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CNN Live Event/Special
Dean Arrives to Collect Brother's Remains
Aired November 26, 2003 - 13:54 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures coming to us right from Honolulu, Hawaii. This is presidential candidate Howard Dean, Hickam Air Force Base where the remains of his brother, missing for nearly 30 years are just being repatriated. We'll give you more on the story in a minute. Let's listen to him.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... man and women of the armed forces, all four branches who volunteer for this duty and the leaders of this operation in Hawaii and in Southeast Asia.
I had the good fortune to visit the operation almost two years ago, and I can tell you that these men and women of the United States armed services are the people we should be most proud of. They come from all over the country, some of them based here, many based elsewhere. They do this for a significant period of time. They have made a meaningful contribution to the lives of people like the Dean family and the Sharman family and many other families around this country by their extraordinary efforts.
My brother was an extraordinary person. He was a person of deep principle who lived his life the way he believed it ought to be lived. He was executed we believe, although we won't know that for sure for a while, somewhere around December 14, 1974, along with Neil Sharman. He was an extraordinary person who we're going to miss everyday. But we are deeply comforted by the fact that this operation has allowed us to repatriate what we believe are his remains and ultimately take them back home.
I want to close, again, by saying how extraordinary this operation is, how extraordinary the men and women of JPAC are, from the leadership to the people in the field. We will have an opportunity later on to thank them personally, which is one of the two reasons that we are here.
I appreciate your time. I thank you very much.
And now, I'd like to introduce Ian Sharman, Neil's older brother, and he would like to say a few words as well.
QUESTION: Governor, do you feel like there's closure on...
DEAN: There'll be no questions.
O'BRIEN: We've been listening to presidential candidate Howard Dean, Hickam Air Force Base, Honolulu. Remains of his brother, who was traveling as a tourist in Laos in 1974, along with an Australian compatriot, repatriated today.
Also, the remains of two, apparently, U.S. soldiers who were killed in the Vietnamese War, being repatriated at the same time. Don't know the identity of those just yet, but we're following that story as the ceremony continues in Hickum Air Force Base in Honolulu.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 26, 2003 - 13:54 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Live pictures coming to us right from Honolulu, Hawaii. This is presidential candidate Howard Dean, Hickam Air Force Base where the remains of his brother, missing for nearly 30 years are just being repatriated. We'll give you more on the story in a minute. Let's listen to him.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
HOWARD DEAN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... man and women of the armed forces, all four branches who volunteer for this duty and the leaders of this operation in Hawaii and in Southeast Asia.
I had the good fortune to visit the operation almost two years ago, and I can tell you that these men and women of the United States armed services are the people we should be most proud of. They come from all over the country, some of them based here, many based elsewhere. They do this for a significant period of time. They have made a meaningful contribution to the lives of people like the Dean family and the Sharman family and many other families around this country by their extraordinary efforts.
My brother was an extraordinary person. He was a person of deep principle who lived his life the way he believed it ought to be lived. He was executed we believe, although we won't know that for sure for a while, somewhere around December 14, 1974, along with Neil Sharman. He was an extraordinary person who we're going to miss everyday. But we are deeply comforted by the fact that this operation has allowed us to repatriate what we believe are his remains and ultimately take them back home.
I want to close, again, by saying how extraordinary this operation is, how extraordinary the men and women of JPAC are, from the leadership to the people in the field. We will have an opportunity later on to thank them personally, which is one of the two reasons that we are here.
I appreciate your time. I thank you very much.
And now, I'd like to introduce Ian Sharman, Neil's older brother, and he would like to say a few words as well.
QUESTION: Governor, do you feel like there's closure on...
DEAN: There'll be no questions.
O'BRIEN: We've been listening to presidential candidate Howard Dean, Hickam Air Force Base, Honolulu. Remains of his brother, who was traveling as a tourist in Laos in 1974, along with an Australian compatriot, repatriated today.
Also, the remains of two, apparently, U.S. soldiers who were killed in the Vietnamese War, being repatriated at the same time. Don't know the identity of those just yet, but we're following that story as the ceremony continues in Hickum Air Force Base in Honolulu.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
