next, an event commemorating the 150th anniversary of the battle of the crater. the battle of the crater took place july 30, 1864 as part of the siege of petersburg. the ceremony includes in the unveiling of the stand by the u.s. postal service and remarks by historian james blankenship. this event from petersburg is one hour 15 minutes. >> good morning ladies and gentlemen. morning for this being with us here at petersburg national battlefield on the 150th anniversary of battle of the crater. my name is chris price. you who were with us this morning at 5:30 we thank

you again and welcome you here to the park. i was remarking a few minutes ago, much like it was for the soldiers 150 years ago who were in the oberlin campaign that started in 1864, it has been a long road to petersburg. we started this 150th event for 3, atparks on may spotsylvania courthouse. we have moved south ever since. .t has been quite a feat it is the first time three parks within a process of these commemorations have shared programming where we have tried to make a continual program of the oberlin campaign rather than look at it as the wilderness, spill something you -- spotsylvania, that this was one

continual process for the soldiers 150 years ago. for some of you in the audience we have senior faces before. we know you have been on the road with us, and we appreciate that. [applause] this morning i would like to introduce to you the superintendent of petersburg national battlefield, lewis rogers. in 1984,an his career a park ranger. he took his first herman it position at those sites the following year in 1985 as park ranger and resource management visitor protection specialist at the sites there. 1990 he moved to the parkway in virginia. enforcement a law

ranger with the added duties of supervising law enforcement, and he was responsible for a living history appalachian farm and seasonal visitor contact stations. he became chief ranger at booker t. washington in 1992. the chief of interpretation responsible for the interpretation and visitor protection, resource management, fire management, and collection management at the side. he became a supervisory park range of law enforcement at independence national struggle park and moved to valley forge in 1997 as a supervisory park ranger and lend later as the chief ranger were he managed law enforcement and interpretation. in 2009 he took on the role of in new hampshire. he became superintendent of petersburg national battlefield in 2010. most recently served as our acting deputy regional director,

the chief of staff original director here for the northeast region. inholds bachelor's degree parks and recreation, with concentration with resource management. the federaluate of law enforcement training center with basic law enforcement criminal investigative background. introduce --age to it is my privilege to introduce him to you. [applause] >> thank you. i appreciate the introduction. i am very honored to be here today. i want to take some time while i am here to let you know just what this means to me. when i was a child, ira member sitting in front of the tv. this goes back a ways when black-and-white movies dominated. this goes back a ways. when 12:00 came, the tv actually

went off. [laughter] i came or members sitting in front of the tv late at night. i've are member watching the old war movies. watching john wayne, and those guys as they fought in battle. they cried and died and fought for freedom. i can remember all of those things. i fell in love with those movies. it inspired me. it motivated me. then one day a peculiar thing happened. i can remember during that time that we began to integrate our schools. i can remember the fourth possible. i can remember how it affected me and how i watched the social and racial unrest that played our country. i can remember the american flag being carried in the hands of the ku klux klan members. it waved. these images began to enter my

mind and poisoned my imagination. when i began to watch fighters on tv again, a small voice echoed in the back of my mind. it told me if you were there, you would not have done these things. these images were not for you. perhaps you would have been a , or a, a dishwasher bellman. if you were there you would never have flown those planes. because of these images i believe that. i believed i never would have fought in combat, i would never have sold -- have served on a naval ship. that voice had a peculiar effect. i found myself drawing away from america. the pledge stood for of allegiance but i stop crossing my heart. i would not repeat the words. i felt the country had rejected me. i felt i was lost. a stranger in a strange land.

i could not understand why i was here. this land may have been your land, but i did not feel this land was my land. when i saw the stars and stripes waving in the breeze, when i saw the stars and stripes on porches , or on the fourth of july parade, i actually believed that flag did not waive for me. it stood for a different society. a different people. the it did not represent me. book,ne day i picked up a and it was a small magazine put out by a man by the name of tony brown. in that book he dedicated the entire book to this story of the tuskegee airmen. i learned about the fighter group which included the 100th, three hundred first, along with the 477 the bomber crew. east -- the three 32nd

