his equal partner in everything i ever accomplished adding that as long as rosalyn was in the world, i always knew somebody loved me and supported me. cnn s wolf blitzer takes a look back at her remarkable life and legacy. reporter: a soft spoken small-town girl, rosalyn smith carter became one of america s most charming first ladies. born in plains, georgia, on august 18th, 1927, she was valedictorian of her high school class and met and married jimmy carter when he was in the u.s. navy. my love and respect and cherish and honor. my wife rosalynn. when mr. carter s father died in 1953, they moved back to plains to manage the family s peanut farm. i didn t want to go home. i was having a good time. i think i had thought i had outgrown plains, georgia. the i had gotten a little too big for my britches. they had four children, three boys, jack, chip and jeff, and later daughter amy. in 1962 jimmy carter entered politics and rosalynn hit the campaign trail. campaigni
40,000 were liberated. he and his wife have been married for 75 years. for most of those year, he didn t talk about the war. but several years ago he was an honored guest at the united states holocaust memorial museum in washington and walked through a train box car exhibit. this was a very nice looking box car. but when i got at that box car to walk through it, that is when i broke down. reporter: hilbert is since on a mission to teach and inspire. he speaks to schools and organizations. let s give a warm welcome. reporter: and late last week, it was to hundreds of students at atlanta s st. pius x catholic school. close to 32,000 prisoners in those barracks when we were there that sunday morning. reporter: but he s never considered his speeches more important than he does today because of what happened in israel on october 7. in all the years you ve been back from the war, and it has been almost 80 years, have you ever seen anti-semitic osm in t country as bad as
reporter: a soft-spoken, small-town girl, rosalynn smith carter became one of america s most charmed first ladies. born in plains, georgia, on august 18th, 1927, she was valedictorian of her high school class and met and married jimmy carter when he was in the u.s. navy. i love and respect and cherish and honor my wife, rosalynn. [ applause ] reporter: when mr. carter s father died in 1953, they moved back to plains to manage the family s peanut farm. i didn t want to go home. i was having a good time. i think i had thought i had outgrown plains, georgia. i had gotten a little too big for my britches. i only pouted for about a year after we got home. reporter: they had four children, three boys jack, chip, and jeff, and later daughter amy. in 1962, jimmy carter entered politics and rosalynn hit the campaign trail. campaigning was fun up to a certain point because i got to travel and see the whole country. the most fun are the people you meet. reporter: she sup
thanks for joining me. i m jessica dean. and we have sad news to report to you. former first lady rosalynn carter has passed away at the age of 96. the carter center confirming her death just a short time ago. here is wolf blitzer with a look back at her life. reporter: she was one of america s most charming first ladies . born in plains georgia in 1927, she was valedictorian of her high school class. and met and married jimmy carter when he was in the u.s. navy. i love, respect and cherish my wife. reporter: when mr. carter s father died in 1953, they moved back to plains to manage the family s peanut farm. i didn t want to go home. i was having a good time. i think i had thought i had outgrown plains. gotten a little too big for my britches. only pouted for about a year after we got home. reporter: they had four children, three boys, jack, chip and jeff and later daughter amy. in 1962, jimmy carter entered politics and rosalynn hit the campaign trail. campaignin
announcer: this is cnn breaking news. you are in the cnn newsroom. i m paula reid in washington. we re continuing to follow the sad breaking news. former first lady rosalynn carter has passed away peacefully in her home this afternoon at the age of 96. she is being remembered as a mental health champion and a tireless humanitarian. governor brian kemp of georgia praising the proud georgian, saying she had an indelible impact on our state and nation. former president george w. bush calling carter a woman of dignity and strength. and first lady jill biden noting carter s commitment to mental health. former first lady rosalynn carter has just passed, and she was well-known for her efforts on mental health and caregiving and women s rights. so i hope that during the holidays, you ll consider saying include the carter family in your prayers. cnn s wolf blitzer takes a look back on her remarkable life and legacy. reporter: a soft-spoken, small-town girl, rosalynn smit