JANUARY 11, 2025

I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN. WELCOME TO MATTER OF FACT. AMID CALLS FOR THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO RESUME NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING, A COMMUNITY DOWNWIND OF THE WORLD’S FIRST NUCLEAR EXPLOSION ISSUES A WARNING DON’T LET HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF. THEY FULLY COUNTED ON US TO BE UNEDUCATED, UNSOPHISTICATED, AND UNABLE TO STAND UP FOR OURSELVES. EIGHT DECADES LATER, WE LOOK AT THEIR CONTINUED FIGHT FOR THEIR HEALTH AND ANSWERS FROM THE GOVERNMENT. WE’RE NOT THOSE PEOPLE ANYMORE. PLUS, TRAVELING LONG DISTANCES, SOMETIMES WORKING IN BRUTAL CONDITIONS. ONCE YOU REACH A CERTAIN AGE AND MAYBE YOU CAN’T DO IT FOREVER. VETERINARIANS ARE CRUCIAL TO THE HEALTH OF AMERICA’S LIVESTOCK AND SAFETY OF ITS FOOD SUPPLY. WE GET A LOOK AT AN EFFORT TO ADDRESS A NATIONWIDE SHORTAGE OF RURAL VETS AND AN ALL FEMALE BATTALION IN WORLD WAR TWO THAT ACCOMPLISHED A FEAT OTHERS COULD NOT. THEY WERE SET UP TO FAIL, BUT THEY STOOD UP AND DELIVERED. THE STORY OF THE 6888 AND THE WOMEN WORKING TODAY TO MAKE SURE THEIR STORY IS TOLD. THOSE STORIES RIGHT NOW ON MATTER OF FACT. HIGH ON THE LIST OF NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES FOR THE INCOMING ADMINISTRATION IS AMERICA’S NUCLEAR WEAPONS STOCKPILE. YOU MIGHT RECALL THAT DURING THE LAST TRUMP PRESIDENCY, HIS ADMINISTRATION WEIGHED WHETHER THE U.S. SHOULD RESTART NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTS. THOSE HAVEN’T BEEN HAPPENED SINCE 1992. RECENTLY, TRUMP’S FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER WROTE THE TESTS MUST HAPPEN FOR, QUOTE, RELIABILITY AND SAFETY. BUT THAT’S RAISING CONCERNS IN A COMMUNITY FAR AWAY FROM WASHINGTON, D.C., RESIDENTS ARE STILL LIVING WITH THE FALLOUT FROM AMERICA’S FIRST NUCLEAR WEAPONS TEST. OUR SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR, JOEY CHEN, TRAVELED TO SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO TO HEAR THEIR STORY. IT WAS EARLY IN THE MORNING OF JULY 16TH, 1945, WHEN THE ILLUSION OF PEACE HERE IN THE TULAROSA BASIN WAS SHATTERED. WE WOKE UP WITH A BOOM, A BIG BOOM. THE WORLD’S FIRST DETONATION OF A NUCLEAR EXPLOSIVE. THE TRINITY TEST, TOOK PLACE AT WHAT WAS THEN KNOWN AS THE ALAMOGORDO BOMBING RANGE, ROUGHLY 35 MILES FROM THE TOWN OF TULAROSA, WHERE 13 YEAR OLD LUCY BENAVIDES AND HER FAMILY WERE STARTLED AWAKE. IT SHOOK LIKE IT SHOOK THE HOUSE, AND MY MOTHER JUMPED OUT OF BED AND SHE SAID, QUÉ PASO? WHAT HAPPENED? NO ONE HERE KNEW AN EARTHQUAKE, PERHAPS. OR MAYBE AN EXPLOSION IN A NEARBY AIR BASE. THERE WAS NO WARNING, NO WARNING, NO NOTHING. IT WASN’T UNTIL AFTER HIROSHIMA THAT THE TOWN LEARNED THE HUGE BOOMS ROLE IN ENDING THE WAR. BUT NO ONE WARNED THE COMMUNITY OF THE POSSIBILITY OF LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES. WE JUST KNEW THAT IT WAS THE ATOM BOMB. WE DIDN’T KNOW THAT IT WAS CONTAMINATION AND RADIATION. WE JUST DIDN’T GIVE IT MUCH THOUGHT BECAUSE WE BELIEVED THE GOVERNMENT. AND