-- april killer thing happened to me. -- a peculiar thing happened to me. i began to dream again. i could see myself in history, and perhaps i could have served at valley forge under george washington. now i knew they were there. perhaps i would have served upon the u.s. constitution in 1812, or fought the british. i could see myself there. perhaps i could have served here in petersburg in 1864 in the , or perhaps in 1866i could've helped settle the west as a soldier fighting in the ninth or fifth calvary. perhaps i would have been born a slave, but later graduated from

west point. perhaps i would've found myself in the spanish-american war as a soldier. or in world war i in the. -- 370th,e and a 70th fighting under a french commander. been the could have first african-american to fly in combat during world war ii, with andel was a heart arrow through it. tothe first black saber receive the naval cross during pearl harbor. perhaps i would have been at one of the first black marines in the segregated army.

perhaps i would have been part , the only balloon barrage of italian that landed on the beaches of utah and omaha on d-day. , while93rd infantry fighting the enemy to keep them from destroying what i have built. express, withl 77% participation. perhaps i could have served with them when they forced a whoholen secret line. perhaps i could have been when they linked up with the soviets in austria. infantry. marine

buffalo soldiers fought in korea 580 jets. perhaps i could have been charles young, the third african-american to graduate from west point. the first two obtained the rank of colonel. he was appointed the first acting superintendent at sequoia national park. that was too long ago, but i can be one now. as i continue to educate myself about the contributions of african-americans in times of war, something will kill your began happening. peculiar began

happening. when i look at those movies again, i couldn't hear that voice anymore. my love affair with those movies rekindled. this is the most peculiar part. not just the ones about black fighters. i began to embrace of the leathernecks, the black sheep, the dirty dozen. what changed was i had found my place in history. i knew i was there. just out of the scene, flying those planes. driving those tanks. history,y plcae iace in be proud of.to we all want to tell those tales of history. parts, toto hear those

shape the hearts of our children. they compel us to get out of bed in the morning and push on through another day. people want to see themselves in history. late 1980's,n the i was taking the oath with other sailors. i found myself on a plane off to the u.s. navy rotc. i found myself to be a cb. a few years ago, i found myself my son pass in review. true, buts is not sometimes the voices of hate can be so loud you can hear the

voices of reason. i asked wayne to a young man we have been serving this country since our conception. explained about the buffalo 1stdiers and the 76 battalion. he said i think i can serve. wayne, and i loved him. i saw the black sheep, and i loved them. it was described by something chappy said, and was written later in a book. he titled his book "an american." when a reporter asked about his title and what he titled it so simply, he said i fought to heart for this country and i have lived here, and i have given.'

too much.ve done i'm not a black american. i'm not african-american. i am simply, an american. something happened to me when i went back to school. i stood stronger. i crossed my heart. i said those words with pride. now, when i look and see the american flag blowing in the breeze, ing in the have come to realize that flag waves for me. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. this morning, our colors will be presented by the color guard.

would you please rise. this is followed by the national anthem. ♪ anthem]l

♪

[color guard] given invocation will be by dr. george lyons. he is pastor here in petersburg. pray with me as i pray aloud in my tradition. gracious god, after 150 years of reflection and remembrance, we invoke your name so that you would pride our hearts to member the lives lost in battle, so

peace inmight see our times. women and men together from every station and culture, 150 harmony, as in community. out of this place of sorrow, make this day a celebration, a celebration of the community of humanity. , sectionalmains strife be forgotten in the name of the one who is our everlasting fortress and peace, amen.

