Candidate in 2008, and a fifth term in the senate. 107 forpresident of the National Press club and a 42 year career, and created many world leaders. He received his b. A. In 1961 from Ohio State University and high honors in 62 from columbia university, and its scholarship. And myron joins the National Press club and asked to assume leadership, hand worked to expand the International Activities and the international media. And Diplomatic Missions in washington d. C. And a professorial instructor, at George Washington university. And i leave this to have mr. Myron bellkind and you can tell by his journalistic background and ask pertinent questions about the book. And we will talk later. [applause] senator mccain, i am truly honored to welcome you on this veterans day. And the president of the National Press club. My classmate pat buchanan made a similar report. I welcome you as a member of the nash the press club. And i want to acknowledge and what can be acknowledged for a moment. [applause] senator mccain, your book, published today, appropriately on veterans day, profiles 13 soldiers from 13 wars from the revolutionary war to iraq. Among all the millions who served in the military how did you select those 13 to be easy subject representing each work . What criteria did you use . How did you do it . Thank you. Could i say thank you to the press club for hosting this event and after i lost running for president slept like a baby. Sleep two hours, wake up and cry, sleep two hours very happy to be here, especially honored not only to have my coauthor and hardest working of our partnership, we have been together for many years but also mary rhodes and her daughter samantha are here who we write about, her experience in the gulf war. And thank you for your service to our country. [applause] you really put your finger on one of the hardest parts. We try to portrayed different values and virtues different individuals have in different conflict at different times and to try to put them in context to some degree in the conflict in which they fought. For example, joseph plum marvin 15 years old joined the connecticut militia, went back in the army, the Continental Army at nearly starved to death, wrote many years later a biography of his experiences, remarkable. These soldiers went without eating for days, they were subject to all kinds of privations much less going up against what at that time was the best professional army in the world, british army, and a couple times they almost mutinied. And he wrote about it later ron. He waited 30 years before getting a pension. He was of his times and the last one who was a navy seal, highly trained, highly capable, highly motivated, he sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow seal members the distance between those two, quite remarkable and Monica Lynn Brown who is the medic in the afghan conflict. When you read her story of how not only her courage the capabilities in our civil war, 20 of the casualties, anybody who is wounded actually lived. 90 of those who are wind that are saved. When you read of the training capabilities, the equipment medics carry on with them they carry a weapon. And i e d went off, she rushed in, one of the reasons we talk about her is should really dispense with any arguments about whether women are capable of engaging in fighting in combat or not. The argument should be over young quintin today i believe i guess sorry for the long answer but that is one of the difficult parts. You want to portray people in the context of their times, and virtues they display in a way that a couple people are scalpels. They were model citizens to say the least but at their moment in time they performed and that is what we are trying to stay here. As senator mccain acknowledged a few minutes ago we are honored to have with us today Sergeant Mary rhodes who served in the persian gulf as an Army Reservist in the fourteenth quartermaster detachment from western pennsylvania. I know it might be hard to say this in front of turbot it might be easy. Why did you choose her to be the subject of the one soldier profiles from the persian gulf war . Part of this context is we used to have all large standing army. That standing army, all volunteers got smaller and smaller. We now rely enormously on our guard and reserve our Garden Reserve today, years ago i will be honest with you, they were especially the guard, the kind of people if there was not fire or some flood or something, they were called out to direct traffic and that kind of thing. Today our garden reservists do everything our military army, marine, air force and navy do and better in some respects, whether it be flying see 130s as the guard does a reservists who are trained and ready to go . Mary was a reservist. She heard the call, answered the call and saw a tragic event which frankly she thinks about every single day. Here was an ordinary citizen in pennsylvania, ordinary life and went to a far off land and cradled her dear friend after it they were killed by a scud attack. One of the things were trying to point out is we have a lot of citizens soldiers who respond to the call. To me, mary epitomize that part of our society and by the way, our veterans were not well treated when they came home. Pows were the only ones you recall who were treated as heroes. I