about technology at the time and he said by coming together, we can go to the moon, bring a man there and bring him back safely by the end of the decade. john kennedy didn't live to see it we did do that. keep in mind, that first capsule that went up had less power than your viewer's iphones or smartphones do today. so we can with big ideas come together and solve big problems but only going to work if we all put our effort into it. host: final question how is the library, the foundation reflect og this day on the john f. kennedy centennial? guest: we've had a multi day celebration. where saturday we honesored peace corp and president kennedy's legacy, yesterday nasa with an astronaut and space suit engineer. today we're doing navy flyover, new exhibit and 3 p.m., again, navy flag within a cape for a thousand people fyour viewers are in boston, we encourage you to come by today or any time in the next year to see the new exhibit. host: steven rothstein, on this what would have been the 100th birthday of president kennedy, thank you for being with us. guest: thank you, steve. host: one legacy of the 1960, the vietnam war, memorial with 58,000 names and from time to time you will see people rubbing the name so they can commemorate lost loved ones, including 1200 who remain missing in action from the conflict that began in the late 1950s and concluded in 1975. we'll watch the scene from this memorial on the maul in washington, d.c., located along two acres and get to your phone calls in a couple minutes as you reflect on memorial day, what does it mean to you? we're back in a moment. host: the scene at the vietnam war memorial. family members, friends and loved ones are looking for names, 58 138 names located etched in the marble, two acres of land on the maul in washington, d.c. our question this morning is really your reflections. what does memorial day mean to you? calls in just a moment. headlines outside washington, d.c. sentinal chronicling our veterans courtesy of the museum. wichita eagle, soldiers will never be left behind. from the santiago post, we still love them and there is this from the seattle times 49,000 fare wells and a sacred ritual for vets, national cemetery commemorates those who paid it is ultimate price. clifford, augusta, georgia, good morning, retired military. caller: good morning. memorial day is a special day to me and my family. i get calls from family members that thank me for serving 26 years, three months and nine days in the military. i was stationed in washington, d.c. back in the '60s for a short period of time, up from the pentagon. i used to take my family down to observe the activities, the festivities of memorial day and it meant so much. most people in this country need to actually spend time in washington, d.c. to take a look at what is going on around there, especially the arlington national cemetery, identifying the people on the wall that you know remember and really reflect on the history of persons that served so well and did so much to keep this country safe and some people in this country just don't appreciate it simply because disconnected from the military and what it takes to keep a country free. host: thank you. let's watch for just a moment at the tomb of the unknown soldier. host: at the tomb of the unknown soldier, president donald trump will be there in an hour and a half to place the wreath and follow that with remarks in the amph itheater at arlington national cemetery. clifford solomon has this piece, don't take remembrance out of memorial day. what does memorial day mean to snu time off work, time spent grilling, day to grab hot discounts on electronic? to the families of those who served, memorial day to us is somber day of remembrance, day to honor the ultimate sacrifice so many of our brothers and sisters and others have made for this exceptional nation. you can see with the ladder in place, rubbing, etching of the name of those who lost somebody in the vietnam war. tom is joining us, atkins, south carolina. what does this day mean to you, tom? caller: i wonder when someone is going to put up a memorial for all the african americans who have been killed unarmed african americans killed by the local police. according to guardian magazine, over 23,000 killed since unarmed african americans killed since 2000. host: tom, if you go to the museum of african american history and culture, a number of tributes honor those including those in world war ii. caller: no place you can go and find that information published in america today. host: thank you for the call. thank you for joining us. president trump will be delivering remarks 11:00 eastern time has been tweet thanksgiving morning paying tribute to those who lost their live necessary battle. honoring the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of america, home of the free because of the brave, hashtag memorial day, remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice, thank you god bless your families and god bless the usa, exclamation remark. i look forward to paying respect to our brave men and women on this memorial day at arlington national cemetery later this morning. live coverage from the amphi amphitheater. ken from michigan, good morning. welcome to the conversation. caller: hi, ken from michigan. i think about my good friend dan feign feigny and his twin older brother. they were twins, he lost his life in late '66 and how everybody from the whole church showed up and, you know, that was many years ago. my family, my uncles, my dad, my father-in-law, who served, they didn't lose their life, but served. i want to get back to previous fellow from j.f.k. contract workers at the tech center don't get m.l.k. day off. that caller that said making one step forward, five steps back, we should have mlk day off as contract workers, thank you for allowing me to speak. what about the folks who got lost in cambodia, one veteran told me we don't address that, a lot of people got lost in cambodia, like vietnam, you know, the vietnam veterans or vietnam soldiers who never came home. that is all, i appreciate it. host: thank you. if you come to washington and watch the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier, one of the more spectacular views in washington, d.c. also a very somber place and senator tom cotton, republican of arkansas, is writing about arlington national cemetery, his piece available at "washington post."com, published yesterday talking about the millenium project adding 27 acres and 28,000 burial sites that will excontinued the cemetery capacity to the year 2041 and plans to add more burial sites in the area surrounded by the nearby buildings torn down that would extend the cemetery