>> we are fortunate this morning. with theorked hard, u.s. postal service, to make this event what it is today. we are honored to have with us this morning the chief postal inspector of the u.s. postal inspection service. petrill. all aspects of the postal service. you can have a c. [laughter] -- you can have a seat. [laughter] hopefully that is my glitch of the day. the national headquarters office includes 18 field divisions, to

service centers, and the national forensics laboratory. it is staffed by 700 police officers, and 600 support personnel. he serves as chairman of the universal postal union's postal security group. oversaw all national security programs for the postal service. he is a native of west virginia. he grew up in new orleans. injoined a postal service 1987. 1991, he became a postal inspector where he investigated internal and external mail theft. time, he has held a number of management positions in metropolitan areas.

in 2008, he served as inspector in charge where he guided the postal service toward a risk and platform, analysis and implemented numerous cost-effective and innovative solutions. overhauled the external website. he holds a bachelors degree. it is my pleasure to introduce him. [applause] thank you. i was going to tell you to sit down. i like a crowd that knows what you are doing. if i go too long you can walk out on me. it is need. neat.is great remarks.

hadow of thethe s crater, the earth that location to dedicate the civil war battle of petersburg stamp today. this is a latest in a series of stamps that celebrates the 150th anniversary of the civil war. today we commemorate 2 battles in the conflict. , alabama they are dedicating a second stamp, it farragut's bal ttle in mobile. it is fitting i am here to dedicate this historic civil war stamp. why> ? the inspection service played a vital role in keeping our country connected during and after the war. it has been protecting united

states mail and customers for two centuries am including the civil war years. known togents were introduce services that are still used this very day. the postal money order. originrders have their in the war between the states. special agents also helped deliver mail to troops in the field. they reestablished mail service in southern communities as they return to federal control. the stamp we dedicate here today is a rendering of the painting, negroarge of the 22nd regimen. it depicts an early part of the thersburg campaign, it was longest, most complex, and perhaps most important of the civil war.

today we also have the stamp designer, phil jordan. the soldiers shown on the stamp were part of the 175th regimen. these troops are fighting not just for the continuation of the nation, they were fighting for their own freedom and the freedom of their families. the united states colored troops were made up of freed blacks from the north and escaped and freed slaves from the south. these troops formed after the emancipation proclamation. brave men put their lives on the line in order to prove that they were fit to be citizens. riders, statesman, and abolitionist frederick douglass the black man get upon andperson the button us,

bullets in his pocket, there is no power on earth that can deny the right to citizenship. the colored troops made up 10% of the strength of the union army. the troops were instrumental in the success of many of major late were campaigns. officer ofo them, an the colored infantry wrote i never saw troops fight better, more bravely, and with more determination. with the issuance of this year civil war stamp, the postal service is proud to honor the memory of these troops. it is proud to honor all the soldiers and sailors who served. the petersburg in mobile-based stamps are being issued as forever stamps. they will always be good to mail a card or letter no matter what the postage rate may be, to honor the troops that help serve to reignite this nation. if i could have those on stage

join me, we will unveil the civil war battle of petersburg stamp. [no audio]

>> i have the privilege this morning of introducing to you dr. malcolm beech. he is from north carolina. he attended undergraduate school in atlanta, georgia. he accepted a marketing management position with verizon in washington d.c. studieseted a doctoral in marketing from the university of phoenix. a third-generation serial entrepreneur, he found a multimillion dollar entertainment company with five d.c.tions in washington,

as a civil war historian, he is the founding director of the cultural heritage museum in north carolina, dedicated to the two hundred thousand african-american soldiers who follow the union army in the american civil war. dr. beach's president of the united states living history dedicated to preserving the history of african-american participation in the civil war. he is the senior vice president of the national business league, the national business trade association done that by booker t. washington in 1900. he is the past chairman of the district of columbia chamber of commerce, the largest vendors --

membership. privilege to introduce them to you. [applause] >> thank you. i didn't realize i was that old and had been around that long. you start to do these reenactments and think about the 1800s and say maybe i have been around for a while. all of you. to i wanted to thank you for coming out. in the ceremonies surrounding it means a lot to us. we are reenactors. of thecommemorate her's thousands of african-americans who fought for their freedom during the american civil war. noto all of the country

only doing reenactments, but we do living history demonstrations. what we find is that the impact on our audience, especially the young audience,, they can see themselves in history. when they see us, they see people that look like them. they understand how important this particular war was to the african-american community. just to put in quantitative perspective, before the civil war began there were 4 million african-americans enslaved in the united states. was over invil war 1865, there were zero. that is the most significant event in the history of african-americans in this country. important, as you

heard earlier, the north might have been fighting to keep the union together. the south was fighting for something called states rights. the african-american colored troops are fighting for their freedom. .s well as their manhood slavery had a way of emasculating the men and families when they could protect their families against the cruel actions of slaveholders. aboutf this war was reclaiming and key recapturing manhood. it made a difference when you weapon, andm, and a you went on to free your family. you got a different response than just saying a few kind words.