am so pleased today to see all over america the honor that we bestowed on our men and women who are serving. Is most uplifting how we just about one of the happiest days we have for me is to seek the honor given to these young men and women who are serving and have served. [applause] as we eluded to a few minutes ago and as you write in that chapter about the persian gulf war, the persian gulf war occasioned, a deployment of women to a combat zone in American Military history, 13 would be killed, and in 1958, that you would play such an active role including in combat in the u. S. Military. Did you initially favored that development and do you feel there are any restrictions, placed on the way women serve in the military. In answer to your question no and no. When i graduated, there was a much greater service, and rosie the reuter, and in the nursing corps. I dont think women got the credit they did for their service in world war ii, but now there are certain standards we expect everybody, male or female, gender neutral, any of those standards they serve. I have run into some really really capable professional women that have risen to positions of command. Hour number 2 member of the United States navy, vice chief of Naval Operations is a woman. I am proud of that and they command squadrons, ships comment and so i think the argument is over to be honest with you. I think it is done and it should be done. But there was time in our history when women had a different role in our society and now, thank god, they have as far as i can tell, an equal role in our society so they should have equal opportunity to serve. And dozens of other pows. To give us a perspective of the valor i wish you write throughout your book why was leo thurston is so special . U. S. A. Special friend. What he received the congressional medal of fodder for was a combat Mission Weeks before he was shot down and became a prisoner. I tried to make this as short as possible but still the most heavily defended airspace in history was over north vietnam. There were literally tens of dollars of that antiaircraft guns. There were thousands of surface air missile in plays and they also had aircraft at various bases that would come out on occasion. They didnt come out all the time because they couldnt really much of two wires, but they were a constant rat too. Unfortunately, we watched those be offloaded for me russian trade are being taken off by tracking put in place that we were not allowed to strike them. Dont ask me to explain. In your book, 50 years later come of those restrictions . It still makes me mad because we lost so many good men which probably some of them what of them woodcutter destroyed before they ever bought today are place. By the way common to surface air missile sites we have very strong evidence were run by russians, not by vietnamese. But in the pilot said meggs, we also thought were most likely russians. So in order to counter these very significant threat of the surface air missiles, they had this group called wild weasels and they would go in early and try to track in the area where the main attacks were going to come in. They came in before the main body came in and they came until afterwards. This long story short as possible he came in with his wing man. His wingmen were shot down and we have ways of rescuing pilots. We could send in this propeller driven pains to secure the area so helicopters code come in and pick them out. So he spent his time trying to protect the area where the played went down. Was attacked by maids shot down to but added circles for more, have one missile filed and went out for another refueling and then came back again. Remember he could have left the first time. They were shot at. The surfacetoair missiles were fired at them. They kept circling over where the two pilots had come down from the previous shoot down. One of the pilot aircraft that guy got lost and said they had to go in guide him back to the tanker. He had no fuel lasted to make a long story short, he glided in to their base in thailand and as soon as the wheels touched down on the runway, the engine stopped because he was out of fuel. One of these incredible stories of aviation skills and heroism and why is it that letter. So it was a combination of bravery commitment, love, all of those that make up the real definition of a word gallery. Then, i am sorry to tell you a few weeks later the vietnamese but is altogether hes a wonderful man and and remains an inspiration to me [applause] i want to turn to chapter four of the civil war when your subject is Oliver Wendell holmes junior who rose from First Lieutenant to cast in as a member of the 20th massachusetts volunteers and who would go out to write one of the most eminent jurist and our countries history, serving on both the Massachusetts Supreme Court and as the u. S. Supreme Court Justice for 30 years from 1902 to 1932. I thought one of the most moving passages in your book was when you wrote have a memorial day address delivered in 1884 when it recalled many of the following friends from the civil war and holmes went on to say referring to all those who thought it not war how these men had been transformed by war and by the separator loss that attended the transformation. He called it our great good fortune that in our youth, our