A Day to Be With Family and Remember

509

Sgt. Benton Thames inspects a sentinel before the sentinel begins his walk on the mat at Arlington National Cemetery.

At the grave of a hero we end, not with sorrow at the inevitable loss, but with the contagion of his courage; and with a kind of desperate joy we go back to the fight. – Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oliver Wendell Holmes fought in the Civil War, enlisting with the Massachusetts militia during his senior year of college. He suffered numerous wounds and nearly died of dysentery.

After three years, in 1864, Holmes was able to walk away from military service. He would go on to live another 71 years, ultimately becoming one of the best-known …read more