capacity for another decade tochlt do this the cemetery must buy land from arlington county and virginia, congress must support the efforts particularly with funding for the land acquisition and look to whether the cemetery should extend to adjacent federal land on behalf of fallen warriors and their families. arlington national cemetery began as robert lee estate and during the civil war first of those who died in battle were buried there and expanded over the years. host: jerry, retired military, good morning. caller: yes, i'd like to say that i am a vietnam veteran with a purple heart and i resent the fact that our draft-dodging president will be laying the wreath at the unknown soldier. he tried his best not to go in the military and defend his country. thank you. host: bonnie, mountainview missouri, good morning, welcome to the conversation. caller: good morning. i'd like to start off with i had a grandfather in three wars and he survived all three and that was amazing to me. and then, i grew up in the '60s and my boyfriend's name is on that wall, i lost him when he was only 19 years old and i couldn't stand how they treated our boys coming home. but i have to say, i think we all finally got it and respect the soldiers and treat them well because the poor boys were treated so poorly. anybody that sees a vet, every time i see a vet, i thank them for their service and hug them. thank them for their service. they defended our country. thank you. host: bonnie thank you. share comments on facebook.com/c-span, what does memorial day mean to you is our question. here from at lant ageorgia good morning. caller: hello there, everybody. i'm a disabled veteran, i was drafted in 1969, i was too tall for the draft, so they changed the law and i became short enough to be drafted. i ended up in infantly out fit in vietnam, i was the tallest man in my battalion and sent back to headquarters for memorial day ceremony and while i was gone, my squad walked into an ambush and a number of my people were killed. so all you people who think it is cool to hate somebody because of their complexion or because of their accent or how short they are you need to think of being what you are doing because time is running out for love to take over what is going on. thank you very much. bye-bye. host: thank you for the call. the scene at the vietnam veteran's memorial. let's pause for a moment and watch, you can see people rubbing the name etching on the wall of the 58,000 names listed there. host: vietnam veteran's memorial, the wall one of three sites. three servicemen memorial and vietnam women's memorial. again, on that wall, 1200 names listed as missing and we're told there are eight female names on the list of 58315 total. angelonmcallen, texas. good morning. caller: good morning, sir. want to remember my buddies who got in iraq and the ones who died after coming home to suicide. they weigh heavy on my heart, i remember them, and that is --. host: mark lucas writes this washington times showing gratitude this memorial day, the nation must resolve to give veterans care they deserve. washington times.com. vicki from new york, good morning. caller: hi, good morning. i want to give shoutout to my family, may dad was in the naf and he worked hard to serve our country and taught me a lot of things. he's in heaven now, but i want to say thanks to him and my husband who served in the navy. he put a roof over my head when i had nothing to my name, i'm grateful to him and the good people here -- keep going president trump and vice president pence, keep god by your side no matter what you do. thanks. host: vicki, thanks for the call. npr has this piece saying, you should say, i hope you are having a meaningful day, better thing to say to this veteran on monday avoid the common reframe, thank you for your service, most people know or should know, memorial day and veteran's day are two different purposes veteran's day honor service of people who have worn the uniform of the armed spores forces memorial day remember those who died while serving, thanks veterans for their service is not the most appropriate to say on memorial day. read it on the npr website. norman from trenton, new jersey good morning. caller: good morning sir. host: morning, norman. caller: how are you? host: fine, thank you. caller: good. rainy here, but -- i'm sorry. host: did you want to comment on memorial day? did you have a comment? caller: i appreciate the program that you are putting on here. retired from mcguire air force base and flew all over the world and everything. i didn't drop any bombs other guys did that. host: thank you for the call. rain you are getting in new jersey was here earlier in the day, it has now stopped on this monday. people paying tribute at the vietnam war memorial or world war ii memorial, the korean war memorial and arlington national cemetery. helen from greensboro north carolina. good morning. caller: yes, a long history of my family being military. i have three brothers that retired, two from the navy, one from the coast guard, a brother that was in the national guard, i had an uncle that fought in world war ii, which he was killed and it just makes my heart so sad that people, you know, put down the military, destroy our brags, we have so much history to be proud of. i'm proud to be an american today. host: helen, let me ask you a question. a number of callers reflecting on the vietnam war and how many came back and were not welcome. why do you think that was? caller: well, we had people kind of like we got today, they just radical. they -- we have the greatest freedom in our country, you know, if they don't like our country, they need to go oversea where is they tell them what they can do and can't do. we have a god that we can serve everyday and i'm proud to be an american, i'm proud to say that my family is strong military and it hurts my brother, whom i live with, the way that people treat our military people. thank gosh we got a president in there today that is going to stand up for our military. so everybody needs to pray for america everyday because it's a great country. host: thank you. kaukts so everybody needs to pray for caller: thank you, have a blessed day. host: a restaurant in kansas closed today to pay tribute to those who paid the ultimate price on memorial day. in a photograph from arlington national cemetery, the memorial day sign at the kansas restaurant going viral. get the full story on the website. richard from missouri, good morning. retired military. caller: yeah, well, i served my time during the vietnam war. happened to be in the national guard. they kept telling us we might have to be called, they had draftees, so didn't call