hearts were given to us to learn at the outset that life is profound and passionate. That was Oliver Wendell holmes junior. Senator john mccain, how war transformed your life and are the experiences in vietnam shaped your life thereafter including as the United States senator since 1987. I say a couple words about Oliver Wendell holmes . There was the regiment that they called the harvard but also as an germanspeaking immigrants were put into this regiment together and they finance some of the bloodiest encounters of the civil war. Casualty rates are very high. He was wounded in the neck and you can imagine what that would have been mine. As he was missing on the battlefield, his father who was a famous author in those days Oliver Wendell holmes senior wafts the battlefields searching for his son and believed that he was dead and caught up with him later on. A remarkable story and he continued to fight in these adults and eight to the high casualties. The bloodiest of all was the own civil war. Brother against brother family against family. Remarkable when you think about the carnage that may have been necessary in order to figure out what nation we were really going to be. The boy was a huge and terrible cost. Oliver Wendell Holmes calls it the butchers price that aid. And so he was a really remarkable man and he was forever changed. Is left as an idealistic crusading young man in the war transformed him into a realist. But he never forgot and he gave speeches that the morella days. All of his days he would bring his lunch to work in an ammunition box to remind himself of what he and his comrades had undergone. In answer to your question, it is hard to define exactly what the experience gave to me when you spend five and a half years in captivity you imagine how much i appreciate the freedom i was blessed to serve but then senior to me and let us then tried to keep us from communicating with each other, which is why i spent nearly three years in solitary confinement because they knew if we could communicate, we could organize. That is why we were all about. Wherever to overcome and communicate with one another. They did things that would have otherwise been able to do when i would go to interrogation is confessions of war crimes so they could use for propaganda. Military information was not named. That confess crimes and to attack our country for the unjust war at all of that kind of thing. I knew when i came back from the interrogation, i would tap on the wall and get the information i wanted my ranking officer to let you know what i done to resist these efforts. So you forge a bond. I remember tapping on the wall for one guy for two years and then he was moved out. I never saw what he looked like until three years later. It is nothing that i imagined by the way. So i yanked love of my comrades to still call me literally every day, why did she give that speech . Why dont you vote this way . Why is it . How could you do with . I get a lot of constructive criticism from my fellow pows. I guess that is one of the real takeaways as we say from my experience they are and also because the vietnamese a couple of times broke me i found out i was not a person. Would like to have one or tumor questions that i would like to ask the senator. Those who filled out cards please hand them and we will ask as many as we can. Senator normally when a political leader writes the book the first that is they are running for president. I think it is safe to say that wasnt the intent of this book. I would like to ask a political question from 2014. One week ago today the republicans won control of the u. S. Senate, given your party full control of congress. Indeed with an enhanced majority in the house. How optimistic are you at the gridlock of the past will be transformed into a new era of bipartisanship including on key issues such as immigration and then what role do you plan to play as chair of the Senate Armed Services committee . First of all, we are committed to going back to the regular order. That means bringing up bills ,com,com ma amendments debates and votes and we have committed to that. One of the reasons i am optimistic that we will do that and in effect to play is because now it is set to gather and. I cant blame harry reid anymore. I love to play harry reid toma but im not going to be with you do that anymore. What we have to do if we expect to have a chance to elect a republican president in 2016 is to show americans we can govern. I think there is significant motivation for doing so. I think that there are certain members across the aisle that i and others have had good relationships for a long time. By the way on the Senate Armed Services committee, we have always been very bipartisan. Jack reid my beloved friend carl levin is sleeping in jack reid from rhode island is going to be the Ranking Member and except for his education which was at west point, hes a very fine man and would get along fine. The rest of the question was. Will go deeply into play quite my friends, we are now in sequestration, which is decimating and harming our military badly. We have to change that. We also have to do two things. Understand the challenge were facing and have a strategy that shapes the budget and not a budget that shapes this tragedy. But we need to do that. The second thing is we