When the military wants to get something done, it can do so with amazing speed and efficiency.  I’ve seen this firsthand in some pretty far-flung locations like Afghanistan and Iraq …  and was reminded of it by the building of the security wall at Fort Hood, Texas.

Using massive forklifts and Con-Ex shipping containers, the U.S. Army has built a protective barrier around a field in front of the III Corp Headquarters Building to keep families, dignitaries and the President safe and out of sight.

By my calculation, the main portion of the wall runs nearly 900 feet long and stands almost 30 feet tall.  A side wall runs more than 200 feet with containers stacked two and three high.  Several members of the White House Press Corp told me they’d never seen anything like it, although I’ve been told by others that both former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney got similar treatment at visits to other military posts.

Inside the wall the majority of press is assembling in a penned in area at the very rear in a corner (is there an underlying message here…?).  Some 2000 chairs have been set up much closer to the platform and podium built near the driveway in front of the HQ, where family members of the Fort Hood victims and some of those wounded who were treated and released will join politicians, officers, friends and members of the public wishing to pay tribute to the fallen.

The mood here has been somber, respectful and reflective.  There is little discussion between soldiers and the press about warning signs that may have been missed by investigators regarding suspect Major Nidal Malik Hasan’s reported contact with radical islamists overseas.  They’re not looking to place blame or point fingers, at least not to us.  What we’re hearing time and again is how proud they are of their fellow soldiers in the way they handled the incident, treating the wounded (including the alleged killer himself) and supporting each other in a time of crisis. The focus here is on healing and staying on course, allowing the investigation to move forward while learning lessons to try and prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

Rick Waits for the ceremony to begin.

Thomas “Tommy” Vecera grew up in Flower Mound Texas, not far from Fort Hood.

He calls Everett Washington home now but is scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan soon.

That’s why he was back in central Texas, at the soldier processing center at Fort Hood last week, getting prepped for deployment when Major Nidal Malik Hasan began shooting fellow soldiers on Post.

I spoke to Tommy about what he saw and heard last Thursday afternoon.  His description of the events were as vivid and chilling as any I’ve heard so far.

Tommy witnessed the carnage, helped patch some of the first wounded, then watched the end of the killer’s rampage and saw with his own eyes the heroic actions civilian police Sergeant Kimberly Munley who along with Sgt. Mark Todd brought the spree to an end.

Vecera says he heard the initial shots and then people rushed wounded into the building he was in next door to the scene.  “We started assisting the soldiers, trying to figure out what was going on. Everyone was screaming, running around … our main concern was taking care of the soldiers that were down.”

“Did you ever see the shooter?” I asked.

“Later on …  I looked out the window and at that time, I saw the gunman come out of one of the buildings. ”

“What was he doing?”

“He was waving the gun around and firing at the crowd that was running from the building.”

“Shooting at people running away?”

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Easton, Pennsylvania is a historic town nestled in the Lehigh Valley at the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers. It was the site of one of the three public readings of the Declaration of Independence on July 8th, 1776 and is home to Lafayette College, Crayola Crayons and former Heavyweight Boxing Champion Larry Holmes, aka “The Easton Assassin”.

Easton is also roughly 72 miles from both New York City and Philadelphia, PA, which means there are Yankee fans and Phillies fans living and working side by side. Actually a lot of people here root for both teams since they rarely play each other (the only other time they met in the World Series was 1950 when the Bronx Bombers swept the Phillies in 4 games).

The Mayor is one of those people having a tough time choosing sides, especially since he grew up and went to school in the city.

“If the Yankees had made it and the Phillies hadn’t, you would have rooted for the Yankees?” I asked Mayor Salvatore Panto. “I definitely would have been a full Yankee fan.”

“And if the Phillies had made it and the Yankees didn’t…” I continued “you would have definitely rooted for the Phillies? Definitely …” he replied. “So now with both in there together…?” I asked. He laughed “It is a tough struggle!”

Larry Holmes grew up in Easton and never left, despite winning 69 prize fights (including his first 48) and millions of dollars in purses. He was Champ for 7 1/2 years, beating opponents including Muhammad Ali, Ken Norton, Earnie Shavers, Gerry Cooney and James “Bonecrusher” Smith. He invested in real estate in town over the years, buying a hotel and office buildings and plots of land, some of which he recently sold off. He’s a great grandfather (twice) about to turn 60 and looking to simplify his life but still owns a bar/restaurant in town (on Larry Holmes Drive) and that’s where we met for our interview.

