My friend Charles Murray has died.  When I needed him to come help us raise money for poverty at the Robin Hood dinner in New York a few months back, he showed up.  When his country needed him to fight in World War II, Korea and Vietnam, he showed up.  For his actions against the Nazis, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. He was a warm, modest and wonderful man, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his terrific family. This is what I've written about him for our broadcast tonight (see below) and this is his story from our Foundation's book, Medal of Honor.  We have lost a patriot and a wonderful man.  His death leaves 84 living recipients of the Medal of Honor.

Charles Murray died today.  He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor from World War II.

It was just before Christmas in 1944, when after landing on Omaha Beach, as a young lieutenant pushing toward Germany, he single-handedly launched an attack on an enemy position. Using artilery, grenades and a rifle he stood his ground, on a hill, despite being visible to the enemy. He killed and scattered the entire enemy force, captured 10 of them. When a grenade was thrown at him he took eight pieces of shrapnel. 

The entire 3rd Infantry was present when he was given the Medal of Honor.  He went on to serve four more years in Europe, then Korea and Vietnam. Three wars, three Silver Stars, two bronze stars, a purple heart and the Medal of Honor. 

Charles Murray was 89 years old. His death leaves 84 living recipients.

I hope you can join us for the broadcast tonight.

Most Americans by now have seen the view from the camera on the Top of the Rock -- the beautiful view from the top of our building.  But this afternoon, on that very same camera, we watched a terrible drama via in-house video: a young man who had climbed over the protective glass and was seated on the edge of the building threatening to go over the side.  He wore an American flag kerchief -- he was dressed in a shirt and tie, jeans and sneakers.  The most amazing thing about it -- and I'll admit it was equal parts hard to watch and difficult to turn away from -- was the NYPD Emergency Services Unit.  The negotiators -- the specialists who are called in (and in this case tethered to the building, but not always) to talk people down and capture them.  When they get involved, most of these situations end safely, and thankfully so did this one.  It was sad, it was harrowing and it was impressive to see New York's Finest doing their finest effort.  Our building is still surrounded by equipment, and the famous plaza was shut down at the height of the drama, with people looking up from the sidewalks.  It was an emotional diversion from the news that still dominates: markets, riots, loss of life.  It's proving to be an eventful summer of 2011.  We hope you can join us tonight.

Thumbing through the New York Post this morning allowed for a brief respite from the demoralizing, deflating news of the past few days. On page 3 was the story of the Manhattan couple who lost a stuffed monkey in Brooklyn a week ago. They plastered the neighborhood with posters, offering a $500 reward for the safe return of Bongo. They had "raised" the monkey like their own child, and treated him as such.  Bonni Marcus, Bongo's 47-year-old owner, said, "I never gave up hope -- I prayed, I meditated, and now he's with us again."

Three pages later, there was the story of the 60-year-old man who drove the family minivan into the lake in Central Park, frustrated over his son's girlfriend -- and the free rides she was receiving to support her balloon animal business. The dad was quoted as saying, "She is a face-painter and a balloon-twister... She's got no life because she's got no car!"

On page 10, we learned that Jada Pinkett Smith shops at Restoration Hardware. On page 25: an attempt by a real estate mogul to extend his 149-foot-long private dock in Montauk. He needs the extension, according to the Post, because the water often isn't deep enough to maneuver his 40-foot power boat. Bummer for him. 

Right about then, the cab pulled up to 30 Rock. All distractions were over. Diversions had to go. This was the Monday after we lost 30 Americans in Afghanistan. The Monday after the U. S. lost its credit rating.  While at work today, I watched the markets plunge, not knowing that I was watching the 6th worst day in the history of the Dow. I watched as the stories came in from SEAL headquarters in Coronado, California -- the friends and families of some of the best people we've ever produced as a nation.

I watched my friend Gen. Barry McCaffrey say they fell victim to 1960s technology (apparently a point-and-shoot Russian-made RPG) and I realized something else: they were flying in some 1960s technology as well. The basic airframe for the Chinook first emerged in 1958 -- and while there have been modifications to the avionics and other features, it's still the same basic bird. They are big, and often fly low and slow, full of troops en route to the next fight or extraction or both. As someone who survived an encounter between an airborne Chinook and an RPG at the start of the Iraq war, I've spent more time than most thinking about the Chinook and what we ask of that aircraft. If the Blackhawk is the air taxi of our current dual wars, the Chinook is the city bus. They can deliver a lot of Americans (and cargo) to a target quickly. But aside from the M-60 machine guns in both doors and the back deck, they are hardly gunships. Many of the Chinooks I flew in with my late friend Wayne Downing (a decorated Vietnam veteran) were Vietnam-era birds. Wayne joked more than once that he'd flown on these choppers before... as a much younger man. Wayne was with me when we took an RPG through the rear rotor housing at 100ft altitude and made an unscheduled landing in unsavory territory. I had a lot of time to examine every square inch of the veteran chopper.

What a loss of humanity. What towering individuals they all were. From the 18-year-old door gunner to the most Senior SEAL among them. We grieve for them and for their families. We wonder about the mission they were on, the war they were fighting -- and we can only hope they knew how we felt about them.

These are demoralizing days. Tomorrow morning, I will open the paper looking for diversion, however briefly, once again.

NBC News has asked me to write a few words about my experience this past
week in Dadaab, Kenya.  I'd like to say that all my preconceived notions
about the situation in Eastern Kenya and Southern Somalia - the poverty and
hunger, the hopelessness and helplessness -  were wrong.  No, that's exactly
what I witnessed.  It's heartbreaking and sad.  It makes you want to empty
your wallet for every desperate family you encounter, but you can't.  I feel
wrenched with guilt about my cushy life and never again will I feel
overwhelmed by a pile of laundry or a long line at the post office.

What really struck me was the resilience of the human spirit and the
brightness in the eyes and smiles of the children.  Many of the young people
we encountered had never even seen their own image.  Watching their big eyes
light up when they saw themselves on the playback of my digital camera was
such a thrill for me.  These kids have nothing; no toys, no school, no
shoes, no bath or toilet, no health care, little food, and some might say no
hope.  Many have witnessed the worst atrocities imaginable, but still they
radiate joy and innocence.

I wish every child (and every adult, for that matter) in the privileged west
could see what I saw this week; not just on television, but in person, where
you can shake a hand and look eye-to-eye.  It could only make each one of us
a kinder, more empathetic, and more grateful person.

Robert Colvill is part of the NBC team that has been covering the dire situation in the famine-stricken Horn of Africa. He sent us these photos he took in the refugee camps of Dadaab, Kenya.

All images: Copyright Robert Colvill, NBC News

I'm here. I was crestfallen to read a tweet on my Twitter feed last night (yes, I read them...I just don't say anything) that said, in effect: "is this the way it's gonna be?" The tweeter in question was calling me out for my inactivity in this space over the last two weeks.  The Congress special took a lot out of all of us -- several members of our team are still shaking it off.  But that's no excuse.  Forgive my absence and inattention.  Every day around the time I usually post, something has come up.  And today it's bad news from Wall Street: a free fall in the markets largely because of what's happening in Europe (or so we're told).  It's an exciting night around here because my friend Harry Smith is making his on-air debut here at NBC News.  And the relentless drumbeat of news continues from overseas -- very little of it good. So: please forgive me -- I've been reading all the comments and the emails, and we hope you can join us on the broadcast tonight.