[background chatter] good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I am jim knotts, the president and ceo of the veterans vietnam fund, and i will be the master of ceremonies today. It is my pleasure to welcome you to the annual veterans day ceremony at the wall. Before we begin the formal program, i would like to recognize all of the goldstar family members we have with us today. The mothers, fathers, wives, siblings, spouses, nieces,. Ephews, and sons and daughters all of those who have experienced the loss of a loved one and no all too well the sacrifices that our military families make. Waitinglly, to those for the return of their loved ones who are listed as missing, thank you for joining us. [applause] jim knotts i would also like to take a moment to thank the wall volunteers. They are in the yellow jackets. And the staff from the Memorial Fund that they do all year round. They truly put everything they have to making the experience of every visitor at the wall as meaningful as it can be