SO THEY STAYED IN TULAROSA. FIVE GENERATIONS OF LUCY’S FAMILY HAVE LIVED HERE SINCE TRINITY. SO THIS IS WHERE THE KIDS PLAYED? YES. WE PLAYED. WE SPENT THE SUMMERS HERE. HER DAUGHTER, DORIS WALTERS, SHOWS US AROUND THE FAMILY’S ADOBE HOME AND THE ACEQUIA, THE IRRIGATION DITCH. THEY PLAYED AND BATHED IN AND NOW BELIEVE WAS IRRADIATED. I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GET CANCER, JUST LIKE MY GREAT GRANDMOTHER AND MY GRANDMOTHER AND ALL MY AUNTS. IT GIVES ME CHILLS. WALTERS, WHO IS NOW IN RECOVERY FROM BREAST CANCER, SAYS IT WAS A DISTANT COUSIN WHO FIRST OPENED HER EYES TO A POSSIBLE CONNECTION TO NUCLEAR TESTS 19 YEARS AGO. VERY FEW PEOPLE WOULD EVEN LISTEN TO ME. AFTER SURVIVING HER OWN CANCER, TINA CORDOVA BEGAN TO SEE LINKS TO OTHER ILLNESSES IN HER COMMUNITY, STRETCHING ALL THE WAY BACK TO TRINITY. I KNOW OF NO PEOPLE THAT DIED THE DAY OF THE BOMB, BUT IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR LOTS OF PEOPLE. CORDOVA BEGAN DOING HER OWN RESEARCH, COLLECTING SOME 18,000 GRASSROOTS HEALTH SURVEYS OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL RESEARCH, SHE SAYS THE GOVERNMENT NEVER DID. VIEWING THE AREA AS UNINHABITED, ALTHOUGH SHE’S FOUND AT LEAST 14,000 PEOPLE LIVED WITHIN 50 MILES OF THE TEST SITE. THEY POISONED US AND THEY WALKED AWAY. AND WE’VE BEEN DYING EVER SINCE, AND WE DON’T KNOW WHO’S NEXT. BEYOND STORIES OF RARE CANCERS AND DESPERATE SEARCHES FOR TREATMENT, THE DATA FOUND A SHARP UPTICK IN INFANT MORTALITY IN THE MONTHS AFTER TRINITY. THE FIRST VICTIMS OF AN ATOMIC BOMB WERE AMERICAN BABIES. THEY WERE AMERICAN CHILDREN LIVING RIGHT HERE IN NEW MEXICO. AND IMAGINE OUR GOVERNMENT’S NEVER RETURNED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THIS OR ATONE FOR IT. CORDOVA IS PART OF AN INTERNATIONAL COALITION OF DOWNWINDERS WHO LIVED IN THE PATH OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING, AND NOW WANT GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY AND COMPENSATION. HEALTH CARE IS WHAT I WAS HOPING FOR THE MOST. HEALTH CARE WILL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE, REALLY, FOR PEOPLE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH. WITH BIPARTISAN SUPPORT, AN EFFORT TO EXPAND THE RADIATION EXPOSURE COMPENSATION ACT, RECA FINALLY WON SENATE APPROVAL LAST YEAR. RECA HAS PAID OUT $2.6 BILLION TO ATOMIC WEAPONS WORKERS OVER THE LAST 35 YEARS, BUT THE HIGH PRICE, AS MUCH AS $50 BILLION TO EXPAND PAYOUTS TO DOWNWINDERS IN NEW MEXICO AND BEYOND, KEPT THE BILL FROM GETTING A VOTE IN THE HOUSE. THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT DENYING IT. THEY’RE NOT SAYING TO US YOU WEREN’T HARMED. WE DIDN’T HARM YOU. WHAT THEY’RE SAYING IS IT’S GOING TO COST YOU MUCH TO TAKE CARE OF YOU. MEANWHILE, THE DEATH TOLL CONTINUES TO GROW. CANCER. 