RADIODecember 18, 2024

3 INFURIATING Reasons to REJECT the New Spending Bill

Republican leadership in the House of Representatives is trying to push through a “continuing resolution” bill right before Christmas. But this CR bill has grown so bloated that it’s practically an omnibus, which Speaker Mike Johnson promised he wouldn’t back. Yet here we are again … Glenn and fellow BlazeTV host‪@lizwheeler‬ review 3 of the worst things included in this bill – but just ONE of them should be enough to make every TRUE conservative in Congress vote AGAINST it. First, it includes a 1-year renewal of the Global Engagement Center, which is a State Department sub-agency that has become “the nexus of the censorship-industrial complex” against Americans. Then, there’s an expansion of the “Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness and Response Act”, which would give the government the power to conduct gain-of-function research in the case of a national emergency. And lastly, it holds hurricane relief hostage. "Does that sound like you’re negotiating with honest people?" Glenn says. Maybe we should just let the government shutdown happen. Turn it off and back on again.

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: So Liz Wheeler is joining me. The Liz Wheeler show. You can watch it on YouTube or on Blaze TV.

She is fabulous. And really, really smart. And actually, a conservative. I know, because early this morning, we talked about the spending bill from Mike Johnson.

It -- what part of that do you like the most, Liz?

LIZ: I like the fact that in order to print all of those pages, we had to have American workers chopping down some trees. Which helps our industry.

There is nothing else positive about this bill.

Here what I would say to Republicans in the United States Congress. Who are there, of course. To represent us.

You don't have to post on X, telling us that you spent the whole night reading this.

Don't even bother. There is one thing in this bill that should an immediate disqualifier. You don't have to read another word after you realize that included, in this 1,547-page monstrosity, there is a one-year renewal of what's called the global engagement center. It's such -- it's such a vanilla sounding name, isn't it?

GLENN: Oh, yeah, and it's not! It is not. We talked about the global engagement center on this program, over and over again.

But I'll bet you most people, even in this audience. I'll bet, don't know how dangerous that is.

And the Republicans are giving it another year's worth of funding. What to do!

LIZ: It's unacceptable. It's unacceptable. The global engagement center is a subagency of the state department. And the purpose or the stated purpose, it was conceived in 2014, 2015, 2016. That's when it kind of came into being.

Was to combat disinformation. It's a narrative setting body. It's supposed to be a fact-checking organization for hostile foreign adversaries.

That's what they told us! Which is funny, Glenn. Because right at the time that they were saying, that they -- that they conceived of this global engagement centered to combat foreign disinformation. Not here in America, they said, just abroad.

Suddenly, everything that you and I say, has been labeled as, oh, that sounds an awful lot like Russian propaganda.

That sounds an awful lot like, you know, someone being a patsy for a foreign government.

And suddenly this global government agency was aimed at us.

It is the nexus of the censorship industrial complex. Which has obviously been used against President Trump.

But think of the Hunter Biden laptop story being censor odd Facebook and on Twitter of old. This global engagement center is behind that.

And the fact that any Republican in the United States Congress could look at this bill, see a one-year renewal for the global engagement center and think, oh, I should read the rest of this bill.

Mind-blown.

GLENN: You need to say no to this bill.

LIZ: Yeah.

GLENN: You need to call your House of Representatives and say, no, no, no.

That's not what we just voted for. No.

And we will primary every single one, that votes yes.

What are they going to do? They are going to shut the government down? First of all, they will not shut the welfare system down. They're not going to shut the military down.

No. Nothing that is critical, is going to be shut down. They should shut the government off.

With everything that we have learned and known. What good are they going to be up to, while we're all thinking about Christmas and New Year's?

Shut it off!

You know what, here's -- here's where I start with DOGE.

This is my beginning place.

Hey. Can you give me a list of everybody who raised their hand and said they were an essential employee for the government.

And has been showing up to work, all through the pandemic.

And beyond. Okay? Good. Give me that list.

Everyone else, you're nonessential, by your own definition, or your boss' definition, you're fired.

That's what it should be. You're not in an essential worker?

Than what the hell are you doing? What are you doing?

Why do we need you?

