr. Henry kissinger, who would be here with you this evening, but he celebrates his 100th birthday on saturday. So, i think you can understand that travel to california would be so, lets begin this Evenings Program with dr. Kessinger. It is a great joy to be permitted to speak to you on this 10th anniversary of my last address to you, and the 50th anniversary of celebrating with you. Your return from captivity. Know when you could turn president nixon more than the safety and return of the prisoners of war, which he inherited from its predecessors. But he continued it also, in fact and duty, for the sake of all the people who relied on america. Let america not give up in their support of an ally, because that would shake the faith of people in america. I met weekly, often, and at any rate, frequently, with the wives who came to see what should be done to expedite your return, but im happy to tell you that these meetings were attempts at mutual support, and that the effort to encourage the families to blame the government never succeeded. You performed a great service. At a difficult, and in summary, tragic time for america. Put you fought with the fortitude of your families. And the dignity with which you poor your faith will long be remembered. At the end of the war, i paid a visit to wind out the details, and you kept yourself with me to take john mccain with me, on my airplane, as the first prisoner to be returned. But john, when i knew that to take one person on a president ial plane, after all the months of suffering, and for that prisoner to be the son of the commander of the pacific would not have been appropriate. So, when i met john mccain three months later, ended up in a prison. I was wondering what he would say to me. But he made it easy. He came up to me and said, i want to thank you. You saved my honor. He became a lifelong friend. And he became, to me, a symbol. A symbol of what you achieved, which was to preserve the honor and purpose of your country. Thank you for giving me this opportunity to talk to you. This is my 100 year, so i look forward to seeing you all at your next 10th anniversary. Carper. Hello, ladies and gentlemen, from the state of delaware, please welcome United States senator tom carper. Hello, delaware. Sorry. Where am i . Were not in the navy station up the road at the naval air station. Pete and i were out there, and his wife will be back out here. I have a son who lives up in san francisco. Anybody here ever been to delaware . Anybody here ever incorporated delaware . Anybody been to the fivestar beaches . We have more fivestar beaches than any state in america. Believe that. Great beaches. Great beach. The constitution of our country was first ratified in delaware. On december 7th, 1787, for anybody else who did it, we took the constitution, sent down from philadelphia, and 25 men, in dover, delaware, debated, embraced, unanimously, for a whole week, starting december 7, 1787, for a whole week delaware was the entire United States of america then. Im told it was a good week. Good week. Democracy is a hard way to govern, Winston Churchill used as a democracy is the worst form of government devised, except for all the rest. It is a hard way to govern. Those of us who have been privileged to serve in elective pocket office, state, local, national level, know exactly what that means. I want to take just a minute to note the words of our constitution, words on a piece of paper. They are made real by the sacrifice of men and women who wear the uniform, the army, navy, air force, marines, and coast guard, and are willing to risk life and limb to save our democracy, to protect our constitution, and make sure that our children, grandchildren, greek grandchildren, have a country like this to grow up in. Vietnam veterans, as much as any veterans i have known, have helped detect that democracy. Thank you for remembering that, and making sure that we give them the tribute and appreciation that they deserve. I have a speech. Im just going to set it aside, and just talk to you from my heart. Im the last vietnam veteran serving in the United States senate. Im also the grandson of the goldstar mother, son of a navy chief officer for 30 years. Locals were sergeants, and in the marine corps, in the army, world war ii, and shortly after that, i was lucky enough, when i was 17 years old, to win a navy scholarship, went to ohio state, graduated, became a naval flight officer. Graduated 16, at the height of the vietnam war. Right at the height. A week later, i was on my way to pensacola, florida, to become a naval flight officer. A week later, join my squadron, and we were on our way to southeast, first of three deployments i would take. Our job, in that part of the world, was to fly surveillance missions, tracking soviet submarines from the scene of japan to the indian ocean from the west coast of the United States all the way to south china scene. Our jobs were also to conduct surveillance operations, to intercept, infiltrate trolleys coming down from north vietnam, resupplying vietnam, and south vietnam, and their efforts to overthrow the government with our ally. Believe it or not, we would track these they look like fishing boats, but they werent. In any case, they had arms and other kinds of bad weaponry, and they were just trying to get in every supply to vietcong. Our job was to hand off those infiltrator trawlers to the navy script longs and the coast guard. One of the captains for the navy script lord was a guy named john kerry. Highly