we were able to lose sight of this aircraft, this airspace? can you talk a little about that? sure. the aircraft actually went off the radar screens literally, i suppose, as you know, in between the handoff from the malaysian air traffic control and the air traffic control there in vietnam. so it was almost depending how you look at it, the worst place to lose track of an aircraft. whether or not that tells us a whole lot about what was going on in the cockpit, i don t really know. you ve already been talking about some of the things, some of the indications we ve got about the path of the aircraft and what that means about how it was being controlled. i have to agree that for better or worse, those actions don t really tell us a whole lot about narrowing down the possible search area. it s a very unsatisfying answer and especially for the people that want to know, and that have family members on the flight. i suspect it s going to be a long time before we re able to narrow down that
accepting on behalf of her father. specialist leonard l.alferado above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a rifleman with company d second battalion, first cavalry air mode. against an armed enemy in puck long province republic of vietnam on august 12, 1969. on that day the specialist and small reaction force moved through dense jungle to a beleaguered platoon and he opened fire when he suspected enemy fire. sfit his quick reaction he was soon pinned down by the hostile force that blocked the path to the trapped platoon. the specialist moved forward to engage the enemy troops. suddenly, in enemy grenade
vietnam, took out several enemy bunkers, and kept going even after he was shot three times. and on most days, you can find santiago erevia at home in san antonio. he s a 68-year-old retired postal worker. he s fixing up his house typically, tending to the garden, going on walks with his wife, or doing some pushups to stay in shape. today, we remember how 23-year-old specialist 4 erevia under a hail of bullets in vietnam gave first aid to his wounded comrades and single handedly destroyed four enemy bunkers. these are extraordinary americans. they are exemplary soldiers. and so i want to begin by
32-year-old sergeant first class rodela fought through his wounds in vietnam and rallied his men during 18 hours of constant combat. most days you can find melvin morris at home in port st. john, florida. 72 years old. a retired salesman and a great-grandfather. you ll find him working on his boat, going fishing, reading the bible, spending time with his beautiful wife, mary. married 53 years this month. you re going to have to give me some tips. we re not that far along yet. today, we remember how 27-year-old staff sergeant morris, one of our nation s very first green beret one of our very first green berets. think about that. i mean, that s legendary. how staff sergeant morris recovered a fallen comrade in
puerto rico. they loved to fish and play baseball. they were sons who made their parents proud and brothers who their siblings looked up to. they were so young, many in their early 20s. when their country went to war, they answered the call. they put on the uniform and hugged their families good-bye. some of them hugged the wives and children that they d never see again. they fought in the rocky hills of italy. the blood-stained beaches of france. and the freezing mountains of korea. the humid jungles of vietnam. their courage almost defies imagination. when you read the records of these individuals, it s unimaginabl unimaginable. s the valor they displayed.