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Brian Williams and Senator John Glenn
Today I had the rare privilege of walking through the Smithsonian Air and Space facility near Dulles Airport...with John Glenn. I have known the Senator casually over the years—just through time spent with him in the course of interviews—and he is an extraordinary man. Only two of the original Mercury Seven astronauts remain (Glenn and Scott Carpenter, who was with me for our live coverage when Glenn's shuttle mission took off), and to stand there looking at the Mercury backup test capsule with a man who was sealed inside one...was extraordinary. The moment of the day: When members of the public—museum visitors—spontaneously started applauding as the first American to orbit the earth walked among them. Unbelievable.
My day got better from there: I just completed the first television interview with the man who will be America's next recipient of the Medal of Honor. Sgt. Leroy Petry was here with his wife. What an unbelievable man. Wait until you hear him, and hear his story. He proudly extended his new prosthetic hand (a beautiful unit with a carbon-fiber shaft and a pliable soft rubberized vinyl hand component), and we shook hands several times over the course of the afternoon. He lost his hand throwing an enemy grenade that had landed in the midst of his platoon in a courtyard in Afghanistan. He completed two Iraq deployments, six Afghanistan deployments. There are men alive today because of him. He will become, in July, the 85th living Medal of Honor recipient. They don't make them any finer than Sgt. Petry. Except, perhaps, for the 84 others.
We will originate the broadcast from Washington tonight -- I hope you can join us.
Leave a Comment:
WTF Mitchell?
You can't make that "news" story up about Huntsman 6/21/11 (apx 6:45pm).
OBTW Brian - Great lead in story to Andrea's tonight - How long has Todd been "working for" the Whitehouse?
The "make this "news" up was about Romney only having $100.00 bills in his wallet, at least that's how I interpreted it. Indeed a precious story.
I found it ironic, that not one minute after you made fun of Governor Rick Perry for mispronouncing "Twitter" (Perry pronounced it "Tweeter"), you Brian Williams, mispronounced the word "default" as in DEE'-fault.
That's not how you pronounce it? Where I'm from, that's exactly right.
I'm pretty sure Bush used "internets" not "googles" -sheesh!
Brian,
All stories superb, as usual, but I really liked "Making A Difference" about the wonderful teacher who is
the only there, with the exception of the students, who knows what he is doing.
Phyllis
Good Evening Mr.Williams, Another fine broadcast this evening and from the Washington studio. It is wonderful you were able to have a tour of of Smithisonian Air and Space Facility with John Glenn. A great experience! Then to interview Sgt. Leroy Petry who has been awarded the Medal of Honor , having served 2 deployments in Iraq and 6 deployments in Afghanistan he is truly a hero. One very remarkable soldier who saved so many of his fellow soldiers. Looking forward to seeing the interview you had with him.
Now on to the broadcast. First of all the report by Mr.Potter and Mr.Almaguer about the terrible, relentless wildfires in several States. The report from Mr.Potter from Florida showed how long the firefighters have been battling the blazes and how rain is needed desperately to help quell the flames. So very tragic 2 Rangers were lost while fighting the flames. Ones thoughts and prayers go out to their families.
The report by Mr.Almaguer from Arizona showed how the fires have destroyed 60 homes and charred around 42 square miles. It is somewhat encouraging the firefighters have the fires 40% contained and one hopes they can contain even more. It was also nice to see the woman returning to her home that was still standing. Yet, so many have lost their homes in these fires. One hopes they can rebuild quickly.
The report by Mr.Todd told of the upcoming speech tomorrow by President Obama concerning US Troop withdrawal from Afganistan which is supposed to begin next month. One hopes someday all the US Troops will be withdrawn and can come home.
The report by Kristen Welker told of the historical visit of First Lady Michelle Obama and her two daughters to South Africa and the meeting with Nelson Mandela. Wonderful pictures from their meeting and it was great to see First Lady Michelle and her two daughters tour the museum too. Very special for those school children to have the First Lady come and read to them. A very nice visit so far!
The "Making A Difference" segment by Mr.Allen about the music teacher who is teaching students for free after being laid off from the school was very inspirational. It is sad that so many programs are cut from schools due to the budget. This teacher appears to not only have great talent, but is making a major impact on his students. Hearing them speak about him was wonderful. Sounds like they had they best recital yet!
Nice Piece!
Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams. Peace to You and to All!
Be Well Everyone!
Stay Extra,Extra Safe and Well Richard!
Take Extra Good Care Richard and Crew!
Lisa
Brian you seem to be like a little boy living out his dreams yet it's a job. Your always smiling and those eyes of wonder and amazement. Just a personal view from a long time viewer.
With no Republican candidate to be taken seriously it seems we might be getting another one soon. Gov. McDonnell of Virginia was asked to visit France for a meeting with the Koch Bros. No press allowed it's a private meeting to discuss politics. Who knows McDonnell was waiting to be asked to step in the race for President by Corporate America this might be the time. South Carolina Governor Haley is giving speeches like a President and even directing what should be done on a national level. John McCain was asked if he was thinking of entering the race again. Sarah Palin is the smartest in the group. She has the Rev. Franklin Graham to bring the religious votes and she is folksy. Sarah will take what ever is available just to be one of the boys.
An old saying if you don't learn from your mistake you will make the same mistake again. Few Americans even remember his name as Justice Abe Fortas made history. A Justice who had to resign for accepting gifts and set on cases that benefited those who gave gifts and thousands for speeches and a vote. Well Fortas and his wealthy gift givers continued. Fortas was faced with impeachment or resign. This has happen again but the Justice name is Clarence Thomas. For the second time in history we have a corrupt Justice setting on the highest Court of the USA. Thomas admits his crimes but feels protected by the Corporations who control the government and law makers. Founding Father and first Chief Justice John Jay set a system of the High Court where Justice would be served until now as our Courts have politically paid Judges and 5 politically paid Justices who set on the US Supreme Court of the United States. Chief Justice John Jay would be disappointed that a Justice who committed criminal acts doesn't leave.
