commissioned and placed there for the buffalo soldiers. it was really important to him what he had done in the military, the opportunities that the military had given him, and he always said that the military was a place that was transformational and where racial barriers could really be broken down. because that is where people are promoted based on their skills. sandra: jennifer griffin, live at the cathedral for us as we see colin powell s widow there saying her goodbyes to family and friends. k.t. mcfarland is still there with us, as well. k.t., we are taking in some of the pictures at the cathedral as the current president, joe biden, shake the hand of hillary clinton. you see president bush in the front row as the nation remembers and says goodbye to colin powell. you know, he wrote a book. his memoir was called my american journey, and i think
me. when i was in high school, my grandmother give me a photo of general powell adorned with a chest full of metals, and prompting me, you need not look far for your own hero. i carried that photo all through school, and have it to this day. after reading general powell s book, my american journey in college, eric said, for the first time in my life, i found myself, and all i wanted to be. and all these years later, i still do my best to imitate the man himself, trying to make my life journey as good and honorable and centered in service. i have held a light to his life, and it has been a true affirmation of faith.
. i ve often wondered, how many young men, especially young black men, or given that book accompanied by the same admonition: you need not look far for a hero. there are many loves we recount this day, and all the tributes we ve heard, the ones that are deep in your hearts. as beloved wife, children, family, friends, those in the profession of arms, colleagues, and numbers of men and women across our nation. many loves. but i am here to speak with you about an even greater love. we are here today because of a person, and that person is the man in the glory, jesus christ.
and yet colin powell didn t give up on the military, he didn t leave the military, he stayed and helped rebuild it to be a military that ultimately we didn t have to use but which we were able to enact the cold war without firing a shot. we have to go back and look at, how did he do it, what did he do? and really take those lessons to heart now. john: after the first gulf war it was widely believed that colin powell, a republican, might have become the nation s first african-american president. but he said he did not have the fire in his belly to do it, and he also let us know that alma powell, his beloved wife, wanted no part of that, either. well, what happened is after the gulf war he wrote a book, he did a national tour. and people said, we want you to run for president. this was in the late 1990s. he ultimately made a decision not to run, but they were an awful lot of us who knew him and loved him. all called and said, look, i ll drop everything.
grandmother gave me a photo of general powell adorned with a chest full of medals and prompting me, you need not look far for your own hero. i carried that photo all through school, and have it to this day. after reading general powell s book, my american journey in college, erik said, for the first time in my life, i found myself and all i wanted to be. and all these years later, i still do my best to imitate the man himself, trying to make my life journey as good and honorable and centered on service. i have held a light to his life, and it has been a true affirmation of faith. i ve often wondered how many young men and especially young