we have new profiles tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern with four members of congress, three of them veterans. >> there was one day where i had 31 things on my calendar. you might have a five-minute meeting followed by a 10 minute meeting. i serve on three committees, seven subcommittees. i get up early. i tried exercise as close to every morning as i can. the evenings usually and late. up there are other people that have vices. they might go out drinking or whatnot. for me, i love to empty my e-mail inbox. that is my vice. staying on top of stuff. we might be out, there might be some type of event going on. local groups from the district for good causes. i like to get back to work. i usually go to sleep around 12:00 and a backup early at 5:00. >> all starting tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern time. a congressional gold ceremony. house and senate leaders held a ceremony at the capitol honoring the doolittle tokyo raiders for their service during world war ii. the 80 man volunteer unit conducted the first air raids on japan in april, 1942, four months after the attack on pearl harbor. speakers include mitch mcconnell, nancy pelosi and dick durbin. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the majority leader of the united states senate, the honorable mitch mcconnell. [applause] >> good afternoon everyone. welcome to the capital. normally, speaker boehner would reside over this ceremony. over the weekend, his younger brother rick passed away. the speaker is with his family today in southwest ohio. he asked me to send his deepest regards and regrets that he is unable to be here. today, pursuant to hr 1209, we will present a congressional gold medal to the doolittle tokyo raiders. the gold-medal represents congress' highest expression of gratitude for distinguished achievements and contributions. it is being presented to the doolittle raters for their -- doolittle raiders for the outstanding heroism during world war ii. the metal will make its way to the national museum of the united states air force and date ohio where it will be permanently placed. general john hudson, the director of the museum, is with us to receive the medal. thank him for being here. [applause] >> the work of many people, especially the families of these heroes. we thank you all for being here as well. i hope you enjoy today's remarks. thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the presentation of the colors by the united states armed forces colorguard. ♪ ♪ [indiscernible] ♪ >> please remain standing as the chaplain of the united states senate give the invocation. >> let us pray. internal lord god, -- eternal lord god, the source of our hopes and dreams, we thank you for the doolittle tokyo raiders, a group of 80 patriots who more than self, their country loved. we are grateful for the morale boost their exploits provided, a beleaguered nation. infusing america with the spirit of hope when it needed it most. lord, we ask your blessings on the two surviving raiders. lieutenant colonel richard cole and staff sergeant david thatcher. bless also and comfort the family of a third doolittle raider, retired lieutenant colonel robert height, who recently died. maybe inspiration we receive from this congressional gold medal ceremony that sarah bragg's that celebrates the heroism of the doolittle tokyo raiders, motivate us to live more laudable lives. we pray in your great name amen . >> please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, united states representative pete olson. [applause] >> good afternoon. i want to start by thanking republican and democrat leaders of both parties for making this long overdue day happen. a special thanks to senator brown, allowing me to be his wing man on this endeavor. in my navy career, i have managed and taken off an aircraft carrier many times. i want you all to know with these -- what these 80 euros did on april 18, 1942 -- what these 80 euros did on april 18 1942, that was the first day they dropped off the carrier deck and saw the waters, to greet them. patrol boats sparta the hornets -- spotted the hornets 12 hours before intended launch. america could not lose the hornets. the men were given a choice. launch, knowing they would go down in enemy territory or struck -- or scrub the mission forever. all 15 bombers to golf and -- took off and bomb. that soil had never been touched by a foreign power and over 1000 years. those 54 bombs did little damage to the japanese navy and arm ies, but the fear that raid put into japanese air boats, made them want to have a rare takeoff flight with our navy and pacific. we won that fight two month later at midway. after midway, america was going to win world war ii. that would not have happened without the doolittle raid. this metal ensures these heroes who saved our world from tyranny. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the honorable sharon brown. [applause] >> thank you to all legislative leaders, to general hudson, john crown, comes in olson. -- congressman olson. it is been four years since brian anderson, sergeant at arms , came to my office seeking recognition the raiders never sought for themselves. go back to spring 1942. americans were still reeling from pearl harbor. we had lost battle after battle in the pacific. too many americans, allied forces seemed to be in retreat across the globe. across the ocean japan's arrogance had reached new heights. japanese generals proclaimed that no one could launch an air attack against japan. tojo boasted in all its 2000 years of history japan had never lost the war. that spring, 80 americans embarked on a mission many thought impossible. the airmen knew the dangers. they knew many would not come home but the raiders showed america and the world that japan could be invaded. they showed the u.s. and allied forces could win the war. after the war, when he returned, when the airmen returned, they talked of their service. they went back to their daily lives in ohio and texas and kentucky, illinois and louisiana. they blended into american life of the 1940's. when asked about the raid by the new york times, lieutenant colonel saylor said it was just a mission we did in the war. we did what we had to do. like my dad, the doolittle raiders came from a generation that spoke proudly of service to our country but rarely drew attention to their own courage. they sought no recognition but how they earned it. that is why i am honored play a role in the awarding of this metal today. to the raiders still living also to the 78 no longer with us , thank you for what you did for this country. because of you we live in a free and grateful nation. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen the united states army band. ♪ [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the majority whip of the united states house of representatives. the honorable steve scalise. [applause] >> good afternoon. proud to be here with you today especially as someone who represents part of the city of new orleans where we host the national world war ii museum will be pay tribute to those brave men and women of the greatest generation that defended our freedoms during world war ii. almost 73 years ago today 80 brave airmen stepped forward and volunteer for a mission that they knew very well may be their last. these 80 men, the doolittle tokyo raiders believed our freedoms and the defense of our nation, our american way of life, were worth risking their lives for. they believed that their selfless participation in this mission was simply, as they put it, doing their job. after japan's attack on pearl harbor, the american more at for -- war effort was diminished. telegraphed a message to the rest of the world that america will not back down. that america will fight and win. today, as members of the house and senate leadership, but more portly as americans, it is our privilege -- but more importantly as americans, it is our privilege in recognition of bravery, and great service to our nation. god bless america. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the democratic leader of the united states house of representatives the honorable nancy pelosi. >> senator brown representatives olson, thank you for giving us this opportunity. it is an honor to be here with all of you. lieutenant general john hudson, thank you for your leadership. looking at the program, at all of these names listed here, what a heavy list of honor and courage. how wonderful that we are honoring them today. it is fitting that we come together today in emancipation hall. today marks the 100 and 50th best 150th anniversary of the death of president abraham lincoln. as we gather to pay tribute of the impossible bravery of the doolittle raiders, president lincoln's words ring true as ever. "the little -- the world will little remember what we say here, but they can long forget what they did." [applause] >> i take special pride because it was less than four months after pearl harbor come on april 2, 1942, that the u.s. won its steam out of -- under san francisco bridge. planes never intended to take off from an aircraft carrier planes that could never land back on the carrier -- on the hornet once launched. their crews volunteered with a new nothing more than the mission's in porton's would be matched only by its perils -- importance would be matched by its perils. the training had been compressed into a few months. at every chance to back out these 80 men kept stepping forward to see the rate through. -- see the raid through. hundreds of miles short of the launch point, 80 planes vaulted into the sky, racing toward the enemy homeland, placing their hopes in a successful crash landing on the chinese coast. reeling from the surprise attack on for a -- on pearl harbor, our nation needed a reason to believe. the doolittle raid was just that. in a letter to captain ted lawson after the war, the commanding officer of the uss hornet during the mission road, to americans currently facing reverses on every front it brought electric shock of hope. as general jimmy doolittle wrote years later our country faced with the greatest adversity we had ever experienced have fought back. some were killed or executed. some were grievously wounded. some faced years of captivity. the doolittle raiders had pierced the invulnerability of the axis war machine. that given america a reason to believe victory was within reach. for all of those men who made it through the raid in one piece the world was only the beginning. with many more dangerous missions ahead, more raiders would give their lives before the final victory was one. ever into danger it was. i want to say something to the families of our members of the air force. as i travel europe and north africa, we always visit the american cemeteries there. what is always remarkable to me is as we look across at all of the tombstones and how proud and brave they were and how proud we are of everyone, we have to usually go to the wall to see the names of those who were in the air force because that is the way it is. no remains. i know that is another gift that the families give us, not just the courage of their family members but to have -- not being able to come home but nonetheless to be recognized for evermore on those walls. it is not any surprise that when we go to those walls we escorted usually by the air force. everyone is in tears because of the freedom people have given us with their lives. with their entire being. i thank you, families of the air force for that history. those gifts to our country. [applause] >> after the raid, these men believed they had a job to do and they meant see it through no matter how long or how hard it would be. seven decades later, we are still awed by the audacity of the raid and the men whose grit and gravy made it possible -- whose grit and bravery made it possible. your humbled by their humility. it will never dim the daring of their deeds. for their awakening of the indomitable spirit of our nation in the darkest hour of our need we are proud to honor the doolittle raiders with the congressional gold medal, with thanks and respect. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the assistant democrat leader of the united states senate. the honorable dick durbin. >> good afternoon. think back for a moment. where were you on september 11 2001? we all have that memory. something you will never forget. 60 years before, there was another day just like that in american history. december 7, 1941. a message which electrified america, we had been attacked pearl harbor. brave men and women had died. war was declared just hours after in the hall of the u.s. house of representatives when president franklin delano roosevelt came and describes that day that would live in infamy. it was his job as commander-in-chief to rally the american people and our forces to win that war. he summoned winston churchill to come across the ocean in need in the white house. two weeks after pearl harbor, franklin roosevelt sent the order to the military, attack japan. he knew he had to make the point that they were not invulnerable and he had to prove to the american people that we had the will to stand up and fight back against the odds. lucky for him, and lucky for america, 80 brave americans stepped forward to volunteer for this mission. some might have described it as a suicide mission. we are going to fly bombers off a carrier? we're not going to have fighter escorts? were going to have to give up our armament because of these 500 pound bombs we have to transport such a great distance? we're going to find ourselves out in the ocean. as cumbersome and olson said, -- as congressman olson said earlier, spotted by the japanese. where going to have to ditch these planes after it's over. perhaps in russia, perhaps in the ocean. these 80 men stepped forward and said, we will do it. nelson mandela was asked about courage. he said courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. these 80 men, the doolittle raiders, triumphed over fear. they went out on that mission and amazingly, 69 of them returned. i would like to recognize major griffith paul williams. a reader from my home state of illinois. major williams copilot did the 1525 bomber. a flight that almost did not happen. one of the engine the plane was not working. the cannot get it running. the told him that if they could not get that plane up and running they would have to push it overboard when the other bombers launched. that is when lieutenant colonel edward saylor, the engineer said we are in this wish and -- in this mission to stay. he to the engine off the aircraft and rebuild it and put it on the plane. when they asked him, do you think is going to work, he said a line we can all relate to. there are not any parts left over. [laughter] >> the engine worked. the mission was successful. unfortunately, edward saylor passed away a few months ago. for he died, they asked him how it felt to be a hero and he said, there is no way you can call yourself a hero. as for someone else to say. today, the congress of the united states of america is calling edward saylor and the other 79 doolittle raiders just that heroes. on behalf of freedom loving people in the united states and everywhere we say thank you for your service and a job well done. [applause] >> ladies and gentle man, the majority leader of the united states senate, the honorable mitch mcconnell. [applause] >> for decades, a group of survivors gathered annually to remember a mission that never should have succeeded. from silver chalices before them the aroma of strong elixir. in chairs beside them, reminders of what they worked on together to accomplish. in empty spaces near them reminders of what they had sent -- what they had since lost. at the end of each ceremony, rollcall. heroes saluted, fallen comrades remembered. with swells brandy -- with's wills of brandy, a toast to a faithful mission that helped change the course of war and with it, history. the success of their raid launched april 18, 1942 did seem improbable. jimmy doolittle's volunteers flew anyway. there were five extra crews and everyone wanted to go. one raider remembered one individual offered $1000 to anyone willing to give up their seat but there were no takers. 80 raters took off that morning -- 80 raters took off that morning. just over a year ago at the u.s. museum of the national air force, three surviving ra iders met to commemorate him. they were not alone. as their motorcade rolled forward, grateful crowds came into view. as their eyes turned upward, a 25's -- be 25's sort overhead. the gratitude of an entire nation for each of them to see. a few weeks later, when the raiders met to clink goblets one last time, it would've been easy to think of so many empty cups with sorrow, but i hope they remembered all that have been gained instead. morale for a nation, achieved through their bravery. freedom for millions, secured with victories of free people. bonds of enduring friendship, strong as the brandy used to toast it. there is something else. the gratitude of a nation that has not forgotten. a nation that will not forget. lieutenant colonel dick cole at dance that sergeant david thatcher -- and staff sergeant david thatcher saw it. these survivors will see another reminder when they present the metal we have bestowed today to the very same museum. today, we hope these veterans and the family of every raider veteran will see it here too. let me invite general hudson to join us on the stage. come on up. it is our high privilege on behalf of the american people to present the congressional gold medal, the highest civilian honor congress can bestow, in honor of the doolittle tokyo raiders. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen the director of the national museum of the united states air force lieutenant general john hudson. united states air force, retired. [applause] >> leader mcconnell, leader pelosi, senator brown and represented olson, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for the great honor today of accepting the congressional gold medal on behalf of our doolittle raiders in having the chance to say a few words on their behalf. the raiders led by jimmy doolittle were 100% volunteers. almost none of them knew the details of the mission until a task force headed -- the two surviving raiders include attendance here today. they wanted to help out with the nation's war effort. they volunteered for what was described as a difficult and dangerous mission. the raiders will tell you they were within our army air forces and it was there teammates, the crew chiefs, weapon years, feel specials and more who help them train and prepare the airplanes for the missions. their innovation and ingenuity continues today in our nation's air force as it did in our army air forces. the raiders will tell you our nation's navy transported the raiders to launch point with a task force that included the uss hornet which held the between five bombers. --b-25 bombers. that it was their navy teammates who helped them train and prepare for the mission. the raiders with tell you that north american aviation designed and built a robust platform that was capable of taking off from an aircraft carrier and delivering the blow which helped turn the strategic tide of world war ii. the doolittle raiders serve as a model of excellence. the joint team which accomplished that mission is an inspiration for all of today's military and all of america. the raiders with the support of our army navy and american industry, achieved the unimaginable. inconsistent -- consistent with the wishes of a our doolittle raiders come at the national museum of the united states air force, located at patterson air force base at dayton ohio placed their congressional medal on permanent display in our world war ii gallery. containing the 80 silver goblets, one for each raider donated by the city of tucson to the raiders in 1959. the medal will go on display this weekend. helping to form and educate the american public about the doolittle raid and our military heritage and secondly to inspire and motivate current and future generations of american youth toward greatness as example five by the raiders. -- as an simplified by the raiders -- as exemplified by the raiders. more than one million visitors annually will visit the medal. in just a minute, you will hear a prerecorded statement from lieutenant colonel retired dick cole. jimmy doolittle's copilot on the mission at took place 70 years ago this coming saturday, 18 april. the first aircraft off the flight deck of the uss hornet. they had the shortest amount of takeoff space available. they did it and paved the path forward. dick cole turns 100 years young this september. he and sergeant david thatcher are the two surviving raiders of the 80 through the mission on 18 april, 1942. you can be assured that the doolittle raiders those two that survived are extremely grateful for this prestigious honor the stowed upon the raiders by our united states congress. thank you very much. let's play the video. [video clip] >> my name is lieutenant richard cole. along with sergeant david m thatcher, we are today the only surviving doolittle tokyo raiders. we want to thank congress for an acting and presenting the congressional gold medal to the tokyo raiders this day, april the 15th 2015. on behalf of our 78 fallen raiders who we proudly served with on this famous raid, we are honored to accept this prestigious and most appreciated award. we have asked the museum to display our congressional gold medal in the doolittle exhibit as part of our history along with 80 silver goblets for all visitors to enjoy. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please be seated. ladies and gentlemen, the united states army band and chorus. ♪ [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the chaplain of the united states house of representatives, the reverend patrick conroy. >> let us pray. god of power, god of justice it is because of the weakness and failures of our human nature that the terror of war so often plagues the human family. yet, it is during world time -- wartime that they greatness of human spirit is demonstrated. in 1942, our nation was reeling from a preemptive strike by japan upon the pacific fleet. japan no doubt feared what the united states might use that fleet for. it was a shocking blow. the 80 men who volunteered for virtual suicide mission did not strike a similar blow upon japan . little damage was done to the military force of that nation. the success of their mission rather was in the tremendous message of hope that we americans could respond to the dangers of powerful enemies despite impossible odds. today, only two raiders remain. lieutenant colonel dick cole and staff sergeant david thatcher. may the breath of god uphold their noble stories. may it carry to other generations and even to other nations a message to inspire citizens everywhere to believe and act upon the truth, that there is no greater aspiration than to be willing to lay down one's life to save others. may those who made the ultimate sacrifice that day and thereafter rest in peace, along with those companions who joined them in eternity in the years since. bless all women and men in military service, their families and all those who put themselves in harms way for the safety of others. god bless america and grant us peace both in the present and with you forever amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, remain at your seats for the departure of the official party. ♪

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