Justice is indiscriminately due to all, without regard to numbers, wealth, or rank. – John Jay. Supreme Court Justice. Georgia vs. Brailsford, 1794
have a great evening all
Let's see--in the past week, we were treated to an overlong three-and-a-half minute obituary for Clarence Clemons--a man who had the same cultural significance as Kenny Rogers or Michael McDonald (CBS devoted 30 seconds to Clemons on Sunday). We got a five-and-a-half minute infomercial for the Spider-Man musical because Brian wanted to promote the show as a favor to his pals Bono and the Edge. And we got to spend nine entire minutes watching Jack Jacobs schlepping around Vietnam (and I can remember a couple of years ago when Brian spent four minutes promoting Jacobs' new book). Wow, it's good to be an FOB (Friend Of Brian). I can only imagine how much Nightly News time Brian will devote to his interview with Sgt. Petry. I'm guessing 12-15 minutes. It must be great to have your own entertainment show so you can put all your favorite stuff on the air whenever you want.
By the way, there was no Nightly News this entire weekend because obviously golf was more important (translation: more profitable). But instead of catching up on the important news stories that they missed over the weekend, Brian and his producers are wasting our time on "news stories" about Pres. Obama holding a baby and a music teacher who teaches even though he's not getting paid. In what alternate universe is that considered news? I can't wait until Friday when Brian once again does his three-minute iPad app promotion masquerading as a "here's-the-stuff-we-didn't-have-time-to-cover-during-the-week" story. Maybe if NBC aired a Nightly News broadcast on the weekend and Brian didn't waste our time on ridiculous non-news stories, then he would have enough time to cover all the important news of the week. Just a thought.
Norman, I must say that it's gotten to the point where I find myself now looking forward to your personal reviews here.
Shirley, Norman lost me when he called another female blogger an idoit, which is unacceptable,
and he should have been banned from Brian's Blog. As GWB once said, name-calling is
unproductive. Best. Phyllis and have a nice day!!!
Pot, meet kettle. See comment # 8.1
Mr. Williams:
I am a loyal viewer of your NBC Nightly News, every night, Monday thru Friday. This is not by accident, as I watch another network for the local news and then switch to your broadcast at 6:30.
Something happened, this week, that bothers me greatly. I am speaking about the video montage lead in to the US Open where school kids recited the Pledge of Allegiance in the background while patriotic photos were shown on the screen. During this piece, not once, but twice, the words "Under God" were edited out. Once might have been an editing error, but twice could only be intentional. I heard NBC's apology, but the apology was only for "omitting a portion" of the Pledge, without mentioning that the portion was "Under God".
Mr Williams, this is wrong. I am not a religious fanatic, but I am a Republican, small business owning, card carrying member of the NRA. I know that I am expected to watch FOX but I have been a loyal viewer since watching Huntley & Brinkley in my childhood.
When did it become wrong to believe in God? Our soldiers have fought for God and Country, in wars, since the Revolution. Our founding fathers structured the Constitution on these beliefs. How did believing in God become wrong?
Mr. Williams, if NBC does not issue a proper apology, I don't think that I can continue to be loyal to a network that doesn't believe in God.
Good Post and it bothered me as well. Only a fool says there is no God. I am not saying
Brian is a fool, I am only just saying only a fool says there is no God, and hopefully it will
be cleared up.
First, the words "under God" were not in the Pledge of Allegiance when it was written. They were added only as recently as 1954, and it's been a source of controversy ever since. Next, the United States is NOT a Christian nation, no matter how often Christians (and Republicans who claim to be Christian) say it is. Finally, anyone who believes in a "god", or Santa Claus, for that matter, shouldn't be considered an entirely rational person. You ought to tone down your disdain for us atheists, Phyllis. Your beliefs aren't mine.
"Your beliefs aren't mine." Yes, and thank God!!!!!! But to each his own!!!!! Whatever works
for you, and how is that working out?
Ray, no disdain on my part. I respect your worldview but I cannot relate to you as you cannot
relate to me. And just because you cannot, does not mean I am irrational. I love the Bible and
that it is the word of God which attests that only the fool says there is no God. I was quoting
from Scripture. Specifically, the Old Testament. Using the J-Word, Jesus said if these people
do not believe Moses, they will not believe if someone rose from the dead and HE got that
right.
Mr. Williams, I have been a regular viewer since before you were tagged for your position. I am an independent voter who holds moderate political positions, so my remaining comments are not coming from a right-wing perspective. Re: the Andrea Mitchell piece on the Jon Huntsman roll out and your subsequent comments re: past presidential faux pas... what were you thinking? Could you not give the right wingers any more evidence that yours is not a left leaning news show? Heck, most of Ms. Mitchell's focus was on the minor glitches in the Huntsman roll out, and not on any issue of substance. Clearly, Ms. Mitchell's focus was on nit picking items. And your pointing out the faux pas of former presidents did not include any from the left side of the political spectrum. I am surprised at how easily you make it for an outfit like Fox News to even exist.
I agree, especially about Mitt Romney. Andrea Mitchell was petty, which seriously surprised me.
Especially about the NY/NJ thing, many, many people make the mistake about thinking the Statue of Liberty is part of New York.
mwoo banned, harassing Mr. Williams. Don't do that, folks.