This government is so bloated. It is so rife with corruption. The best thing -- here -- I've said this for years.

Can we try unplugging it. And plugging it back in?

Reset to factory settings.

If we have these non-stop continuing resolutions. You know what that means?

It means, there is no budget.

LIZ: Right.

GLENN: They're not discussing the budget. They're not saying where you're going to spend -- none of that -- none of that happens.

They just keep saying, you know the budget we had?

I believe in 2008, was the last one we passed. Do you know, Liz?

LIZ: No. It's also a betrayal, by the way.

When you talk about the budget process, it's a betrayal on the part of Speaker Johnson.

Because he specifically promised not to do this. This happens every year. We get to Christmas.

Congress knows that we're busy, taking care of our families, enjoying the holiday.

And going to church.

And they try to cram all this poison through.

Speaker Johnson, you promised not to do this. You're betraying, not only your constituents.

But the entire American public. Give us one good reason, why we should not have a vote to vacate your chair?

Why should we not do that to you? Because you have betrayed everything you've promised.

GLENN: We will probably hear that from Chip Roy in about an hour. And Thomas Massie is just blood shooting from his eyes today.

This is everything Thomas Massie said would happen. Everything we have seen over and over again.

And I want to go back to the budget.

We haven't had a passed budget, since 2008.

What's happened to our deficit since 2008?

Why is it, your family has to live on a budget? Because if you got to the end of the year and went, you know what, I don't have money for taxes.

Oh, well.

I'll just get some from the Federal Reserve.

And I'll write them an IOU.

That wouldn't happen.

That only happens in the Biden family.

Okay. Doesn't happen to you.

You have to have a budget. Your company has to have a budget.

Here's the world's largest corporation, if you will.

Employs more people than any other thing in the entire world. The history of the world!

And we don't have a budget?

How is that possible?

LIZ: Modern monetary theory.

GLENN: Yep!

LIZ: From the Obama administration.

It's the chicken -- I mean, it's coming home to roost. This is what we said would happen. If you stop. If you stop acting like your money has value.

And instead, you just printed at will, you don't have to have any -- government officials.

Congress members, specifically, don't have to have any accountability to their voters.

Because they never have to answer for the question that voters would pose to them and say, well, you passed this bill, and you're spending my money in order to fund whatever your project is. Justify that to me.

But if the Congress members aren't appropriating money, via taxes. They're just printing it. There's no accountability. It is a blank check, for their pet projects.

GLENN: You keep asking, as an individual American.

Because I know, this is the way I feel. What -- where is -- where is Joe Biden finding -- oh, I will send another $900 million to Ukraine.

A week later. I'm going to send another $500 million. Where is the debate on that?

Because if that had to go through Congress, we wouldn't be approving all of those.

He's pulling from all kinds of different budgets. He's just pooling the money. Pull from here. Pull from here. Pull from here. And he's giving it, without any debate. No congressional approval. No budget ramifications.

No one is even saying anything about it. No one is saying, the president is out of control.

They're not even saying, he can't control his bladder or his bowels, anymore.

Let alone, control himself with spending.

And live within the definition of the presidency.

LIZ: Well, here's the thing. Here's the thing. It's a hostage situation happening right now.

Joe Biden can't tell the difference between a nickel and a dime. He's not in control of what's going on. I think you know that.

GLENN: You think?

Hang on. Hang on. Hang on.

You think, or you know?

LIZ: We know. Imagine a situation. Holding up a nickel and a dime. Joe, can you tell the difference?

I don't think so. Maybe he would be like, vote for ice cream, please.

GLENN: Yeah. And also, he's not the president. He's not making these decisions.

If he is -- this is the Wilson administration!

They are -- Wilson had a stroke. He was completely incapable of running anything the last year in office.

His wife was shoving the orders underneath his hand.

Putting her hand on top of his. And then signing his name. That's what's happening here. That's what's happening. There's -- he might be able to sign his own name. But I can guarantee you, he didn't -- he didn't approve 9,000 people. Who did?

Who approved all of those pardons? Who did?

Not him. Not him.

LIZ: We're going to look at those, the signature later. When someone gets a chance to scrutinize it, and we're going to find that it's signed by Corn Pop.