decorated member of the navy at the time. And that was the first time i ever met him. Later, i would meet john mccain. We would become brothers in a bond, if you know what i mean. Later on, i would have the opportunity, after being in the navy, to go out the back to delaware, get an mba, and to also be elected to office. I was elected 29, 29th elected state in my 10 years. Six years later, elected to congress, joined john mccain. He and i were elected in the same day. But that, beginning that day, i started, went to work, saying, weve got to find out what happened to our m. I. A. S, find out what happened to folks. I served with them, john served with them. John kerry, we got to find out what happened, get to the truth. We started seeing, you may recall, because on the cover of newsweek, on the cover of time magazine, major newspapers. Folks alleged to be u. S. Military personnel after the war by the vietnamese as prisoners. And i was visited by a lot of veterans organizations, saying, you ought to do something about this as a vietnam veteran. Why dont you do something about this . Put together a congressional delegation, bipartisan congressional delegation of the house, and we went to see president George Herbert walker bush. I said, mr. President , you have been seeing these pictures, your folks have been seeing these pictures. We got to do something about this. Thank god, he said, count me in. What do we do . We put together this, with to vietnam, cambodia, and laos. First landed in saigon, vietnam, and that was when we arrived at a time when the Vietnamese Communist Party was holding, like a convention, if you will, selecting their leader for the next generation, and president bush had said, theres a gorbachevlike person in the communist leadership. If that person ends up as a leader of vietnam, that somebody we can work with, maybe even find the truth about our m. I. A. , have a normalized relationship with. We went over there. Arrived, went to saigon. They hadnt had their great conviction in illinois. We went to cambodia. What we found in cambodia was a criminal ring who had been using belle meadedown pictures of soviet nationals in the newsmagazines back to russia. They cut them out. They made them appear to be american soldiers, and they used them to extort money from the families of p. O. W. S. Literally, that ring was uncovered when we were in cambodia. We went from there on into laos, back into vietnam. We were about ready to leave. We admitted earlier, and they hadnt entered the convention. So, anyway, ended up back in hanoi, rather, in saigon, and it was about time for us to come home. We got a phone call from the folks up in hanoi, said, the communist party has officially finished their deliberations. They have selected, as a new leader, a fellow, a change agent, gorbachevlike guy, the guy president bush told us about his name was des moiness. They said, des moines, before you go back to the u. S. , he wants you to come meet with him. Next morning, we got on our plan. Air force said, we will go meet with him. We met in a beautiful, beautiful home in a large living room in hanoi. There was six of us, couple mates. Des moines came in, and he had a couple interpreters with him, and we shook hands, sat down, and what i would do when we would meet with more leaders like that, onetoone, introduce the members i had, who they were, what they did. We got word, des moines had been a house painter at one time. Well, one of my guys in my delegation from maryland, went to work, he had been asking, and we found out that des moines had been a teacher for a time as it turned out, when gilchrist had been a teacher at one time. Found out that des moines had served in the military. When gilchrist served in the military. Found des moines was injured severely. So was wayne gilchrist. When i went through all this, all of a sudden, des moines asked me just to stop, and he said to when gilchrist, 10 feet apart, almost like across the table, and des moines said to wayne gilchrist, where were you shocked, and des moines started sankoh a part of the country. Said, no, in your body, and wayne pointed to his, right here, in his chest, and des moines stood up, and he said to wayne, may i see your wound, and wayne just sat there, not even moving, and then, he said, again, may i see your wound. We all just sat there, frozen, and des moines got up, walked across the room, where wayne was sitting. Be stout, gently picked up, wearing loose, white shirts, and he picked him up, and he said, once again, may i see your wound, and then he turned wayne around, lifted up his shirt, and there, right on his back, a really ugly wound. Still there. Des moines took his finger, and he just went around the circumference of the wound, pulled down his shirt, and they embraced. They embraced. I want to tell you, i thought we were just going to fall over. I was just stunned. Stunned. And about two minutes later, we got our composure back, sent out and i said, mr. Sawyer, we have a roadmap to normalize relations with president bush asking us to give you this, and there are things that we want you to do. We have hundreds of men, we have never found out what happened to them. Theyre missing. Their families were wondering, theyre missing. We need your help we need to be able to excavate their sites, interview your people, we need to be able to go into museums, get all kinds of information so we can, basically, put to rest the concerns of the families. To his credit, he said, he would agree to do