Awarded to the mon mucuments meo worked to preserve arts and cultural artifacts in world war ii saving them from theft and destruction by nazi germany. This u. S. Capitol Visitors Center ceremony is about half an hour. Mr. Speaker, members of congress, ambassadors and other honored guests, we are gathered to celebrate the achievements of some 350 men and women from 14 nations who served in the monuments fine arts and archive section. We now know these men and scholar, men and women, as the Monuments Men. Only six are still living. Ann olivier bell and reuben sammy were unable to travel, however, bernard taper, richard beransik, and harry etlinger are with us today. So, too, are 175 family members of Monuments Men since passed. Our Founding Fathers committed to us the cause of freedom. The Monuments Men did no less for the respect and preservation of our shared Cultural Treasures. As early as 1942, george stout who would become the leader of the Monuments Men in europe and establish their operation in postwar japan argued for the creation of cultural preservation officers during war. To safeguard these things will not affect the course of battles, stout wrote, but it will affect the relations of invading armies with those people and their governments. To safeguard these things will show respect for the beliefs and customs of all men and will bear witness that these things belong not only to a particular people but also to the heritage of mankind. The death of two Monuments Men during combat, british major Ronald Balfour and american captain walter hutchhousen would seem to argue that art is worth the loss of life. But Monuments Men dean keller, an artist himself, who missed his sons third, fourth, and fifth birthdays while serving in italy stated otherwise. The life of one american boy is worth infinitely more than any monument i know, keller said, but like the other Monuments Men, he risked their lives not to save beautiful objects but to defend the very cause george stout wrote about in preservation of our shared cultural heritage. Todays celebration is the culmination of nine years of service for these men and women is a dream come true to me. Thanks to the dedicated work of several authors, researchers, archivists and an attorney who are among our audience and the longtime advocacy of the Monuments Foundation men for the preservation of arts. The achievements of heroes of civilization are now widely known. We live in hope that the wisdom of george stout, the sacrifices of Monuments Men balfour and hutchhousen and the dedication of all those who served in the monuments fine arts and archive section will not reside in our memory, rather that they will live in our hearts to inspire us to do a far better job protecting and preserving those things of knowledge and beauty that we have inherited from the past. Ladies and gentlemen, United States army band pershings own and the United States army voices. Ill be seeing you in all the old familiar places the heart of mine embraces all day through in a small cafe the park across the way the childrens carousel the chestnut tree a wishing well ill be seeing you in every lovely summers day in everything thats light and gay ill always think of you that way ill find you in the morning sun and when the night is through ill be looking at the moon but ill be seeing you dont sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me anyone else but me anyone else but me no no no dont sit under the apple with anyone else but me until i come marching home dont go walking down lovers lane with anyone else but me anyone else but me anyone else but me no no no dont go walking down lovers lane with anyone else but me until i come marching home im so afraid the paths we made beneath those moonlit skies will fade a way so dont sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me until i come marching home home home Home Sweet Home until i come marching home so dont go walking down lovers lane no walking down lovers lane until you see me when you see me marching home then well go arm in arm and sit down under the apple baby just you and me when i come marching home ladies and gentlemen, the democratic leader of the United States house of representatives, the honorable nancy pelosi. Good afternoon, everyone. Mr. Speaker, mr. Leader, mr. Leader, for our speaker this is his last Gold Medal Ceremony and so its an emotional time for many reasons, including that. Thank you, mr. Speaker, for making it so lovely. I want to join in acknowledging the leadership of senator me denness, senator blount, congressman, madam chair granger, congressman capuano of massachusetts, robert edsel. Thank you so much. You have done such a large part in preserving art as well. Thank you. Were honored by your presence. In march of 1941, president Franklin Roosevelt dedicated the National Gallery of art just down the mall from here. As the crowd gathered, britain struggling beneath the bonds of the blitz, nazis occupiers looted the finest art of western europe and ransacked the property of jewish families, a vast program of theft and destruction. And with the world at war as the president , president roosevelt, opened a new American Home for the worlds master works, president roosevelt spoke the fundamental truth at the heart of what the monument mens mission was he said this, whatever these paintings may have been to men, and women, who looked at them generations back, today they are not only works of art, today they are the symbols of the human spirit, symbols of the world, the freedom of the human spirit has made. As we saw in the film, president eisenhower said these are the ideals for which the war was fought. Thank you Ann Eisenhower for honoring us with your presence today as well. The men and women of the monuments fine arts and archive section were charged with a staggering responsibility by general then general eisenhower. Across a whole world set ablaze by wars destruction, against the last thrashes of the nazis nihilism, preserve the treasures of humanity. That was the charge. Thousands of miles, operating with few resources and little direct authority, the Monuments Men often relied more on their own grit, ingenuity and power of persuasion than other things. As just a handful of men and women i want to emphasize the