All right. Let me tell you something else that's in this bill.

GLENN: Okay.

LIZ: There's an expansion of the pandemic and all hazards, preparedness with and be response act.

GLENN: Oh.

LIZ: This act. Problematic from the name itself, perhaps.

We can anticipate what's in it.

It allows the government to declare a national emergency.

You know, in the case of another COVID-19-like virus.

Enforce vaccines on us. Vaccine passports on us.

Masking. All the COVID tyranny.

This expands it, and actually gives the government power to do it.

Again, there's a lot wrong with this bill.

If this isn't a deal breaker.

Why even call yourself a Republican?

GLENN: And I do want to remind you, this is a Republican bill. This is not the Democrats -- this is the House. This is the House's bill.

It only gets worse when it goes over to the Senate.

And they're putting it -- what additional powers on -- on declaring a national emergency does our president and government need?

Haven't they --

LIZ: Well, according to this bill, it would give them additional power to conduct gain of function research, of course, just defensively.

GLENN: Wait. Wait. Wait.

I'm sorry. I've got so much blood in my eyes right now. What did you just say?

LIZ: The pandemic and all hazards, preparedness and response act, if expanded, would give the government, in the case of the president declared an emergency, if there is another COVID-19. It would give them the power to conduct gain-of-function research.

GLENN: I -- I -- I wish this wasn't FCC regulated radio. I can't think of anything that's not obscene to say after that.

GLENN: You don't usually, like at this point, Christmas music will cheer me up.

But as a dad, I'm practically vomiting blood. My daughter is on the stage at the Grand Ole Opry. I was on the airplane, and just going true my music. And I started listening to Patsy Cline. I loved Patsy Cline. And I'm like, oh, my gosh, she's going to be standing on the same stage that Patsy Cline sang these songs from.

And that's happening tonight.

So tomorrow, I will be much more relaxed. And less scattered than I am today.

But that happens tonight. By the way, name of her album is Home for Christmas. You can there it wherever you get your music.

And thank you so much. Tonight, she's on with for King & Country.

She's doing a couple of songs before they come out. And for King & Country, if you've never seen them in concert. You need to see them.

They are fantastic!

Okay. So Chip Roy, just read something from Chip Roy. He said, we get this negotiated crap, and we're forced to eat this crap switch.

Why? Because freaking Christmas is right around the corner. It's the same dang thing every year.

Legislate by crisis! Legislate by calendar! Not legislate, because it's the right thing to do. I love Chip Roy.

I do. I do.

LIZ: He's my favorite member.

GLENN: Is he? I think he's mine too. Massie is pretty great.

LIZ: He is.

He predicted this, by the way, I think it was from -- it was early in September, Massey said, I will tell you exactly what the Republicans are going to do. This is before we even knew who was going to control the House. He predicted this to a T.

GLENN: Yeah. They always do this. They always do this.

And we always give in. Because they scare us.

Stop being scared by what the government is saying!

You should be afraid of the government, on what they're not telling you.

What they're doing behind the scenes.

When they say shut down the government, you really think our missiles won't fly if North Korea, you know, pushes the button.

Do you really think we can't scramble our jets.

Do you really think, that our budget -- that this little game that we play, every time people are going to starve?

No!

It's not going to happen. This -- what happens every single time, is they scare people. And they're like, well, we can't shut down the government.

We can't shut down -- yes, we can.

You will be surprised at how much we can take care of by ourself. How sweet ass your life becomes, when the government ain't showing up!

They're holding the -- the hurricane relief hostage in this bill.

Now, does that sound like you're negotiating with honest people?

With good people?

With people that actually care about you?

They're holding hurricane relief hostage?

Hmm. Congress, don't -- do not bitch at me.

Do not bitch at me.

Oh, we can't even read -- you don't have to.

Reject this bill. There's -- there's -- we just gave you three things in the bill.

You should be like, oh, well, that's ridiculous.

By the way, very few mentions of the border in this.

Okay?

Call your Congressmen.

Hey, we're not around the tree yet.

Tube this bill!