Me: “Is it hard to decide which team to root for?”
Champ: “No because I know who I like and I want to see win and I want to see the Phillies win.”
Me: “But you spent a lot of time in New York…?
Champ: “I started my boxing career there on 149th street in the Bronx. I got my butt kicked! That’s probably one of the reasons I don’t like New York!”
Me: “If someone starts rooting for the Yankees in your bar are you going to throw them out?”
Champ: “No because they have a right to root for whoever the want to.”
Me: “Are you going to beat them up?”
Champ: “(laughs) no but if you were rooting for the Yankees in my bar I would throw YOU out!”
Me: “Any message for Yankees fans?”
Champ: “Go cry, it’s going to be alright, you got next year!”

The Champ bought everyone pizza for lunch (delivered to the restaurant) since his kitchen was closed so we made a bet. If the Phillies win I’m buying the next pie. If the Yankees win he owes me a beer.

I think it’ll be worth the drive back to collect.

They called him “Jazz”, short for Jasper.

He was known as an impact player on the University of Connecticut Huskies football team, a starting corner back since his freshman year who also returned punts, a former standout at Miami Edison High School in South Florida, a kid from the mean streets of the Liberty City neighborhood who made his mother proud, becoming the first from his family to attend college.

Late Saturday night, after celebrating his team’s homecoming victory, which he played a key role in with 11 tackles and a forced fumble at the goal line preventing the other team from potentially tying the game, he was found stabbed.  More than 300 people spilled out into the street in the chilly Storrs, Ct. air.  A fight broke out between a group of non-students and half-a-dozen football players, someone plunged a blade into Jazz’s abdomen.  A fellow player went to his aid, another came to try and stop the bleeding and the police were called.  Ambulances  brought Jazz went to one hospital, but unfortunately he could not be saved.

Police have made one arrest, 21-year-old Johnny Hood, who police say lied about his name when questioned at the scene.  Another wounded player identified Hood as being involved in the fight.  His lawyer says he’s only guilty of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Another lawyer says there are four more “main” suspects and he represents one of them, another young man who apparently admits to being involved in the fight but not with the stabbing.  Police have questioned him and searched his home and seem to be making progress in the investigation.  They’re asking anyone with pictures or home video of the scene outside the dance to forward the images since they could help solve this homicide.

Meanwhile Jazz’s uniform sits unused in his locker and will for the next two seasons, except when the Huskies are on the road.  They plan to bring #6 with them to honor his memory and his loss.

One of the challenges in covering a fast-moving story like the murder of Yale grad student Annie Le is separating rumor from fact and getting confirmation of developments in time for our often hourly live on-the-air updates.

Many but not all of the rumors in this case have proven true, including the fact that a lab technician has emerged as the “person of interest”, which as far as I can tell is modern time’s politically correct terminology for “suspect”.

Rumors that proved untrue: Annie’s body was in the trash compactor, and the prime suspect was a student.

Things I’ve heard and have been reported but police won’t confirm: Raymond Clark had scratches on his chest and failed a lie detector test; the blood-stained clothes found in the lab are his; he was angry at Annie for her treatment of lab animals, specifically mice and exchanged emails with her about the issue.

We’ve worked more than 60 hours over the past four days and still have a few hours left on this shift. It seems every time we think we’re done for the night there’s a new development and we have to rush back on the job. We’re all pretty beat but committed to seeing this story through to it’s conclusion, hopefully the arrest of Annie’s killer.

At a news conference late this afternoon, New Haven Police Chief James Lewis sounded confident but careful. If there’s a DNA match to Clark, an arrest warrant will be issued within a couple hours and “we know where Clark is at all times.”

He also insisted there is no tunnel vision and they’re not ruling anyone else out yet.

A straight shooter, Lewis had a quick response to a question about a prominent lawyer suggesting the search and seizure warrant already served on Clark might be unconstitutional.

“You get three attorneys in a room,” the Chief said “you get five different opinions.”

Keep checking back to FOX News Channel for the latest on the case!