that, and we agreed if they would do that, then we would establish a tele communication. That was the first step, then they did more. We did more. They did more, we did more. Today, there are u. S. Military ships in ports in vietnam. We actually have operations with them. They have the numbernine training partner in the world there. Number 10. We have hundreds of thousands millions people in our country. They are some of the finest citizens we have in this country. I just want to share that with you, tell you that something good has come out of something thats very difficult for my generation, for a lot of people in this room. Ps, about five years ago, six years ago, last years president , he invited john kerry, john mccain, and i, to go back to vietnam. Take the next step in really improving relations in the military, that sort of thing. Military joint exercises with vietnamese. And so, we went, went in air force one, landed, had an open morning the second day we were there, and i jumped in a cab, and i went over to the hanoi health area, and its smaller than it used to be, and i went in, told him who i was. Very young, nice young man, maybe about 20, 25 years old. He spoke very good english. Guess who was in charge of seeing the guests, showing them around . He was nice enough to show me around. One of the people who we saw was john mccain. We had a lot of john muskie pictures. That was when the air force was shot down, and served many years in hanoi. Later, congressman from florida, and eventually, the first u. S. Ambassador in vietnam. Peterson. I dont know if you know. Anyway, all the pictures. Then, i came to a large portrait, black and white picture. And cripple photograph. Very large portrait, and i said to the young man, i said, i said, who is that, and he said, that is our old leader. He used to be a leader of our country many years ago. I said, what is his name, his name, and he said, des moines. I said youre kidding. He said, no. Its des moines. Used to be a leader. I said, i met des moines. And he said, i said, have you ever met him, and the young man said, he was here two weeks ago. I said, in the hanoi hilton . He said, yes. And i said, will you ever see him again . He said, he comes here regularly. He comes here regularly. I said, why dont you give him a note from me and read it to him . He said, he would. I reached in my pocket, pulled out want my business cards and i wrote him back this message in english. I said, do you want to go fast . Go alone. If you want to go far, travel together. And des moines, we decided to travel together. Your country is better for it, and so is ours. To all the men and women who sacrificed and laid their lives on the line in a time, a tough time in our country, those are still alive, and those that are not, i just want to say, your sacrifice, your service, was, has been purposeful, and that this generation, my generation and i think our childrens generations and others well, for a long time, appreciate that ps, when i get introduced around the country to speak, people talk about im this legislation, that. All this and that. Well, you know what the people stop and really start to applaud is when im introduced as the last vietnam veteran serving in the United States senate. That, compared to what it was like 30, 20 years ago, has changed enormously, and i just wish that the folks who didnt get the kind of welcome home and appreciation that we would like to have gotten, i wish they could be here to feel it now, because its real, its tangible, and for that generation, my generation, thanks. Its great to be home. Thank you so much. And. Ladies and gentlemen, him the fallen. Ladies and gentlemen, hymn to the fallen. And. I. Im. Thank you to bennie bing choo, accompanied by ossie and dance for that beautiful music. Thank you. Id also like to thank senator carper for leading the efforts the United States senate to properly fittingly honor the men in this room. Thank you for what youre doing, senator. Perhaps no private american citizen played more of a role spotlighting the p. O. W. Mia cause than ross perot. Senior senior. You all know better than me that mr. Perot was more than just a friend, was an advocate and a Problem Solver who joined the nixon in giving a voice to your cause, mr. Perot spoke this very room on this very stage ten years ago, and heres a little reminder of what he had say. Now, id like to thank all of you again for the incredible things you have done for our country and the incredible sacrifices youve all for our country and we are where we are today. Thanks to people like you. And i would like to ask the audience whos here tonight to join me with british tradition of three cheers for all the drivers and their families here tonight. I will say it and all of us, you stay here, right here. About that. Ill raise my voice. You raise your voice when you say hooray, ill sell it. Just to say the third time around, as loud as i can. And i want you to blow roof off the building. Are you ready . Hip up here. Hip, hip, hip, hip hip. Ross perot, seniors, boundless generosity is his legacy. That legacy continues through his son, ross jr. I want to thank him, his wife sarah, for making possible that incredible special exhibition right here at the nixon that opened today to. The public, in honor of all of you our p. O. W. S and its called captured shot down vietnam. Thank you very much. And if any of you or your kids, your grandkids like to listen to podcasts and ive got a great one for you because like the exhibit