The ONE “forever war” Glenn Beck supports

This Fourth of July, Glenn Beck reveals the only “forever war” he supports. It’s the war Americans have been fighting since our nation’s founding, and we must continue the fight…

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Two hundred forty-nine years ago, I think it is tomorrow. Right? Is tomorrow the second, or is it the first?

What day is it today?

So it was 200 -- 249 years ago, tomorrow, that somebody sat alone, in a -- in a one-room hotel room.

And scratched out the words, when in the course of human events. Those are the first six words of a document that is so dangerous!

Still today, so revolutionary.

It was whispered in those candle lit rooms by men who knew. Knew. That if I signed this document, that's a death warrant.

I'm dead!

I'm dead.

But in the course of human events, shh.

Jefferson wrote them!

33 years old. Adams would later say, you do well to revere Jefferson. But he didn't write alone. Basically, I was there too.

And so was Ben Franklin. The ideas were forged in the minds of men like Franklin, who is old enough to know better. And Adams, who was stubborn enough, not to care. And they weren't perfect men. But I love this about the left. They try to make you think.

That you think are perfect. I don't think they were perfect! I mean, Ben Franklin used to walk around naked in his house a lot. That shows, I mean, for as smart as that guy was. It shows, maybe he had a lack of mirrors. But they weren't perfect!

They owned slaves. They argued. They compromised.

How does that make them different than us?
I mean, we should be able to relate to them!

What is it that we tolerate right now?
What is it that we compromise on?

What is it -- what are our failures that future generations are going to go, these people just didn't get it? Perhaps what we should notice is that they, unlike most of us. They were willing to gamble their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

For something that had never, ever been done before. Something entirely new!

The idea that rights don't come from a government, or from a king, or from a parliament.

They don't come from the majority voting. Everyone has certain rights.

You know, for all these people who are, you know -- going in Macy's, and burning down towns. And then stealing clothing. And they're like, because I've been oppressed!

And you can't -- I've got rights, you know.
Yeah. Yeah.

You know who the first people were, to articulate those rights?

You know the only country that actually has stood for those rights?

And we're imperfect!

That idea came from the Founders, that you say you hate.

But the actual rights come from God, which you dismiss!

Think of this. Just ponder this for a second.

That all men are created equal! That their rights are given to them, by a creator.

It's not a political assertion. It's a genius. That's eternal truth!

That's theological dynamite, lobbed straight in to the thrones of Europe.

All over the world, it's still dynamite.

They knew what they were doing.

And I don't mean like, they knew what they were doing.

They had it. No. They knew that the British crown had the largest military force in the world. And these guys, they were farmers. They were printers. They were lawyers. They were a ragtag collection of intellectual and idealists, facing down an empire, where they said, the sun never set on the British empire. Meaning, the colonialism was everywhere!

You could not escape England. And yet, they declared it. We're leaving, without apology!

And they said that when a government becomes destructive of the ends of liberty, life, and the pursuit of happiness, it's not only the right of the people, it's their duty to throw it off!

Wow. And you know what is amazing? That's not rebellion.

That's -- that's not revolution. That's -- that's responsibility.

That -- that kind of language today, that would have you flagged, shadow banned. Labeled an extremist. In most countries, disappeared!

But that is the foundation of what we call America. The American experiment. And it's that. The American experiment.

And it's just that, an experiment. We didn't know if we could get it right. And we haven't gotten it right. But isn't it worth experimenting?

Isn't it worth trying to get that concept right?

When you fail on that concept, you're like, eh. That's a stupid idea.

That's not a stupid idea. That's the greatest idea of all time.

Why are so many people willing to just quit?

The experiment is self-rule. It's not perfect.

Never has been. Slavery. Jim Crow. Internment camps. Assassinations.

My God! Forgive us, for what we have done.

But at the same time, what nation has done more to correct its own errors?

What people have shed more blood, not for conquest, but for freedom.

Twice in the last century, we crossed oceans. Not to claim territory. But to liberate that territory!

Our sons and daughters fought and bled on foreign soil to push the darkness back, to fight against Naziism and fascism and Communism. And here we are. Here we are today.

After 249 years tomorrow of that experiment, standing at the lip of the very abyss, those men feared.

