Anwar Sadat, the late prime minister of Egypt, once noted that there were two experiences in life that were so traumatic, so far reaching in their scope, that having experienced them, one's life could never be quite the same. One was prison; the other was war. As we are gather here this morning, on the week of Memorial Day, I would like to address ourselves to the latter.

While there are many wars that will be remembered this week, I would like to take a look at the Civil War. And perhaps this is the appropriate place to begin a memorial, because it is in the Civil War that Memorial Day has its roots. It was John A. Logan, a former Federal general, who called for the first formal day of remembrance on May 30, 1868. School children were asked to spread flower pedals upon the graves of the wa…