women and never more than a few hundred, they fought to rescue millions of artifacts in axis hands and protect them through the fire of the allys military advance. Some gave their lives in the effort. But thanks to the monument men, the war that claimed so much, that took the lives of so many, would not also destroy the creativity that connects us to the heritage of civilization. And because of their perseverance and painstaking detective work, millions and millions of artifacts were saved for the public and or returned to their rightful owners. The poet shelley once wrote, the greatest force for moral good is imagination. It is imagination that gives us the creativity and love of the arts that find our common humanity finds a home. We see what we have in common. We understand other peoples thinking. So, this was not just about the objects. It was about the creativity and the imagination which is a force for good. With the last living Monuments Men among us, and women, we stand in the presence of greatness. Thank you for your greatness of courage, your greatness of commitment, Sergeant Harry etlinger, well be hearing from you, private first class richard baransik, well be hearing from you, thank you. Thank you, maam. And lieutenant bernard taper of berkeley and my city of san francisco, you saw him in the film. I also want to acknowledge because as was said earlier, so many family members are here, just to name one more, mia melrose attending on behalf of mary regan qusenberry another woman of the monuments, but thank you to all of the family members who are here. As we present the congressional gold medal to the Monuments Men and women, we recognize the truth of our own to add president roosevelts wisdom at the National Gallery. Im so happy that so many ambassadors are here. Welcome, ambassadors, to be with us as we observe that today the art of the mfaa returned the monuments they saved, these things stand not only as artifacts of the inspiration, devotion, and artistry of distant ages, they endure as testimony to the boundless determination, passion, and creativity of the men and women we are proud to honor with this Gold Medal Ceremony today. Youre receiving it, my friends, brings luster to this honor. Congratulations and thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the democratic leader of the United States senate, the honorable harry reid. A war against humanity, nothing is sacred to the aggressors. So it was for the axis powers during world war ii. As the troops rolled across the globe, millions of innocent people and entire countries and cultures fell victim to this war machine. But as weve learned even history itself was threatened by adolf hitler and his accomplices. Historic structures were bombed into oblivion, and priceless family heirlooms were lost forever. Art culture and our own history battle is being waged today. A number of my friends prior to my speaking mentioned this. The vile terrorist group isis wantonly destroys vestiges of the ancient civilizations. Isis destroyed the holy city im sorry the holy site believed to be the tomb of the prophet jonah. And recently isis used large quantities of explosives to destroy a 2,000yearold phoenician treasure. In afghanistan, the taliban has destroyed giant sandstone statues of buddha that were 1700 years old. Thats not all. In timbuktu, terrorists set fire to a library containing thousands and thousands of manuscripts dating back to the 13th century. And with each artifact destroyed and each ancient ruin crushed and each ruin toppled a small piece of humanity is lost for eternity. Thats what makes today so significant. Today we praise the brave men and women who fought to preserve and restore the remnants of our past. What started as just a handful of artists, curators and educators swelled to about 4 00 servicemen and civilians. These courageous individuals safeguarded humanitys prized possessions in the midst of the worlds most heinous war. It was an honor for me before we came here to meet each of you individually. Ill always remember that. And to the families of the hundreds of monument men and women no longer with us, i say this, you should be very proud. Your loved ones served as guardians of history. As for the rest of us, its not enough to recognize accomplishments of the Monuments Men because if we neglect to act now to preserve what isis and others have not destroyed, we will have failed. We must honor the work of the hon mumet Monuments Men and women by emulating their courage and following in their footsteps. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, the majority leader of the United States senate, the honorable mitch mcconnell. Two years ago louisvilles Speed Art Museum unveiled an exhibit entitled kentucky home the colonial revival houses of stratton o hammond. Since designing his first house as a teenager in the 1920s hammond went on to become one of the most popular architects of the last century. His homes still dot the streets of louisville today. Im pleased to report that Stratton Hammond is also a fellow graduate of dupont high school. He set the bar very high for those of us who followed and not just because of his architecture. Hammond joined the army in world war ii. He participated in the normandy invasion in 1944. And thanks to his background in art and architecture, he eventually settled into the palace of versailles. As monuments officer at general eisenhowers headquarters. This kentuckian who unfortunately passed away in 1997 is one of the hundreds of Monuments Men we honor today. These men and women came from different countries. They hailed from vastly different backgrounds. But they shared a common mission. To defend colonades of civilization through crucibles of war. One man would flee nazi germany the day after his bar mitzvah only to return and liberate hundreds of looted treasures in the salt mines of halbron. Another a scottish born, london raised and american educated writer would become an art detective who helped recover priceless paintings. Theres the native chicagoan who would assist in the movement of recovered stolen art in western germany. And in the pacific theater, theres the americanborn typist who would generate field reports for Monuments Men in tokyo. These four men and women came from different