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What did Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. say about the effect of war on young veterans?
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Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Associate justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
In a Memorial Day address delivered to fellow veterans in 1884, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. reflected on the profound impact of his wartime service during the American Civil War.
He famously stated: "Through our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire. It was given to us to learn at the outset that life is a profound and passionate thing."1
This sentiment was central to his broader conviction that it is required of a person to share in the "passion and action" of their time, at the risk of being judged as having never truly lived.1