17 OF LUCY BENAVIDES GARWOOD. RELATIVES HAVE BATTLED CANCERS THAT HAVE BEEN LINKED TO RADIATION EXPOSURE. NOW 93, SHE FEARS THAT SHE WON’T LIVE TO SEE THE GOVERNMENT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT HAPPENED HERE. WE WERE ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY POISONED BY OUR GOVERNMENT BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T VALUE. I FEEL THAT THEY DIDN’T VALUE OUR LIVES OR SEE THE RISK TO THEIR FUTURE DOWNWIND IN TULAROSA, NEW MEXICO. I’M JOEY CHEN, FOR MATTER OF FACT. NEXT ON MATTER OF FACT. THIS RURAL SOUTH DAKOTA VETERINARIAN SPENDS LONG DAYS HELPING FARMERS WHO NEED HIS SERVICES. WE’VE HAD CALLS SOME PEOPLE 120 130 MILES AWAY BECAUSE THEY COULDN’T GET AHOLD OF ANYONE ELSE. WE LOOK AT A PROGRAM FOCUSED ON RECRUITING THE NEXT GENERATION OF RURAL VETS. PLUS, HOW PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER’S INAUGURATION DAY CHANGED FUTURE CEREMONIES AND REMEMBERING WORLD WAR II’S 6888. I’M JUST SO HAPPY THAT SOMEBODY IS FINALLY FINDING OUT THAT THERE WERE BLACK WOMEN IN THE MILITARY. THE STORY OF A BLACK, ALL FEMALE ARMY UNIT DISPATCHED OVERSEAS TO ACCOMPLISH A TASK OTHERS FAIL TO COMPLETE. YOU’RE WATCHING, MATTER OF FACT, AMERICA’S NUMBER ONE NATIONALLY SYNDICATED PUBLIC AFFAIRS NEWS MAGAZINE. WELCOME BACK TO MATTER OF FACT. THERE’S A SHORTAGE OF RURAL VETERINARIANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. ACCORDING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. MORE THAN 230 REGIONS ACROSS 47 STATES ARE CONSIDERED VETERINARIAN SHORTAGE AREAS. THAT’S THE MOST EVER. SOME SOLUTIONS ARE IN THE WORKS. LAST AUGUST, THE USDA AWARDED MORE THAN TWO DOZEN GRANTS TOTALING NEARLY $4 MILLION TO UNIVERSITIES AND VETERINARY PRACTICES TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION OF VETS. OUR CORRESPONDENT JESS GOMEZ TAKES US TO SOUTH DAKOTA, WHERE ONE COMMUNITY IS DESPERATE FOR HELP. WE’RE USUALLY OUT AS THE SUN COMES UP, AND WE’RE USUALLY BACK AFTER THE SUN GOES DOWN. HI DOCTOR PAT PRUSHA, OWNER OF THE OAHE VETERINARY HOSPITAL, USUALLY PUT ABOUT AT LEAST 200 AND SOME MILES ON A DAY. TODAY WILL BE A SHORT DAY. WE’RE ONLY GOING ABOUT 48 MILES. HE’S ONE OF ONLY A HANDFUL OF VETS AROUND. WE’VE HAD CALLS SOME PEOPLE 120, 130 MILES AWAY BECAUSE THEY COULDN’T GET AHOLD OF ANYONE ELSE. SOMETIMES THEY’LL JUST SHOW UP AT OUR DOOR. TODAY, AN APPOINTMENT AT GILL RET ANGUS, AN 18,000 ACRE CATTLE RANCH. GOOD MORNING. BRIAN. HOW ARE YOU DOING TODAY? DOCTOR PAT, WILL PREGNANCY CHECK SOME 300 COWS ABOUT TO GO FOR SALE. HE’LL BE HERE UNTIL DARK. I HAD TO SCHEDULE HIM OUT FOR ABOUT A MONTH AGO TO GET HIM HERE TODAY. SO THEY’RE SO BUSY, THERE’S NOT NEARLY ENOUGH VETS TO COVER EVERYBODY IN THIS INDUSTRY. IT’S NOT AN EASY JOB OR ONE FOR THE FAINT OF HEART. AS WE QUICKLY DISCOVERED, THE BABIES YOU SEE IN PART OF IT RIGHT THERE AT NEARLY 63. DOCTOR PAT THINKING ABOUT WHAT’S NEXT. YOU THINK YOU CAN DO IT FOREVER? AND THEN ONCE YOU REACH A CERTAIN AGE AND MAYBE YOU CAN’T DO IT FOREVER, IT’S BEEN A DREAM THAT’S BEEN 20 YEARS IN THE MAKING. ENTER HAYLEY BENTZ, THE SOUTH DAKOTA NATIVE IS A THIRD YEAR STUDENT AT THE COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA. I HAVE SUCH A PROFOUND RESPECT FOR FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS. GROWING