circumstances. They each contributed in their own way. But all advanced an Important Mission that could have easily been overlooked. In all these four people are with us here today. You know, after their service, many of the Monuments Men quickly blended back into society. As artists, for instance, or as curators, enStratton Hammond returned to his Architectural Firm in kentucky though its interesting to find that his firm specialized on the effect of explosives on structural integrity. Their work went unheralded even though it had changed them. Yet we owe the men and women who served a real debt of gratitude. Without their service, we may have won a war but lost our common heritage. So, the gold medal we present today is our countrys way of saying that the service should not only be recognized, but celebrated. Its our nations way of saying thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, the speaker of the United States howls house of representatives, the honorable john boehner. In a few moments well have the presentation of the medal, and at that time ill ask our honorees to join us here on the stage. But as some of you may know, this is the last time that im going to have this privilege. And really, its been quite a privilege. In the opening i congressional gold medal was general George Washington himself in 1776. Well, as you can imagine, things got busy after that. So it took about 14 years for washington to actually get that medal. Over that time, four different people were in charge of the product the project, including none other than thomas jefferson. Jefferson kept detailed notes on how the medals should be executed. He found a way to pay for all of it. He had the work done in france. He then personally delivered the medal to washington in new york along with a box of medals for his men. Thats a chain of preservation which todays honorees can certainly appreciate. Because our founders followed through on this and on some of the other things, we have this great tradition thats older than the country itself. We have this golden link to a time when america was merely this radical idea that anyone could contribute to the common good. So just look at who we are honoring today. A small group of people who acted purely on their own passion and courage, reclaimed the worlds most valuable treasures. They reattached the tendons to the bone that is civilizations identity. Ladies and gentlemen, were the luckiest people on earth. We get to tell these stories. We get to toast our heros. And we get to fall in love with freedom all over again. Because knowing who we are from shows our children what they can be. No task is more precious than that. No award is greater than this. So for the Monuments Men, they have struck a congressional gold medal which we will present now and always on behalf of a grateful nation. Congratulations. [ applause ] [ applause ] [ applause ] [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, monument men, mr. Harry etlinger. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, 72 years ago through world war ii, the United States established a policy that made the preservation of artistic and Cultural Treasures of europe a priority. This was contrary to the policies of the leaders of our enemy who not only put priority to murder millions but also to the destruction of art and culture they deemed inferior. Thus, a relatively tiny International Group of men and women, led by the United States and the united kingdom, embarked on implementing this new policy. The mission was dangerous. Two Monuments Men were killed in combat to protect works of art. Through months of the war, what this small Group Discovered was nothing less than the greatest plunder ever perpetrated in the history of civilization. Ill get to it, the page. Today, only five americans and one british now referred to as Monuments Men are still alive. Four are here today. I, the babies of these soldiers, on behalf of the Monuments Men alive and those who have gone to the great beyond, graciously accept this great honor that the members of congress of the United States of america have bestowed upon us today. At the end of the war, world war ii, the policies of western allies made clear that the victors do not belong the spoils of war. Let us today openly restate this policy. Let us today openly promote the concept. Let us again and again announce to the people of the world that their cultures will be cherished as long as they respect the culture of others. [ applause ] god bless you. [ applause ] God Bless America [ applause ] hello, this is hillary clinton, i want to thank you for letting me speak with you about an issue thats central to our childrens future. And critical in our fight to restore this nations economy. Solving our Nations Health care crisis. There is no prescription or role model or cookbook for being first lady. The future is created every day. The future is not something thats out there waiting to happen to us. The future is something that we make. Well, i have said and i believe that theres a good possibility that sometime in the next 20 years, we will have a woman president. Hillary clinton experienced many first in her role as first lady. Shes endured several scandals including his impeachment as she considers a second bid for the white house, her story is still being written. Health care this sunday night on cspans original series, first ladies, influence and image. Examining the public and private lives of the women who killed their position of first lady, and their influence on the presidency. From Martha Washington to michelle obama. Sunday at 8 00 p. M. Eastern on American History tv on cspan3. American history tv recently traveled to the National WorldWar Ii Museum in new orleans this year mark the 70th year since the end of the war. Hello. My name is keith huxen and i am senior director of research and history here at the museum in neebs. Were standing in the road to berlin, permanent gallery exhibits which opened in december 2014. After several years have had development. Our mission here at the National WorldWar Ii Museum is to tell the American Experience in world war ii, why it was fought, how it was won. And the building were in tells the story of how it was won. Here we are in the first gallery of the road to i