year. walk us through how you are honoring them and why this has become such an important way to do that for you. well, first of all, good morning and thank you for continuing this tradition. this started somewhat as that fluke about six years ago on cnn, when i first joined you all as a military analyst. and i was mentioning this box that three of us have. general dempsey and general stap rat ty and myself. and it started in 2003. as general dempsey is our division commander when we were in iraq, started making cards at memorial services. and in this box, if i were to open it up, you would see there s the picture of it, is 253 cards, which i have, from multiple combat tours of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and allies that served under me and made the ultimate sacrifice during our tours in combat. and on a daily basis, i open that box, i have it here on my
shannon: welcome back. this memorably we honor our men and women he because if one veteran in particular a spring in community of funny signs and inside jokes. meet venture with the sign. my husband, father of the report veteran zachary bell. he said he has lost more friends after the war in afghanistan then he did during his two combat tours. he is kind enough to join us right here right now for exact thank you so much for coming on. i got a big following on instagram i was just taking a look at it right now prefer the folks who do not know the veteran with the sign is, what is it? it is a community. at the place of people can laugh and have shared experiences and talk about the things they have been through and service. my goal is to make people laugh more i m grateful to be a part of this i cannot believe this opportunity because thank you for what you do. look at some of the signs you guys are holding up.
women who gave their lives in vietnam. cnn s jake tapper has their story. reporter: etched into these enormous pieces of black granite which emerge from the national mall like a wound are the names of 58,318 servicemen and servicewomen who lost their lives fighting in one of america s longest wars, the vietnam war. in a town so often divided, members of congress from both parties were united and came together to wash this wall by hand ahead of memorial day. republican congressman mike waltz from florida is a green beret who did combat tours in afghanistan, the middle east and africa. he organized this bipartisan event several years ago with fellow lawmakers who have also served. it s a reminder to us the sacrifices that have been made for this country and it s a reminder to us as members of congress, both sides of the aisle. at the end of the day we re all american, we re all veterans who were willing to die together
hoses, buckets, scrub brushes and cleaned the vietnam veterans memorial wall by hand, a solemn, relatively new tradition that serves as a reminder of what unites us instead of what divides. these enormous pieces of black granite which emerged from the national mall like a wound are the names of 58,318 service men and service women who lost their lives fighting in one of america s longest wars. the vietnam war. in a town so often divided, today members of congress from both parties were united and came together to wash this wall by hand ahead of memorial day. republican congressman mike walls from florida is a green beret who did combat tours in afghanistan, the middle east and africa. he organized this bipartisan event with fellow lawmakers who have also served. it s a reminder for us, the
announced the world was at war with iraq. at this erika american and coalition forces with the early stages of military operations to disarm iraq and free his people and to defend the world from great danger. rachel: it all began with the shock and awe bombing campaign in baghdad. steve: ended. remember that? lieutenant colonel dan rooney served three duties. it was a chance interacting with one of the service members killed in operation iraqi freedom that inspired dan rooney to found the organization falls of honor. end. annie joins us live right now. are you in oklahoma right now your home? yes, eight server, the land of common sense. steve: it s hard to believe it s 20 years ago. it was about three years ago sometimes it seems like it was 50 years ago. it is 15 years since i have been there, steve greer three combat tours in iraq. as i reflect on that this morning over my copy, it sounds