when he saw that been coming at them, it made a difference. members to family recall the fact that slaves actually freed themselves. let's be clear. wasr to 1863, the south winning the war. lincoln decided it was a toitary, strategic plan issue the emancipation proclamation at a time when he had no control over the slave territories. he freed the slaves. in the emancipation proclamation there was a clause that allowed african-americans to join union uniform, and fight in the battles. in actuality the slaves freed themselves. this is the kind of independence that we are proud of. todays why the stamp

though important. we are very happy and pleased with the postal service for having this ceremony here today. it is going to tell everybody across america these men fought for their own freedom. that is important. i want to thank my fellow reenactors here with us today and the members of the united states colored troops living history association for what you do and what we did. telling the story of african-american participation in the civil war. thank you for coming today. [applause] >> three cheers for the post office. huzzah. [applause]

word, march. -- forward march. >> thank you. morning, to give us perspective on the battle of the crater, the significance the it was said and earlier, petersburg is a complex military operation. 9.5 months, 292 days. we are just in the beginning. of the military actions, one stands out. the crater. on a daily basis we have visitors here, they want to know where is the crater. people know it is here. antietam,re at

millions of cornfields. but if you save the cornfields, people know which you were talking about. you say the crater, people know what you're talking about. this morning, i am privileged to introduce a friend, a career service member of the national parks service, james blankenship jr. area.native to the he began his career in 1975. in 1981 he accepted his first atmanent position independence national store apart. in 1982 he returned to virginia after excepting a position at colonial national historical park. career return to petersburg. he has held the position of historian, and historian curator of the battlefield.

during his time he participated at georgeial projects washington's birthplace, longfellow, sandy hook national seashore, and jamestown and yorktown collections. he is a member of the northeast region curatorial emergency response team. he spent 30 years firing a civil artillery. he served at the national level of 19th century all territory instructor with the national park service historical weapons program. he is in the process of completing a manuscript on military railroads during the siege of petersburg. he holds a degree in history from virginia commonwealth university. it weighs -- it is with pleasure

i introduce jimmy blankenship. [applause] >> when we first started this process, they wanted a talk on the battle of the crater. glad to do it. i was told i had 10 minutes. i'm going to condense nine hours into 10 minutes. it might be longer. needless to say i cannot do justice to the heroism both sides showed out here in 10 minutes. if you want to get more details about what happened, go on one of the tours being offered. both sides dug in. most of the landscape was barren of trees. the lines were very close. the lines in front of elliott were 25 yards distance.

some troops in the regiment were: minors. a thought they could mine underneath, and literally blow a hole in the confederate lines. the digging began on june 25. it was completed a month later. the length of the mine would be 586 feet. they removed 18,000 cubic feet of earth in the construction. the sounds of digging, once they got underneath the battery, were heard by infantrymen and by virginia all tillery men -- artillery men. ere confederates w looking for the line. they were digging for listening galleries to here the signs of digging.

was 16 feet down. the confederates would go down 8-10 feet. they were on top, and at night when it was quiet, they were hearing the sounds of digging below. the end of the mine would be filled with a thousand pounds of gunfire -- gunpowder. the plan was to blow up the gunpowder, create a large hole. the attack would be led by african-american troops, and they would roll up the confederate lines to the north that behind me to the south, and then the rest of the troops would go through, around the hole, and capture the cemetery 1000 yards behind this fear. guns he mightget have petersburg. the plan was changed a few days later. gender meal -- general meade change the plan. he ordered the commander to send in one of his white divisions to