its called captured and you can download it now all podcast platforms and sarah and Ross Perot Jr made that podcast possible as well on behalf of ross perot senior. Thank you, ross. Its now my pleasure to welcome you to the Nixon Library this evening. We. Again jim thank you very much. It is a tremendous honor for me to be here to try represent my father, which is a task, but if you remember, on the 30th anniversary, my father here and he wrote you a letter and at the back of that letter i actually have it says p. S. Our be at the 40th and 50th reunion he didnt make the 50th but he is here with us. Spirit, as you can see with that hip, hip, hooray and when i come ive been so blessed. I dont know how many reunions ive been to with this p. O. W. A family. And it is like a Family Reunion for me because i grew up with these great. In the men in this room. Youre my heroes. I want to be like you. And i joined the air force because the inspiration that you gave me and robby was my graduation speaker. Vance robby gave me his wings when i became an air force pilot. And right before robby passed away as able to put those on my son when he became an air force pilot. Thank you. And i at the age rose fortunate enough i could with the vietnam p. O. W. Jeff ellis was on mine structures advance and we had a great time in the squadron fred flom. I was able to fly off his wing. And i learned very quickly we had general moseley here with us, chief of the air force eight. Chief, i learned when you fly with the former p. O. W. , there are no rules. And i assure you as a young first lieutenant, i wanted to fly with fred flom because did things that the air force told us we couldnt do through the years. We had those great reunions at the ranch. In your memory, those t38 by and my bird force pilot thunderbird flew the g eight and said hey boss what you want me to do . I said, bird man, these are p. O. W. S. There are no rules. You give them the best possible show you could give them because these deserve that show. And my wife and i were there and we made this all approved is because were right next to daves at the airport. Faa had come in approve the whole thing i think mad about it might have been about 50 feet and full afterburner when he came over and what was great, i looked over at the faa official was watching us it it was staring his feet he didnt want to report what he saw. It. So if you look at the life weve had within, my father decides run for president. Who helps him . Orson swindle. Orson, youre here. God bless your son for your friendship, your who is his Vice President . Admiral stockdale. Wonderful. Admiral stockdale. God bless you. And they were General Motors in our working on the air force from war together when we needed help and we go to congressman johnson, we always had sam and i would see sam in the halls of congress in that golf cart with his thunderbird patch right at the front of that golf cart, with that huge smile. And the last time i saw he was in our office in his wheelchair as my father there during, the p. O. W. Exhibit at the office and looked up at my father and you said if it wasnt for you, i wouldnt be alive today. And that that is the most important thing that our family we could hear is, because we truly love the men that served and were p. O. W. S and all the Vietnam Veterans and the impact youve on my life has been stunning and its one that i will never forget. And if you remember our 45th reunion just a few years back and you remember the that came over to about 500 feet above the ranch with the bombay doors open again, theres a little bit of that. General, we had to call general moseley. Now, chief, how do we get this b52 . Somehow it just showed up and somehow that young pilot that b52 understood there no rules. If you had the p. O. W. S to take care of in this for you that werent there youre flying over neighborhoods on a friday afternoon at 500 feet with the bombay doors over. The best part of this story is everybody was briefed. Everybody knew neighbors started calling 911. Whats happening . And we said the police all everybody figured their were they said, look, this is the vietnam theater these and everyone said outstanding. No one filed a complaint. So you are the spirit, america. You are heroes, youre what makes this nation great. And thank you for this great impact. Youve had on my life, my familys life and this nation. God bless, you and god bless everybody in this room. Thank you. All our guests, amigos. All like everyone else for this stage tonight. I, too, went to vietnam to visit you men. I went for two reasons because my own was fighting there and because i wanted to pay my respects. To his home safe. Thank god. And because i wanted to pay my respects to all of the fighting. There. But if we are going to get together again, i must much rather do it this way. Not only do i not have to travel so far, but lets face it the food is a little better here. I. Asked for two nights. I am honored like all of us are, to be here. Pay my respects. One more, once more to you. Men who shared the brotherhood of pain and suffering thank god that is all behind you. And now we can all join hands and share in their brotherhood of peace and joy i. I am very grateful to the president bringing us all together and to you men for representing country with such dignity, such courage. You magnificent. I am very honored to be here. Very honored to be here with the president of this great country of ours, as president , who made this evening possible by