UP ON HER FAMILY’S RANCH WITH A PASSION FOR ANIMALS, HAYLEY HAS WORKED FOR DOCTOR PAT SINCE HIGH SCHOOL. THEIR PLAN FOR HER TO EVENTUALLY TAKE OVER THE CLINIC, DESPITE A HEFTY $200,000 IN STUDENT LOAN DEBT. IT’S A VERY HIGH DEBT TO INCOME RATIO AND IT’S REALLY SCARY. THE 27 YEAR OLD, AMONG THE FIRST GROUP OF STUDENTS IN A PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA AND SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY, WHICH UP UNTIL NOW DIDN’T HAVE A VET PROGRAM, STUDENTS SPEND THEIR FIRST TWO YEARS IN SOUTH DAKOTA WITH A SPECIAL FOCUS ON RURAL VETERINARY MEDICINE, AND THEIR FINAL TWO IN MINNESOTA. WE’RE GOING TO START CATTLE WORK OUR WAY. CRANIAL. THE HOPE THAT THE SOUTH DAKOTA STUDENTS LIKE HAYLEY WILL GO BACK TO THEIR RURAL COMMUNITIES, BUCKING THE NATIONAL TREND. THERE’S A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE OF US THAT ARE INTERESTED IN FOOD, ANIMAL OR RURAL AREA, VETERINARY MEDICINE. IT’S A MAJOR PROBLEM THAT PEOPLE NEED TO TO CONSIDER REALLY CAREFULLY. SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION VETERINARIAN DOCTOR RUSS DALY AS OUR SMALL TOWNS GET SMALLER. OUR SMALL COUNTIES GET SMALLER. THERE’S FEWER YOUNG PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THAT LIFESTYLE AND WANT TO BE A PART OF THAT. CREATING NOT ONLY AN ECONOMIC RISK, DALY SAYS TO SOUTH DAKOTA’S $1 BILLION BEEF INDUSTRY, BUT ALSO A RISK TO FOOD SAFETY. NOT HAVING VETERINARIANS THERE TO HELP GUIDE PRODUCERS ON SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS MEANS THAT THAT FOOD SAFETY SYSTEM HAS TO WORK HARDER, AND THERE’S MORE OF A CHANCE THAT SOMETHING WILL FALL THROUGH THE CRACKS. VERY NICE. HAYLEY BENTZ ALREADY THINKING ABOUT WAYS TO FIX THOSE CRACKS. JUST HOLD OUT FOR ME. I’M COMING. IN SOUTH DAKOTA, FOR MATTER OF FACT, I’M JESSICA GOMEZ. COMING UP NEXT IN WORLD WAR TWO, A BATTALION OF WOMEN WAS SENT OVERSEAS TO MAKE SURE A MASSIVE BACKLOG OF MAIL FOR THE TROOPS GOT SORTED AND SENT. THEY HAD TO WORK IN BLACKOUT CONDITIONS. THE STORY OF THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT’S HISTORIC MISSION. AND LATER, MILLIONS OF HOMES SITTING EMPTY ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WHY? HIGH VACANCY RATES DON’T EQUAL A SOLUTION TO THE HOUSING SHORTAGE. OUR NEXT STORY TAKES US BACK TO 1945. WORLD WAR TWO IS STILL RAGING, AND THE ONLY WAY FOR HOMESICK TROOPS OVERSEAS TO STAY CONNECTED WITH LOVED ONES IS WITH THE LETTER OR A CARE PACKAGE. AND THAT MEANS A LOT OF MAIL. THE U.S. ARMY TESTS ONE SPECIAL DIVISION, AN ARMY UNIT OF 855 BLACK WOMEN, CALLED THE 6888 TO SEE IF THEY CAN DO THE IMPOSSIBLE SORT AND CLEAR WAREHOUSES PACKED TO THE CEILINGS WITH BAGS OF MAIL. FOR DECADES, THEIR STORY WENT VIRTUALLY UNTOLD. WELL, NOW A NEW TYLER PERRY MOVIE SHARES THE CHALLENGES AND THE SUCCESSES OF THE 6888. OUR CORRESPONDENT ALEXIS CLARK INTRODUCES US TO THE RETIRED COLONEL WHO TOOK ON A PERSONAL MISSION TO ENSURE THAT THEIR STORY WAS TOLD. NIGHT AND DAY. THE VAST BUSINESS OF ASSEMBLY WENT ON. THE MASSIVE INVASION OF