lead the assault. other union divisions following would move to the right and left of the crater. johnson'sral confederate division defended this section of the line. north carolinians were to the north. right where we are would be elliott's south carolinians. artillery was position to the north in what is now a cemetery behind me. in the captain richard salient. and you would have davidson's battery to the south behind you and to your -- to my right on what was then called jerusalem plank road. hadcally the confederates artillery on the left, right,

and in the rear. when union troops attacked they are going to be hit on three fronts. a.m., a tremendous explosion through rock and clay toward the heavens. the casualties were 44 killed outright, a total of 278 known casualties. there were probably more. when this stuff blow up in the air, it has to come down. so much went up the it took 10 minutes for the debris to stop falling out of the sky. were actually in the fallout area. they didn't stay there. they went back to the east to get out from under the debris falling. they had to wait 10 minutes for it to come down. did, they got appear to the confederate line and they saw a whole which measured

170-200 feet in length. 60 feet wide. 30 feet deep. plus remains, body parts of soldiers all over the place. some half buried. some completely buried. moved for but they did not advance beyond the whole. -- the hole. they were pinned down. potter division would move up to the right. wilcox's division would move behind you. they were captured 400 yards at confederate lines. general mahone, three miles away, he received orders from e to reinforce and love the breakthrough. mahone brought his own the grade -- brigade.

later he realized he was going to need more men. he ordered sanders alabama the brigade to,. the african-american forest advance.would now they were north of the crater behind me. mahone is hereby this point. there were 800 for genuine's -- virginians. mahone can see there are union troops. he doesn't know they are african-americans. counting doing is flags. 13, 14, 15. a lot of soldiers. mahone wanted the virginians and georgians to fight simultaneously. mahone has to make a snap decision. is it better to hit first or get hit first? he decides it's better to hit

first. he sends the virginians in without the georgians. hard and they hit with ferocity. they were aiming at the crater itself. there is a misconception that union troops in the whole are noncombatants. they are hundreds of them on the rim of the crater. they are pouring out a tremendous amount of lead. virginians him at the crater. they veer off to the left. they run in through the teams in this area. there was hand-to-hand combat. out of the 800 virginians, half are casualties. some african-americans begin to panic because they were hit so hard by these guys. some panic spread to the white union troops. the georgians then attack. they reinforce the virginians. they would take the last of the crater and to the south of the crater.

i am doing a nine-hour battle in 10 minutes here. i have to skip a lot of stuff. at the end, by 1:00 p.m., the troops come across the field to my left. they are up on top of the earthworks. the crater was filled with union soldiers. the blood was running down the sides and pooling in the bottom. the confederates would take on more shells. they are lighting them by hand and tossing them down into the hole. taking muskets with bayonets attached, throwing them like our balloons. -- like harpoons. a humant you are not being. you are an animal. you do not survive, if you don't make that change. by 2:00 p.m. it was over. .'m going to read a few quotes some are gruesome. i want you to understand what it

was like to be out here at that time. these fields we are in our killing fields. of these are quotes. pile of 20 dead men." " bullets were killing men behind them." " men were dropping thick and fast, shot through the head. they man that was shot, were piled up four and five deep." at the north end of the crater, over here, troops piled up bodies of dead comrades who tried to block bullets coming in through the trenches. another quote. there was a light haired boy

under 18 years old who fires deadly at the rim. he fell with his head against my feet. i covered his head and continued firing." it is hard to conceive of this type of thing. " i counted 21 blacks who were shot at this spot. blood was everywhere trickling down the sides of the crater. in many places, tons of it as large as a water space and -- washbasin." amount ofhe largest african-american soldiers in any part of the war. and the largest amount of casualties suffered by african americans during the civil war. here is another quote. the tongue is swollen from biting cartridges. i have to stop firing. once it went off as i loaded it. the discharge brought my eyelashes.

a shell burst close to my head. i was unconscious for a few seconds. twice i was hit in the hand." conditions get worse in the crater. here is another quote. one man was decapitated and body fell downwards. another quote. up to bodies that have been buried by the explosion." " everyone could see body parts flying in the air. blood and brains flew so freely in the air many were completely covered." general barlett was down of the hole. his leg was shattered. he lost his cork leg at gettysburg.