A godless chaos, rising in the east and a cold atheistic utopia, clawing at the foundations of the Western world. Islamism and Communism, two ideologies that have killed tens of millions of people. Now dressed all in new robes, selling old lies.

And we can't even teach a child where their rights come from. We have replaced Jefferson and Adams with TikTok influencers and bureaucratic groupthink.

We're raising generations to not even know the truth about their own identity.

But to question their identity. And they could be, oh, you're a funny, funny colored unicorn today. What do you want to be tomorrow?

We don't teach them anything about truth, or their inheritance, most importantly. Their inheritance. What good are hot dogs and fireworks, if the soul of the nation is up for auction? What is the meaning in Fourth of July, if we have forgotten the why? If we don't even call it Independence Day anymore. Most people don't even know who we fought against for independence.

They think we fought for its independence! Most people think we fought the South!

And yet, we'll light the sparklers, or blow our fingers off, because we're just that stupid.

This Independence Day weekend, would you do me and yourself and your country a favor, and read the words out loud. Speak the words out loud.

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands, which have connected them with one another.

And to assume among the powers of earth, the separate, but equal station, to which the laws of nature.

And nature's God entitle them.

A decent respect to the opinions of mankind, requires that they should declare the causes, which impair them to the separation.

What are they saying?

Look, we want to be decent people.

We want to be decent people.

And we have to separate them.

But we believe it's only right that we tell you why we have to separate. And it's not because of all the bad things you've done. We'll get to those later. It's because we're different. And you don't understand. You have been telling us all of these things, we no longer believe in. We hold these truths to be self-evident. That all men are created equal, and they're endowed by their creator with certain inalienable. Unchangeable rights.

And just among these, are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

That to secure these rights, government are his instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

My gosh. Read those words. And let your children hear what thinking and courage sounds like.

That to secure these rights, I'm telling you, the king, who thinks that your government was given to you, by God.

And you are the ruler.

And you will tell everybody what to think, what to do. What to buy. What to sell. What to tax. What not to tax. Who gets land. Who doesn't get land.

No, no, no. Government are his instituted among men, deriving their powers, their just powers, from the people. And that government is only there, established by those men to protect the rights that God has given each of those men.

Let them feel the chill, that runs down the spine, when Jefferson writes, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the government, or from the governed. Let them hear the words, of -- of responsibility. What responsibility sounds like, with courage and freedom. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these rights, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.

And to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their a lot of and happiness.

In other words, you have the right, you have the responsibility to stop tyrants. And if the government has gone bad, to throw that government off.

But reconstitute a government, that will do a better job at protecting those rights. Not to form a communist government.

Not to do anything else. But you want a new government?

Fine! Let's find the way to make men more free. This is not a metaphor. This is a declaration of war on tyranny in all of its forms.

I mean, I said, yesterday, freedom isn't free.

It was paid for by somebody's blood. But you have to remember, they paid for their freedom, not for our freedom, necessarily.

We -- there comes a time, we have to pay for our freedom. And God forbid, that it comes down to blood.

But at least shake off the apathy. We -- we must renew this promise of this experiment of America.

We need to fight for it as well. An out-of-control government that seeks to rope us into forever wars, over and over again. We're all against forever wars. I'm against it.

I hate them.

But there is one forever war, that is required in a free society. A different kind of forever war.

A war against ourselves, a war against human nature in each of us. Because of human nature, we get fat. We get lazy.

We get tolerant of abuses. Let your children hear you speak these words. And when you speak them, ponder them yourself.

Prudence, indeed, will dictate, that governments long established, should not be changed for light and transient causes.

And accordingly, all experience has shown, that mankind is more disposed to suffer while the evils are sufferable than to right themselves, by abolishing the forms in which they're accustomed.

But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a sign to reduce them under absolute despotism.

It's their right. It's their duty. To throw off such government. And provide new guards for such future security.

In one paragraph, we make the point twice. And they tell us, look, we've studied people.

We know you're going to get fat and lazy and apathetic. And you won't want to do stuff for transient causes. Because this is really not good.

But when push comes to shove. And everything is moving towards absolute despotism. Absolute tyranny. Then you must stand up.