WESTERN EUROPE, KNOWN AS D-DAY, WAS COVERTLY PLANNED BY THE ALLIES FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS. ALL COMMUNICATION ABOUT TROOPS AND TROOP MOVEMENTS WERE CLOSELY MONITORED. THE D-DAY PREPARATIONS WAS THE CATALYST FOR THE BACKLOG BECAUSE MAIL CONTAINED SENSITIVE INFORMATION, SO THE MAIL HAD TO BE CENSORED. IT SOMETIMES WAS STOPPED. COLONEL EDNA CUMMINGS, A CAREER ARMY OFFICER, CAME ACROSS THE STORY OF THE 6888 ABOUT EIGHT YEARS AGO AND WAS TAKEN ABACK THAT SHE’D NEVER HEARD OF THEM OR THEIR MISSION. THE TASK OF SORTING THE MAIL. OTHER UNITS HAD TRIED AND FAILED, WITH 7 MILLION SERVICE MEMBERS IN EUROPE. THE MAIL BACKLOG TOTALED NEARLY 17 MILLION PIECES, FILLING WAREHOUSES IN ENGLAND. WHEN THE 6888 ARRIVED IN 1945, THEY HAD TO WORK IN BLACKOUT CONDITIONS BECAUSE THE WAR WASN’T OVER. SO THE WOMEN HEARD BOMBINGS OR ARTILLERY CONDITIONS. CUMMINGS LEARNED OF BI TALKING TO SURVIVING 6888 MEMBERS. THEY WORKED EIGHT HOUR SHIFTS AROUND THE CLOCK IN DARK, DAMP BUILDINGS. SOME PACKAGES HAD SPOILED FOOD, WHICH ATTRACTED RATS, AND MAIL WASN’T ALWAYS LABELED CORRECTLY BECAUSE OF THE LITERACY LEVELS IN THE U.S. AT THE TIME. SOME OF THE LETTERS WERE JUST ADDRESSED TO BUSTER OR JUNIOR, BUT THE 6888 UNDERTOOK THE TASK OF CREATING A LOCATOR SYSTEM WITH SERIAL NUMBERS FOR ALL THE SERVICE MEMBERS. YOU HAD ONE SHIFT THAT WAS SLEEPING AND ONE THAT WAS WORKING. THE 6888 CLEARED THE BACKLOG IN THREE MONTHS. IT HAS REALLY BEEN A GREAT JOURNEY FINDING OUT ABOUT WHO MY MOM WAS, OTHER THAN JUST BEING MY MOM. JANIS MARTIN HAS A BOX OF MEMORABILIA FROM HER MOTHER, INDIANA HUNT MARTIN, WHO SERVED IN THE 6888. WHAT DID SHE SAY IT WAS LIKE WHEN SHE RETURNED? I THINK IT WAS A REAL LIBERATING EXPERIENCE FOR THEM, COMING FROM A PLACE WHERE JIM CROW LAWS WERE BEING ENFORCED, THEY WERE ABLE TO GO INTO RESTAURANTS, GO TO PEOPLE’S HOMES. NO ONE MADE A FUSS ABOUT ANYTHING. INDIANA HUNT MARTIN PASSED AWAY IN 2020, AND CURRENTLY THERE ARE ONLY FIVE SURVIVING MEMBERS OF THE 6888. I’M JUST SO HAPPY THAT SOMEBODY IS FINALLY FINDING OUT THAT THERE WERE BLACK WOMEN IN THE MILITARY. WHAT DID IT MEAN FOR BLACK WOMEN AT THAT TIME TO WEAR A UNITED STATES MILITARY UNIFORM? I THINK IT SYMBOLIZED REBELLION BECAUSE IT DEFIED SOCIAL NORMS FOR WOMAN TO BE IN THE MILITARY, LET ALONE A BLACK WOMAN. IN 2022, THE BATTALION RECEIVED THE CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL, THE HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARD, IN LARGE PART DUE TO AN EFFORT BY COLONEL CUMMINGS. I HEARD SOMEONE SAY THEY WERE SET UP TO FAIL, BUT THEY STOOD UP AND DELIVERED. I’M ALEXIS CLARK, FOR MATTER OF FACT. NEXT ON MATTER OF FACT, EVEN WITH THE NATIONWIDE SHORTAGE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING, HOMES ARE SITTING EMPTY. WHAT’S GOING ON WITH THE HOUSING MARKET IN SOME OF OUR NATION’S BIGGEST CITIES? AND STILL AHEAD, PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER CHANGED HISTORY AT HIS INAUGURATION. A LOOK AT THE MODERN DAY TRADITIONS THAT STARTED WITH THE MAN FROM