a few indians did a splendid work. some were mortally wounded. they chanted a death song and died in a group. have not story must realized. there are native americans on both sides. it is likely native americans fought native americans out here. north of theabas, crater. company k.er, and likely you had natives fighting against natives. this one company had [indiscernible] tribes in the regimen. is the one that

gets me the most. " no air was starring in the crater. it was a sickening sight. men were dead and dying around us. blood was running down to the bottom where it gathered and pools before being absorbed by the clay. the slaughter became monotonous until it ceased a horrified." the dead and wounded were piled african, and native american stretching in their death throes. the confederate works were filled with the dead and dying. it was impossible not to tread on them when making one's way through the works. in the crater confederates found 133 bodies. confederates dug down to retrieve the bodies of their own blood hadound the penetrated the clay five inches down. bodies were piled up eight d.

-- eight deep. there were hundreds of bodies in the area. three days later, a truce was called. outside claimed their dead. during the truce, 600 remains were buried. these remains would be reinterred in the 1930's into blandford cemetery or poplar grove for the union. poplar grove is part of petersburg national batter filled -- battlefield. confederate losses are not known in their entirety. at least 400 were killed. 700 wounded. 40 missing. 1003 and 40. some sources go as high as 1600 out of 9400 engage. over 10% losses. some confederate regimen saw tremendous losses.

company c went in the battle with 15 men. a small company. five were killed. a wounded. 13 out of 15 were casualties. the federal losses were extremely hot. altogether, 504 killed. one wounded. a total of 3800 men. sufferican-americans tremendous casualties. out of 504 union troops, 433 were african-americans. 740 four will wounded. many were captured. a total of 1200 known casualties. battles peoplear who surrender get killed after. it happened here. some african americans were killed after they surrendered. killing enemy soldiers is more

common than you think. both sides did it. all races dated. it happened in for other battles . -- all races did it. it happened in 4 other battles. again at four greg on april 2 -- fort greg on april 2nd. in conclusion, the battle of the crater was a great victory for lee. the siege would continue for eight months until petersburg and richmond fell to union forces on april 3, 1865. the long-term effects of this

war, eventually we became the united states of america. look a good thing when you at early 20th century history. would we have been able to have gone to europe in 1917 and 18 and defeat the kaiser? it might have not worked out too well if we were divided. the same thing for will work to. -- world war ii. could we have defeated the germans and japanese if we were divided? it is in the realm of the unknown. things were much better for everyone because we were the united states instead of two separate countries. i thank you for being here today. [applause] >> i would like to give jimmy another round of applause. agonizing to him.

[laughter] [applause] but, in fairness to his remarks, he has given us a lot to think about. one of the things i would charge you with as visitors to the park, this is 150 years to the day of the battle, what those timealked about, take some to walk these fields. by yourself. just give yourself a few moments to contemplate the words that were spoken by those men spoke in 150 years ago. we will not be able to conceptualize before the sacrifice that was seen on this field in 1864. our keynote remarks this morning are coming from colonel paul brooks. he is the garrison commander for

for lead. he assumed command of the u.s. army garrison of fort lee in august, 2013. began in 1984r when he enlisted as a military policeman and graduated from the united states military academy with a bachelors of science in 1991, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the armor corps. he also holds a masters degree in military studies from the marine corps university, and a masters degree in national security studies from the dwight d eisenhower school for national security and resource strategy at the national offense university which he earned in june of 2013. carl brooks other military schooling includes air assault school, armored officer basic course, ranger school, the most important. the only one that matters. [laughter] certification,

logistics officer in advanced servicesombined armed school, survival school. earliests career, his assignments whereas a tank platoon leader. as a missile maintenance with first calvary division at fort hood, texas. roles ofreceived responsibility in north officer, operations battalion,al support and operational staffing command . officer,ty commanding

tours inerved multiple >> his awards and decorations include the legion of merit, bronze star medal with one oak leaf cluster, defense meritorious service medal, meritorious service medal, army commendation medal with three oak leaf clusters, army achievement medal with two oak leaf clusters, combat action badge, ranger tab, master parachutist badge and air assault badge. it is my honor to introduce to you garrison commander colonel paul brooks. >> thanks for that great introduction. it all sounds a lot better than it really is.