I ask you to ponder this. This particular part, when a long train of abuses and usurpations. Prudence will indeed dictate that governments long established should not be exchanged for light and transient causes.

And accordingly, all experience has shown, that mankind is more disposed to suffer while the evils suffer, than to right themselves.

Aren't we exactly the same people, that their experience was talking about?

Aren't we the people that are more disposed to suffer, than to right ourselves? Because we're too comfortable. Or we're too afraid, just to stand up and simply say no to lies.

No!

There is a difference between men and women.

No! Communism is to be feared. It's killed over 100 million people, in the last 100 years.

No!

Muslims aren't bad. Islamism is!

It's evil. No!

You can peacefully protest, any time, any place. And I will fight to the death for your right to do that.

But when you start burn cities down to the ground, no!

We're just a few days away. And we have marked our 249th birthday. Maybe. Just maybe, this year, can we stop asking what America was, and start deciding what America will be?

Where it just slips quietly into history. In the dark of apathy and ignorance.

Because the only thing more dangerous than tyranny is the people who have forgotten what it took to break its chains.

THE GLENN BECK PODCAST

We need REAL jobs in America — Trump should do THIS now!

It is clear we need to create more productive, high-paying jobs for American citizens. But that doesn't mean bringing back the same exact jobs of the past in massive numbers. It means creating and supporting jobs of the present and future that will better the lives of Americans. Glenn Beck and Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts break down exactly what this entails and how President Trump can make it a reality.

Watch Glenn Beck's FULL Interview with Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts HERE

The most INCREDIBLE World War II story you’ve NEVER HEARD

One of the biggest American World War II cemeteries in Europe is in a small town in the Netherlands, where thousands of Dutch people continue the tradition to this day of “adopting” a fallen US soldier and checking in on his family. “The Monuments Man” author Robert Edsel joins Glenn Beck to tell this incredible story, which he documents in his new book, “Remember Us.”

Transcript

Below is a rush transcript that may contain errors

GLENN: Robert, welcome back to the program. How are you, sir?

ROBERT: Great to talk to you!

GLENN: It's great to talk to you.

Can you remind me? You were on with us, after Monuments Men. And you talked about this great service that is still going on, where people that -- they were still looking for paintings and pieces of art, that had been taken by the Nazis.

And if I remember right, didn't somebody in our -- our own audience reach out to you, and say, I think we found one of those paintings?

ROBERT: Yes, sir. Absolutely.

The Glenn Beck audience. And Glenn Beck, you yourself deserve a lot of credit.

Because I hadn't walked out of your studio last time. You know, in Dallas at Las Colinas.

Headed back to our office at Monuments Men and Women Foundation office, before someone in my office contacted me and said, we've already had a lead, as a result of your interview with Glenn. And it turned out someone whose aunt had been given two paintings during World War II.

She had worked for the government overseeing Germany, and these two paintings were missing.

We were able to identify who the rightful owner was, and get them back.

So it's a great thing that you performed. And, you know, it's a magnificent conclusion, though obviously a very difficult part of history.

GLENN: What was it like to give that back to the family?

ROBERT: It was a deeply moving experience. We -- the foundation found and returned more than 30 works of art, from paintings to documents, ancient books. Tapestries, to museums. Individual collectors, and so on.

And, you know, when we see, oftentimes, the people just stand there, and they cry.

They don't even know what to say. Because they may have worked 50 or 60 years, trying to find some work of art that's been missing. And they haven't had leads. And to -- to see us standing there, with something that belongs to them.

Not asking for anything in return. Don't charge anybody for doing it. Because we feel like everybody who went through World War II already paid enough.

Words -- words just fail. It's just pure gratitude.

GLENN: I can't wait for you to tell this new story.

Tell me the story of the care takers. The care takers of --

ROBERT: Well, it's a story that found me, just as Monuments did.

I have written about -- in the Monuments Men, I told the story of two Monuments Officers who were killed in combat, one British soldier and one American, Walter Huchthausen. And Huchthausen was killed. He once did a last casualty at war. He was killed in the last month of World War II, and is buried in the American benevolence, American cemetery, in Margraten in the Netherlands. I knew that story, and I had made mention of a young girl who was harbored in September '45, asking for the address of his mother, wanting to write her and tell her, that she walked 5 miles, several times a week, from her house to the American military cemetery. It was called then. To put flowers on his grave. Because her family knew them. And they were grief-stricken to know that they were killed.