getting you men all. You know, i want to tell you, when you stepped off those airplanes, that there are just one dry eye in the country and, all of us that were short of plug for you when we suddenly realized that you were really whole, it was like the whole world sort of stopped long enough to make things in this country. My wishes for you. Oh, there are a lot of i. I wish peace for you i wish calm i. I wish you happy illness which you certainly earn. And i think youre going to get so from may and from millions of people who love their country. I just want to thank you for serving your country with honor. And thank you, mr. President , for making this evening what it is like to. Know ive been to say that if you didnt know, i want you to real a real right here that did a sensational job in vietnam shaking and hed done a great job. Hes a great citizen in every category related. Gentlemen, mr. John wayne. Right. Mr. President , ladies and, gentlemen, i. I guess i feel like all americans, were sorry that about 40,000 of your comrades in arms cant be here. Ive said it before, and ill say it again. I think theres a country. Its a lot off than you got. Exactly. I think as a lot of other president s bring us, all together like this tonight, im happy all you fellows, your families could get here to be with him. I feel pretty good that he has this chance to meet you all because you all have a lot in common. You hang in there when john was up so ready stuck by your gun gun. You stuck by your guns already you love this blessed country. And so rosie, so to all of us human all great thanks for showing the whole world. The kind of man a free country can put up when the going gets rough you know the best we have and ill ride off into the sunset with you any time. Just one more thing before i sit down. I want to thank you, mr. President. Not for any one thing. Just everything. Like. Ambassador Robert Obrien knows a thing or two about hostage negotiations from 2018 to 2019. He served as president trumps representative, traveling around the world leading secret negotiations that directly brought 25 distressed americans home and out of harms way. Ambassador obrien then served as the 27th National Security adviser to the president , United States and the nixon today benefits immensely from his strategic guidance as chairman of the board of directors. Please welcome ambassador obrien. All right. I would never have agreed to speak this order following john wayne, Jimmy Stewart and bob hope. Had you told me that jim, i would have gone earlier in the program. But thank you. And tricia and melanie. Thank you. I feel like were your guests. And i see youre your father and your grandfather. It must be bittersweet. I grew up at the time when. We saw him on tv every night. You know, the three networks. And youre in that distinctive voice. And its one of the great things about the Nixon Foundation. The Nixon Library is the families. Julian, tricia and chris and melanie and the other members of the nixon family. And im just grateful for you having us tonight. Its very special to have you here. And i think for everyone here, were grateful for you. So thank you very much. So, senator, thank you for your words. Governor, madam first lady. Thank you, mr. Ambassador. All the general officers weve got here, distinguished guests. Its such a huge honor for little marie and me to be here. You know, roberts National Security adviser. I just have to go over to the pentagon from time to time. We go in the tank and meet with the chairman of the joint chiefs and the chiefs understand that chief and mark really had a running gag, would do it every time he did to say, okay, pay attention. Weve got army reserve jag officer major robert here. Hes here to give you a briefing. Attention to them. Well, we kind of laugh, but i sure feel that today with with all of you here, its such an honor for for a lot more, amy, to be here. You know on april and april, 1962. There was a white house dinner for noble nobel laureates, and there was a famous quote the president kennedy said. He said i think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of Human Knowledge that has ever been gathered together at the white house, with the possible exception of when thomas dined alone. Now, thats a great quote, but think weve got a quote somewhere tonight and that is here in the east room, the Nixon Library. We have the most extraordinary collection of human honor, courage, patriotism and heroism thats ever been gathered anywhere. And i want to thank all the and their families and especially the families who are here with them tonight. God bless you and thank you. So its hard to believe 50 years ago you were at the white house. Ten years ago. You were here in this beautiful east. Which which for those of us whove been there, its it reminds us of that. And now 50 years has passed and since youve been brought home and your ranks are thinned. And i know thats hard, but your honor is undiminished. The love of your country and your devotion still inspires all of us. You kept faith with america and president nixon in the nixon family kept faith with you. Now my years of special presence along the way for hostage affairs, i was involved bringing some americans home, and during president trumps term, he brought 55 captives home from around the world and that appreciate that experience give me an appreciation for the skill and the determination and the patience and the persistence that president nixon and dr. Kissinger, my predecessor, who