i would like to say it is awesome to be here. i would like to welcome everybody and say it is great to be here. major more, not anymore. those army days are done, right? it is always great to see you. every time we see running around and doing something, it is awesome, we appreciate it. i would like to recognize all the work that the park service, especially chris bright, has done to put this event together. not just this event, but all of the events over the course of the 10 months the cover the entire siege and the battle a petersburg, as well as the post office and all the people they'll bring it together. i want to give them all a round of applause for everything they do. i would deftly like to thank you for asking me to speak here today. i have a great sense of gratitude for being allowed to participate in today's event. the significance of this day and this event and the anniversary are not lost on me. i consider it a great honor to stand before you today and talk

about this. i do have to admit, when chris asked me to do this, i found the task daunting. among, i am surrounded by subject matter experts on the civil our -- of the civil war. they would still include more information in 10 minutes and i would ever be able to get in there. more specifically, experts on this battle. even though i am accustomed to not being the smartest guy in the room, it adds a new perspective to the situation. soldier anda career i'm supposed to know the kind of stuff. in college i was not an economics major so we didn't talk about the battle of the crater too much in macro or micro economics. this battle was discussed in one of my history classes at west point. it is not so much the subject matter as it was my instructor, captain dan bolger.

he commanded the first cavalry division in iraq and enable training mission in iraq before -- in afghanistan before retiring. he always made it interesting. he was also the first person ever to make history something i wanted to go sit down and talk to. he didn't really teach history nearly as much as he told stories. isn't that what history really is? is a story, it is our story. as the story of what got us here today. we commemorate the battle of the crater, which is just one of many chapters and ongoing history and ongoing story of our nation. as i said earlier, i am no historian, nor am i great storyteller. i will leave the details of the battle to more qualified personnel than myself. that opening introduction of comments, thank you for setting the bar so high. words.werful it was awesome. i am not going to attempt to

tell the story are amplified or offer any shocking new insightful details on how it unfolded heard what i would like to talk about, though, is the people. the parters that late of that story as it unfolded here and you lay the part in every store in every chapter of every battle that our nation has participated in, and more to the point, the soldier serving now and the ones we have serving and signing up to serve every day. i would like to talk about them, their ability to secure our nation's future, the sense of duty and the sacrifice. it is a sacrifice that transcends far beyond just the soldiers who actually fight a battle, to their families, their friends and their home. is something the commemoration will recognize over the course of this year and a different locations across the country. in all, thousands pay the ultimate cost of that sacrifice throughout this entire battlefield while writing this chapter. hundreds of thousands throughout history have the same price.

countless more have been wounded or captured, their blood as ink that much of our history is written in. ir reasons are just as varied as soldiers to our in our ranks today. we stand up for what they believe and at all costs. during this battle, the mayor fought to defend the country, their family, their beliefs or their rights, or strictly due to their sense of duty. dakotas from the north far to maintain the union for the preservation of the nation or their way of life or the abolition of slavery. goes from the south, for the newly formed nation, for states rights, for something as basic as defending their homes and their families. for many the five-year, this land we're on right now is literally their back hard. the u.s. color troops a five-year for the freedom. they were born slaves could

-- also, those who were drafted. 1.6% of the, only force. they represented themselves, their units and the army admirably on the battlefield. i'm sure i could never actively relate while they all came, but for those that were here, they all made the sacrifice required to write this chapter. the sacrifice, the sense of duty and this need to participate in or support or be a part of something much greater than themselves has played out time and time again throughout our history. our future and the soldiers who will lead us there? as a leader in today's army, we are required to look at the future. where are we going? and to help determine that the chapters of the future are of a secure america.