the guard in that war. i was calling about my great grand father, union soldier, served in company g eighth calvary, a union soldier buried in st. louis up there. goes way back. host: thank you. tweet from another viewer, everyday is an appropriate day to thank those who have served. share your thoughts at cspan wj. ken from california, up early on memorial day monday, go ahead, please. caller: yes, my mother and father were both naval officer necessary world rar woem cspan wj. ken from california, up early on memorial -- war ii. my mom was in the wave and was one of the first to serve. my my -- one of my uncles served in world war i, he was in the army and later became a chaplin later. yeah memorial day is time when i was young, especially, where you know, on the holidays we put the flag up. we always did put the flag up at our house. i'm putting the flag up here. i just got up a little while ago, in california, but i think that the, in answer to your question, what does memorial day mean, i think for me, it is three-day holiday. and i think that in a way, i know it is intended to be a time of mourning, but i don't think there is a lot of mourning that goes on. i think that is too bad because dying for too bad because we should respect veterans, i think the idea of the country is something that deserves mourning and i don't think it achieves that. i continuing should, but doesn't. my view. host: thank you. thank you for putting the flag up today, all americans should be flags on display at the vietnam war memorial and this, the three servicemen memorial added later in part because many thought the wall needed something in addition to the 58,000 names listed there. you can see three service members from the vietnam war era, adjacent looking at their fallen comrade in arms. the vietnam women's memorial located in compact two-acre site on the maul, not far from the world war ii memorial and lincoln memorial. robert in caldid sheingwell, idaho, is next. this memorial first opened in 1982. go ahead, robert. caller: excuse me, good morning, sir. let me state my father is a world war ii veteran and he is still very much alive. i believe he's 94 or 95, we haven't quite figured out which. at any rate, my brother served in iraq and i have a nephew that served in afghanistan. i was twice wounded in vietnam in 1968. and retired due to those wounds and the caller, last caller just indicated should be day of mourning and it is not mourning it is remembrance memorializing their success. the one caller that ragging on president trump, point out that mr. obama nefer served either and did nothing to unify the country nmy opinion. i voted for trump. host: thanks for the call. william o'riley, america should be embarrassed on memorial day. he says in truth, lives rested from those in horrible ways against their and will in the prime of their youth in most cases, no rhyme or reason why one american son or daughter made it home and one did not. step to the left or to the right often meant end or survival of american blood line. he talks about his own father, 94 years old, lay nothing a fox hole in world war ii, listen to the german artillery shells. his own experiences during that battle in world war ii, new york newsday. good morning. caller: good morning. i just hope on this memorial day we can remember all those marines that died in the barrack necessary 1984. host: becky from georgia, your thoughts on this memorial day. what does it mean to you? caller: good morning, sir, how are you? host: fine, thank you. caller: i'm calling to let you know i come from a family that has military. my uncle served in world war ii. and my nephew is in the military and i have a lot of respect for the military. i have a lot of respect for the flag. and i have a lot of respect for the people that wear the uniform. but one thing that really gets me upset is -- i agree with robert, the caller you were talking to, that the other caller that when he had called and put president trump down and he had said that trump had no business laying the wreath down because he didn't serve, it doesn't matter whether you have served or not, it's the respect that you show to every military person out there and trump loves military and i have the utmost highest respect for trump, but he needs to stop and think, the caller that put trump down, obama didn't have no respect for the military. if obama had respect for the military, he wouldn't have been trying to cut out all the financing for the military so that we could have had the weapons and the planes that we need to do what we have to do right now. host: thank you for the call. president trump with this tweet. i look forward to paying my respects to our brave men and women on this moemorrial day at arlington national cemetery. we'll have live coverage in one hour 11:00 eastern time, you can see former senator bob dole, now 92 years old, along with his wife elizabeth dole, he served in world war ii, injured in italy, went to serve in the house, senate and national ticket in 1976 with gerald ford as running mate and g.o.p. republican nominee in 1996. he played a key role, by the way, in development of the world war ii memorial. senator bob dole, place of honor today on memorial day. john from illinois, you are next, good morning. caller: yeah, this is john from hegwish. how about put a picture of that vietnam veteran's back up there and i will tell a story about 1982 in november i there was for the dedication. host: go ahead john. caller: yeah. anyways, we went out there at night time and there were no lights on the wall, it was dark. only way you could see a name was with a flashlight or cigarette lighter. there must have been thousands of guys out there playing guitars and drinking jack daniels and some people smoking weed out there. everybody was so together and cops showed up on motorcycles, we thought we were going to be in trouble. one copper walked over to the wall with the flashlight and the other policeman came over and started talking. it was small talk and somebody said, wow, it would be nice to get lights out here to show up on that wall. and it was just a little bit more small talk with the coppers and they got on their motorcycles and drove away. and probably two hours later, a professional lighting outfit came up with the gas motor generators portable guys and they set up three light stands and put them lights on and showed off that wall for all the american public to see. and that was one significant story. host: john, thank you. thanks to all of you for your calls and comments on this memorial day. the crowd gathering at arlington national cemetery. reminder, we're back tomorrow morning for tuesday's "washington journal,"