we saw earlier, devoted to bringing you home. They had to deal with an entrenched, intransigent and inhumane enemy, and their efforts were undermined. And i had this happen to me well by naive and unhelpful by peace activists and celebrity whose wellbeing they were, wellmeaning they were. Now, on december 18th, 1972, and i had this conversation who i was able to visit many of your tables, not all of them. And i forward to seeing most of you. If i ever didnt see you before president. Nixon made a very tough decision, and it was a controversial decision. He called he called it the most difficult decision of the war. And when he sent the b52s in, when operation linebacker took place. And i found this in experience, you had to be tough if you want to get our people home. And four months after operation linebacker, you were all home pieces. Right. So for all your years of captivity you mean the prisoners of war, the missing in action were always foremost in the president s mind. He wrote in his memoirs, each p. O. W. Was an individual to me obtaining their release became a burning cause. He named his close friend and his military aid general john hughes as the white house liaison. And dr. Kissinger met weekly with the families, as he mentioned, of the National League of p. O. W. Marriage families from january 20th, 1969, the day he was first inaugurated until march 29th, 1973. The light of the day the last of you was released and saved. President nixon focused on bringing you home and bringing you home with dignity. His efforts were the most difficult and most successful hostage negotiation in american history. Now sadly the basic knowledge of our shared american including your stories these are these Amazing Stories each of you have or not been to our kids in school. And their ability to learn by americans. Last year, the Annenberg Public Policy Center and the annenberg is were big supporters. You know, this foundation, this library conducted the Technology Survey and. It found that 37 of the respondents couldnt name of the freedoms guaranteed in the First Amendment of the bill of rights. Less than one in four of the respondents could name the religious freedom was one of the freedoms protected. The First Amendment civil rights. Only 26 of the respondents to the survey could name the three branches of our government. So describe these results of the study, the centers director warned we are unlikely to cherish, protect and exercise of rights if we dont, we have them. Our children and our grandchildren are not learning the principles and values that sustained you in those nights and those long days in that faraway land. Now the Nixon Foundation is working to change that and the nixon family. Family is working to change that. And so tonight, im pleased to announce. A 40 million American Civics Campaign to revive the teaching understanding of civics and american in our country. The American Civics Campaign will ensure that the Nixon Library remains active. Center for the study of americas heritage and our role in the world and contributions to the campaign will fund, among other things, the following the construction of a hands on Education Center that will use simulations and, you know, we got to have a little interaction and Online Learning days to teach about our constitution and the extraordinary system of government that. Our Founding Fathers gave us that senator carper, about the construction, a magnificent special exhibition hall that will be here on the library premises. Weve got a nice small hall now. Were going to have a wonderful 15,000 square foot hall that will host visitors from around the world. Well build a president ial transportation pavilion to permanently house marine one. A marine ones a great ive had the privilege of flying on marine one and others in the room have weve got a great marine one here. It flew president johnson, president kennedy, president nixon. But is its got a little wear and tear on the weather. Were going to build a beautiful pavilion to taos, marine one, and itll be a teaching that space as well. It also has the president s armored Lincoln Continental limousine, which we call the beast. So im happy to tell you. We already have 26. 1 million in pledges towards our 40 million. All the government of qatar is providing half the campaigns entire target with a 20 million gift. Cutters generosity commemorates the 50th anniversary of the establishment of relations between the United States and qatar and earlier year. As many of you know, President Biden designated qatar as a major ally of the United States. Now theres 2023 step. So as president foresight regarding this gulf back in 1972, again nixon its 50 years later and nixons in the headlines because of the relationship that he established with the emir with the Family Member and and close Family Member of the masters. So the Nixon Foundation name the special exhibit exhibition hall for the state of qatar. In recognition of the soaring diplomatic relations between our nations. The state of qatar and his highness the emirate represented evening by his excellency Sheikh Michel bin hamad althani, cutters ambassador, the United States sheikh. I take this the moment. Meshaal is not just a colleague, hes a friend and of know tonight i can disclose that ambassador althani was involved in the events leading to the friend american hostage named jeff wuttke, whod been held for many years in mali. And so, michel, thank you for your not only not only for the contribution qatar, but for