have to have hearings because right now i say with all respect does anybody here know what the strategy is. The president has said the goal is to degrade and defeat isis. Does anyone know what the strategy is to achieve that goal . We have to call them up and we have to say look, what are we going to do . How are we going to cost . What do you need to do it . I want to work with the president but the president is going to have to get is the strategy that we can help in the lamont. And it is the job of congress to authorize and appropriate. That is our constitutional responsibility. So again i want to work with the president. Theres too many things at stake here. This isis track is enormous and i think greater challenge than we face and see at least since the end of the cold war maybe since the end of world war ii when you look at it from some areas. He noticed on the front page of the New York Times today the radical extremist is Islamic Organization is egypt has now announced their allegiance to isis. This is breeding success which is attracting young man and some women from all over not just the middle east, but also europe and even here in the United States. This is a growing threat and we have to work together. Okay. Thank you very much for this conversation. The senator chose the format and we were honored to accept a suggestion. I thank you again for taking part in the first part of the conversation with senator john mccain. We now open it to the audience and i see that i was just handed a question from representative of Russian Television who we are pleased to have here tonight. [laughter] what is your expectations have the relations of the United States and russia stroke u. S. In the ukraine will change now that the republicans are in control of Congress First of all, i point out to me dear friends here i really covered a large spectrum because a year ago i was censored by the Arizona Republican party for being too liberal. Also, i was sanctioned by Vladimir Putin. After we sanctioned rations, he sanctioned me. [laughter] isis on their first online periodicals that their enemy number one in the world is john mccain. And i think he must be in his dotage. A month ago, fidel castro gave an interview and said that the Israeli Secret Service and john mccain were responsible for isis. So we pretty well covered a Broad Spectrum of political bases around the world. Im very upset about russian behavior, you would want to give ukrainians weapons to defend themselves as they dismembered their country. The latest news in the last couple days is more russian tanks and equipment is going into eastern ukraine. Its obvious the Vladimir Putin wants to take all eastern side of the ukraine to crimea. Then the question is despite a mere prudent move over to moldova. In his own words russian know that he wants to restore the old russian empire and that doesnt mean were back to the cold war but it does mean we might show solidarity and weve got to help particularly the ukrainians who was in the maidan square at 200,000 people in sub freezing weather where they stood for days because they wanted a free country and free governments in power. And now they are unable to achieve that. Part of our relations with russia are going to have a great deal to do with the behavior of Vladimir Putin. Thank you or what is your opinion on the u. S. Military Strong Program . Do you feel unmanned weapons are a key part of the future . You know, an interesting thing happened a few months ago. A jones took off and carried an aircraft carrier. When historians look back this kind of a seminal moment here there is no doubt in my mind that any of the missions now conduct did will be conduct good by drones. They can monitor for 12 hours. You see the Technology Get at her. Thats good news. Theres a lot of other countries developing the same capability, by the way. We havent got the exclusive franchise on the period so i think that you will see a much greater role and a much lesser role for manned aircraft. We all know what happens when an american pilot is captured. We know all the repercussions of that. If we can do the job that can stay on station for 12 hours, then why not . But finally, from a moral standpoint, i do have some on this that someone sitting behind a console ranged death down on people. Its something i have a little trouble that has a detachment from that kind of warfare. It seems to me, makes it easy and attract to where that kind of thing should never be easy and attractive. So i think work and not the sort of think her way through new form of warfare. We could go a long time on this issue but i think its with us. Its going to be with us in the future, but is also going to present as with some real questions that i think will have to work our way through. Senator id wonder for a while nontelevised lunches come with a new Affairs Secretary bob donald spoke of his intent to move on from the past to certainly deal with any staff however they might eat who are responsible, but spoke of his intent to cut down the waiting list to provide faster and better. How confident are you that secretary can fulfill his desires . First of all hes eminently qualified. Second of all, its not often im embarrassed about their waiting for care. I cant include a black mark that is because if theres anybody we