And I knew that story too. I mentioned that. And then in 2015, the nephew of Huchthausen wrote me and included a photograph of this elderly lady with this crown of white hair. And he said, here's a photo with Frida, and I couldn't place who this was.

I had no idea who it was. And I realized, my God, this is that 19-year-old girl that is still alive. So I flew to England. She married a British soldier after the war. And I went to meet with her. She started showing me photographs of when the American -- Americans liberated her area of the Netherlands.

And all these American soldiers that they knew.

And she said, you know about the American military cemetery.

She said, have you been there?

And I said yes. And she said, so you know about the great adoption program?

And I said, what? She said, the great adoption program.

I said, I have no idea what you're talking about. So I started doing some research on this. And learned, at the end of World War II, our largest World War II cemetery in Europe, was not Normandy. It was the Netherlands American cemetery, where 17,800 boys and a few women buried at this cemetery by May 1946.

And by that time, every single grave had a Dutch person, a local person, who volunteered to be an adaptor of that brave.

Go out there on the first death date of the soldier, Veterans Day, Memorial Day.

And if they had the contact information for the next of kin, send them a photograph of the grave.
And a letter.

Because they realized, it was okay to adopt the bodies of dead boys.

But where the real need was, was to reach across the ocean, into the American homes and try to assuage the grief of the families.

And they knew some of these boys. And I found it the most heartwarming, uplifting, and certainly unique conclusion to a World War II story that I think has been written.

GLENN: So are they still some of them still doing this?

ROBERT: Not some. In fact, there were about -- in 1940, 748.

American families were given the choice to have their loved ones sent home, or to be left overseas in a military cemetery.

The Army had no idea, how many -- how many families would want their boys sent home, and as a consequence, they couldn't tell how many cemeteries they would need.

We thought almost everybody would want to have the families sent home. But it turned out not to be the case. So about 61 percent came home. About 39 percent stayed in Europe, which was about the numbers from World War I.

Although, the numbers in this area, in the Netherlands were higher.

The -- the graves that are there now.

There are 10,000 boys there. And four women.

8300 graves. 1700 names on the walls of the missing.

Every one of them has an adaptor for 80 years.

All those graves have been adopted, without interruption.

There's a waiting list of almost a thousand people in the Netherlands, to become a doctor. This is a -- not just a --

GLENN: This is --

JASON: A privilege. Because they take their kids out to the cemetery. They turn the cemetery into a classroom. And you go out there. And, yes, there's a somber element. They're instilling in their kids, you're able to think, and say what you want to. Because of the freedom that was given to you, by this American girl or boy. And we don't do that in our country anymore.

GLENN: So this is one of the most incredible stories that I've -- I've ever heard.

And I'm shocked that the world doesn't know this!

Is -- have you -- is there anything like this, anywhere else in the world?

JASON: No. We couldn't even find a comp of any nature.

There are -- that is not to say, the people in Normandy area, don't care about Normandy and other cemeteries. They do, of course. As do the Belgians in other cemeteries.

But there's no place that created an organic great adoption program, during the war, in January 1945!

These people in this area of the Netherlands were so grateful, having been neutral in World War I.

And having not lost their freedom for 100 years!

And they didn't like it!

And when the Americans liberated them in September 44. I'll never forget this woman Freda. This elderly woman I met, looked at me, the first time I interviewed her. I knew her for eight years. The last eight years of her life.

I delivered a eulogy two summers ago. She looked at me, there were the eyes of the 19-year-old. And she said, when I saw that first tank over the hill and I realized, we were saved.

I looked at my dad, and I said, Papi, these American boys come all the way across the ocean to say this. And there were tears in her eyes.

Because they didn't -- they couldn't imagine how we could have moved that equipment across -- across the ocean.

And why we would have cared so much.

So there isn't anything like it.

But January 45, these people in this little town of Margraten.

A mile from the cemetery, organized a meeting of the town leaders. The town who got 1200 people.

