Political Quotes

“Mr. President, Memorial Day is a time to pay tribute to those who have given ``the last full measure of devotion'' in the service of our great country. I believe this Memorial Day is especially significant as we pause to reflect on some of the events of the past year and acknowledge the passing of the last surviving veteran of World War I, the end the Iraq War, and a renewed commitment to wind down our engagement in Afghanistan by 2014. Since the first colonial troops took up arms in the fight for our independence in 1775, more than 1.1 million American soldiers, sailors, and airmen have died in the wars and conflicts fought to defend our Nation, our freedom, and our ideals. In the past 10 years, we have lost over 6,400 brave Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan. The death of each one of these servicemen and women represents not only a tragic loss to their loved ones, but to their community, and to our Nation. The American tradition of Memorial Day--originally known as Decoration Day--has its roots in local springtime tributes that were held in the North and the South during and immediately after the Civil War and following the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. On May 1, 1865, nearly 10,000 freedmen, teachers, preachers, missionaries, and Union troops properly landscaped and covered with flowers the unmarked graves of some 250 or more Union prisoners of war who had died in captivity at the Charleston Race Course, a site now known as Hampton Park.…”