PLAINS. TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH MATTER OF FACT, SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER ATEVEN WITH THE ONGOI HOUSING SHORTAGE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, MILLIONS OF HOMES SIT VACANT IN SOME OF OUR BIGGEST CITIES. LENDINGTREE ANALYZED DATA FROM THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU. RESEARCHERS ESTIMATE THAT THERE ARE ABOUT 5.66 MILLION VACANT UNITS IN ABOUT 50 CITIES. THAT’S A SLIGHT INCREASE FROM 2022 AND 2023. THE CITIES WITH THE HIGHEST VACANCIES NEW ORLEANS, MIAMI AND TAMPA. THESE THREE CITIES COMBINED HAD JUST UNDER 600,000 EMPTY HOUSING UNITS. WHY ARE SO MANY UNITS UNOCCUPIED FOR TAMPA AND MIAMI? MANY HOMES ARE ONLY USED PART TIME FOR VACATION HOMES, OR FOR PEOPLE WHO JUST WINTER IN FLORIDA. IN NEW ORLEANS, THERE ARE LOTS OF VACANCIES BECAUSE UNITS ARE FOR RENT. LENDINGTREE ALSO NOTES THAT THE AREA HAS LOW HOME PRICES AND HIGH VACANCY RATES, WHICH IT SAYS IS A SIGN OF SOCIOECONOMIC HARDSHIP. THE CITY ALSO HAS HAD A STEADY DECLINE IN POPULATION SINCE HURRICANE KATRINA AND OTHER MAJOR STORMS. THE CITIES WITH THE LOWEST VACANCY RATES PORTLAND, OREGON, MINNEAPOLIS AND WASHINGTON, D.C., COMING UP ON MATTER OF FACT, WITH A PROMISE TO OUR NATION, PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER MADE HISTORY. WE’LL EXPLAIN THE WAYS HE CHANGED INAUGURTHIS WEEK, THE NA REST FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER. AS PART OF THE CEREMONIES, HE LAY IN STATE AT THE CAPITOL IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THE CAPITOL, WHERE HE TOOK THE OATH OF OFFICE 48 YEARS BEFORE. ON JANUARY 20TH, 1977, CARTER’S INAUGURATION STANDS APART FROM OTHERS IN SEVERAL WAYS. HE OPENED HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS THAT FRIGID DAY WITH A THANKS TO HIS PREDECESSOR, GERALD FORD, A REPUBLICAN, WHO HE PRAISED FOR, QUOTE, ALL HE HAS DONE TO HEAL OUR LAND. IT WAS A SHORTER SPEECH THAN MOST LESS THAN 15 MINUTES. CARTER LATER WROTE IN HIS DIARY THAT WHILE HE BELIEVED IT MAY HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE BRIEFEST ON RECORD, IT ACCURATELY EXPRESSED THE MAJOR THEMES OF HIS ADMINISTRATION GOVERNING WITH MORALITY AND RESTORING FAITH IN AMERICA. CARTER’S WIFE, ROSALYNN, HELD THE FAMILY BIBLE AS HE TOOK THE OATH OF OFFICE. THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO USE A NICKNAME DURING THE SWEARING IN CEREMONY, JIMMY, INSTEAD OF JAMES, AND AFTERWARDS HE DIDN’T RIDE IN THE PARADE DOWN PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE TO THE WHITE HOUSE, BUT BECAME THE FIRST PRESIDENT TO WALK IT. HE LATER WROTE HE HOPED IT WOULD CONVEY HIS CONFIDENCE IN THE PEOPLE OF OUR COUNTRY. CARTER ATTENDED EVERY INAUGURATION FOLLOWING HIS OWN UNTIL 2021, FITTING THAT AS HE LAY IN STATE, THE CAPITOL WAS FLANKED WITH THE SCAFFOLDING FOR THE NEXT PEACEFUL TRANSITION OF POWER. THAT’S IT FOR THIS EDITION OF MATTER OF FACT, I’M SOLEDAD O’BRIEN, AND I’LL SEE YOU BACK HERE NEXT WEEK. TO WATCH MORE STORIES LIKE THIS ANYTIME, HEAD TO MATTEROFFACTTV.