your efforts on behalf of american hostages and captives around the world. We sincerely appreciate, barbara and alex, both longtime supporters, the library for their pledge of 3 million that will go to the construction of the transportation pavilion. And over the past several and friends of the library ive gotten to know them well Lincoln Charlie zang have been very generous donors donors of the foundation, including the support for tonights event and the music that was provided here for us, which, by the way, the music was just terrific. Thank you. Now monday, charlie, whos a board member and a good friend, informed jim byron of me that he and ling would make a further contribution 2 million to fund the construction, the transportation pavilion. So now i will say. This was over lunch and ling wasnt with us. And so i said, charlie, im going to announce this. You may want to tell ling before the dinner so she doesnt hear about it from. Me, you know, over the over the podium, sir. So thank you. Lang. And thank you, charlie. One of the perks of being the National Security adviser is you the opportunity to meet extraordinary americans. And we have two of them here tonight. You heard from ross jr. But sir. And ross perot are great americans. Thank you for everything youve done for this country. And. I, like the nixons, have got to see their dad, their it was great seeing ross in your honor. I know we all grew up with them watching him on tv and then it was a great scene. I know its probably tough on you that hes not here tonight, but i know hes looking down on us and. So is president nixon. Theyre looking and saw the that arent with us tonight. Theyre looking down. Theyre proud of everybody here and so when i reached out, we had we wanted to do an exhibit with tonights dinner and the exhibit everything costs these days. And so we turned the pros to tell the story. And i probably shouldnt say this i sent an email. I said, ross, you know, i got to know ross a little bit before becoming chairman of the library. Can you support this is something you be willing to support. And he wrote back and said, well handle it. Of course, i didnt tell him how much it was. So i didnt we didnt take advantage of this. And but but were grateful for that. And were grateful for the support over many years, not just tonight, but over the many years that your family, your dad has supported the p. O. W. S and library. Now talking about hostages, theres something the pros know. As you know, they supported the p. O. W. Its like nobody else. But they also know something about getting hostages home. So if you havent read folletts on the wings of eagles, go. Go and find about what the pros did and what Ross Perot Jr did to get hostages out iran. And thats not an easy task. I know. I was able to get some people of iran, unfortunately, are still people that were there that i couldnt get home. But it was pretty amazing. So we can follow this book for you. The chance now Richard Nixon said that you were courageous, the p. O. W. You were courageous in your actions, but your most courageous in your captivity and his personal diaries. So on a daily basis that he was thinking about you and how humbled he was by your heroism. The president was overwhelmed by the fact that you presented him that night that weve been watching tonight, this evening. And for those of you i know, the p. O. W. Is not what it said, but others may not. It was inscribed our leader, our comrade richard the lionheart. It he treasured that gift. Now, as we bring this 50th Anniversary Dinner to a close, let me share a passage from president nixons memoirs as he spoke about the first night that we had at the white house. Well, i saw it on tv as a kid, but you had at the white house trace out of the white house. Tricia was only one years old at that event. The show did not end until after midnight wrote. And the dancing went until after 2 00. But pat, i went upstairs around 1230. I kissed her goodnight and i went to the lincoln sitting room. And as i before the fire, listening to the sounds of the music and the laughter coming up from downstairs, i felt this is one of the greatest nights of my life. There were no words then, and there are really none now that could describe the joy and the satisfaction that i felt at the thought that i had played role in bringing these men back. And are they who are so completely courageous and, admirable, admirable, general seemed to consider the decisions i had about the war to be courageous and admirable ones. Ill leave it with that. May god bless you. May god bless the United States of america. And as we close can, i invite you to not not to join me, because i cant sing as my wife will tell you, but get together. Can we sing . Bless america. Thank you. You know, now id like to sing the song for you, but doesnt take much from this because what little i ever had has left me completely nervous on ill sing one chorus for you and then ill ask you to sing finish rest of it. The song, of course, is one that is closer to me than any ever written. I am talking about god bless america. God bless america. Learn that i love, stand beside and. Through the night with a long. From the moment news to release to the ocean why with all gods bless america more more so we owe you all from the lord has. Sung why. Mary oh. Sweet. Married call me. So. He. Thank you to all. Ladies and gentlemen. That concludes vietnam prisoners of war 50th anniversary homecoming. Thank you for coming. God bless you and god bless america