zero, it is their veterans. Hes a good man a lot of us have been impatient we gave him the authority in the legislation that senator sanders and i passed through the senate 93 to three. I would like to see more efficiency of air. Theres also a lot of work on that. But id also like to see some firings. That gets peoples attention. We asked her that question last friday and they said they were going through the process. Ics elaborated on it, but as we agree, will have to wait. Its always been my belief and this is not shared by every batter in order for a veterans organization. I would like to see every veteran have a card and that is a choice card. I didnt veterans should go wherever they want to to get the care that veteran tanks he or she needs. [applause] the questioner asked as we approach the centennial into the First World War you think will get a National World war our brave soldiers, brave world war i soldiers have been overlooked this questioner says. You know, it is interesting, that has been the case because i do study history from an historical standpoint here that war had more impact on the 20th century than any other event of the 20th century. The truth of europe, the first site treaty, the unequal terms imposed on the germans which gave rise to fascism. Osha vick revolution. You can go down the list of the impacts on the rest of the entire century being felt today. The boundaries drawn between iraq, syria, et cetera by some british colonels as i understand. The bloodletting is beyond anyones imagination. It staggers the imagination when the first battle i think the british bus 30000 killed and wounded in the first day. The numbers overwhelm you. So i think even though the United States came in late in the war and one of the people we write about five in the battle of bella wood, which was the real seminal battle that the americans won against the germans American Marines i think is entirely appropriate to be honest with you. Not only to honor those who sacrificed but also that conflict was a proportion which are still, my imagination does not encompass how terrible that bloodletting was and when i was a very young boy, i read a seminal book i think called all quiet on the western front. I recommend it for anybody who has not read it to understand the real credible hard about four. You say in the book that it is the humility as much as training and encourage that makes servicepeople heroes. Can you explain a little how that works would use the word humility . I was in prison with some individuals who were korean and world war ii veterans and a couple who are aces in the korean war. One trade and ive had the honor of meeting some current rational medal of honor winners and really genuine heroes and they are all modest individuals. They are all very modest and you almost have to pry it out of then the experience that they had. I think they are humbled humbled them that i is not because they had the kind of care or that was willing to do the same that only qualifies someone for the congressional medal of honor. Ive always been little uneasy when i heard veterans bragging about this battle or that battle. Just a little bit uneasy. Everyone is out of their exploits, but it depends on how you do it. I think humility is a very important aspect for all of the and whatever we do in life. I have been told. Ive extended and ive got two more questions. I think the senator has the prerogative to say we have two more. This is your sixth book starting with the first faith of my fathers. Is there a next book coming . We have been partners in most of the credit i would like to say go to marks hard work something in retrospect that we might talk about president ial campaigns and the involvement in the United States and now might be something we can do. Can i put a plug when it comes out . We hope you we hope you will have the beginning of the National Press club. Going back to this book thirteen soldier, is there a movie for a miniseries . As i was saying before we came into the ballroom the factor would have to be a miniseries because of each individual x. Could i say, i thank you all for coming tonight. The traffic is really convoluted because of the events down in the mall and i really much appreciate you being here. I appreciate you again. We love you and we thank you so much for your wonderful service. Again, it has been a great privilege of my life to meet americans like mary that i write about and many others than i do every day express my feelings inside for the wonderful men and women who are serving our country. We unfortunately didnt honor our veterans of none is still kind of in there is new to me. With more than made up for it either way we honor them today. I am a little biased having two sons in the military. I can tell you they are a lot better than my generation was. [applause] we have a tradition at the National Press club that has a small token of our appreciation we present to our very distinguished guests the traditional National Press club mug. Tonight i want to begin by presenting the first mode to you. [applause] into you senator mccain its my honor to have you here tonight. We will always remember better and stay at 2014 with senator john mccain here tonight. I thank you so much and i know youll say to sign the books and we cant thank you enough for