And they were trying to find an answer to the question: How do you thank your liberators, when they're no longer alive to thank? And they came up with this idea of this great adoption program, and it's a story that I tell, following the lives of about 12 different American combat soldiers.

Bomber recipients.

Tankers.

Because we don't know that story.

We don't what knows to an American story, when they're killed on the field of battle.

Because it's depressing.

We move on to the next scene in a movie.

Well, I want people to know, you started your program with freedom is not free.

It's ugly.

Let's talk about that. Let's talk about what the cost is.

Let's talk about the stripping line that the body goes through, and the removal of dog tags, one being put in the mouth, if there's still a head. And the other being nailed to the cross, because they don't have time to stencil the names on yet.

Let's talk about that, and let people know, it's not just a Marvel movie. Or a gang war.

This is real. This is painful. And, of course, at the end of the war, when we Americans declare victory, and move on with our lives, there's millions of family members in the United States, whose lives will never be the same.

So it is -- it's still happening today. It's still happening today.

GLENN: The name -- the name of the book is Remember Us.

And take us -- I mean, because that's really kind of the -- the -- the beauty of it.

Take us through the rest of the book, just briefly.

It starts with what?

ROBERT: Well, I follow -- I began what a nice life was in the Netherlands. Until May 10, 1940.

And the Netherlands does not get much attention from World War II, and yet everybody has heard of Battle of the Bulge. And Battle -- those are all within 50 miles of what we're talking about.

They happened around there. Of course, World War II, in western Europe, begins right here in this area. Because the German tanks roll across the border.

So I cover the life of these 12 different Americans. I interviewed all their family members. Some make it through the war. Some don't.

You read the book, you realize who makes it, who doesn't. But their lives converge around this area of the Netherlands. And when post-world War II stories end, with the war being over, remember us kicks into a transcendent moment when the Dutch come up with this idea of this great adoption program. The Americans refuse to provide the names and addresses of the next of kin.

So they're foiled with trying to achieve their ultimate objective. Which is to try to contact all the American families.

And frustrated, there was -- one of the key figures of the book.

A woman who is the mother of 12 children.

Who takes it upon herself. She's a woman of action.

She writes president Truman. And pleads for him to get involved.

When that doesn't work. She gets on the first airplane, she's ever flown on. She leaves her kids behind.

She flies to New York. Lands in LaGuardia Field.

She goes to Washington, and meets the members of Congress. Including a young guy from Texas, named Lyndon Johnson.

Who says, young lady, you need to go to Texas. Because there are so many military bases there.

She flies to our hometown. And lands in Lovefield.

In June of 1946. And is met by two family members. And for five weeks, she lives with American families, that lost somebody during a war.

And to each of them she says, leave your boys with us. When the election comes.

We will watch over them, like our own forever.

And they have done that. Now, today, these 10,000 Dutch doctors only have contact information for 20 percent of the American families.

They couldn't ever get the others.

GLENN: You're kidding me. Where is the list? Do you have a list?

ROBERT: Yeah. The Monuments Men and Women Foundation entered into a joint venture with the Dutch Foundation for Adopting Graves.

Not charging anybody for this. And we have created a website called foreverpromise.org.

And on that website is a list of all 10,000 men and women, more women that are buried at the cemetery, or whose names are on the walls missing.

And it's a searchable database. We're asking people to go and see. Do you have someone you know, or a relative, who is buried there.

And if so, we have a short questionnaire. What's your relationship? Are you aware of this great adoption program? Are you in contact with your adopter? Would you like to be? Would you allow us to share your contact information?

I connected a lady from Richmond, Texas. Saturday night. To her -- to this young Tammy, that's the adopter of her brother.

She's 93 years old.

She was in tears. At the thought when she leaves this world, there will be someone there to watch over her brother.

And that's what we're all about is this connecting.

GLENN: Rob, I have to tell you.

You've really done something with your life. I mean, I know you don't need me to say it.
But what a great job you have. And what a great service you have done for so many years.

Thank you so much.

Please, look this up.

The forever promise project.

You can find it at foreverpromise.org. Foreverpromise.org. Robert Edsel is the author's name. The book is Remember Us. It's a perfect read for this week.