in the 30 years and seven listed, i have seen phenomenal changes in our army and its soldiers. ally, we are once again an volunteer army and the quality, confidence, capability and sense of duty to the nation of these volunteers is what will secure our future. every army in the world attempts to emulate the capability of our elected personnel and ncos. the bottom-line is, they can't do it. that is just a matter -- the fact of the matter. some of them trying to do it for decades. we actively continually pursue efforts to actually teach other nations to adopt our model, but no one has been able to replicate it. that is because of our soldiers. the soldiers of the reasons we are so strong. as others chase us and try to emulate our capability, we will continue to improve and move forward and move farther away. one of the best conversations i thought that highlighted this was when i work for the u.s. army special operations at fort bragg. the major was talking to a bunch of retired veterans who

previously served in our unit. how were talking about concerned they were with respect to the quality of a soldier and what had happened to the unit over the years. i have to tell you, that sergeant major was very adamantly opposed to what they were saying and was very upset by how they were saying it. he might have even thrown a couple expletives in there when he said that this unit could easily whip the old-timers. throwing your favorite expletive there. this is anmean insult to them, but a testament to the fact that we are always getting better, that it is our duty to continually improve the capability of our units and the people who defend our nation. yet no intent to belittle or diminish the efforts or their accomplishments and even close the conversation my telling them that if we didn't prepare the next generation to be able to whip us as we should have been able to whip them, that we will have failed them and our country no matter what we accomplish on today's battlefield. lly gethos, to continua

better is an inherent part of our american culture. his reason we have and always will have the best military in the world. before i leave you thinking that this is just just upping sales pitch, i would like to provide you with just a few telling details about today's army. in my lifetime, we have gone from a draft to an army whose ranks contain people whose only options were to either go to the army or go to jail. or 29% of her8 age eligible opposition can even qualify to get into it. 9% of today's recruits have a high school diploma or an equivalent. in an era were only 79% of high school students graduate. that is a 21 times lower rate of dropouts than the national average. overall, today's recruits are

healthier and more physically foot than the vast majority of their peers, and they must adhere to a zero tolerance policy on drugs and criminal issues. it is actually statistically easier to get into college than it is to enlist. not become an officer, to enlist in the army. soldier is no secret to them. they join knowing they will endure hard times and sacrifice. they will be charged to keep us safe. the few that make the cut to get in and are willing to make that sacrifice, they are not always easy to find. if it was easy to find them we would not need an entire command devoted to recruiting them. those that make that cut to get in and then make the next cut to get through training and inter-unit, they become part of something much greater than themselves. they are the ones with the combination of skills, the intelligence, the physical tolity and the sense of duty

be part of that 1% of our population that wears the military uniform. 1% the concert life on the line to defend our nation, that is 1% i want to be a part of. a percentage of them proud to be part of. -- know thatee they were among the best of our society had to offer. they have more ability and potential than most of their peers. they chose to put that uniform on and to accept the sacrifices that come with it. they are tomorrow's generals in command sergeant majors. they are the future of our nation. that iclose by saying thank you again for the honor of being here, to stand in this hallowed ground with all of you and to remember this chapter in our history and the people who lived in it and the people who died in it. have a great day and god bless

america. [applause] >> our benediction this morning will be given by reverend rick greenwood. he is with st. paul's episcopal church. i failed to mention also with pastor lyons, both churches represented here this morning were wartime congregations here in petersburg, but again, this morning our benediction, reverend greenwood. may god the earth maker, got the universe creator, god the start or him about the tree ofwer, made got the builder nations, god the lord of lords, god the king of kings, god the

lover of mankind, may god who is our history, god who is our present, god who awaits us in the future, god be with us now. may god the pain bearer, got the one who suffers, god the bloody, sacrifice, god the redeemer, may thethe incarnate one, got one born of woman, god the one who lived as one of us, god who is with us, god who looks like us, god who frees us, god bless you now. may got the life giver, got a sanctifier, got the divine , mayh, god the holy maker god the spirit share, got the community creator, may the peace revealer, got the comforter of who moves among sasol, god who whispers divine

love, god who lift us into eternal life, god lead us forward today. , thegot the earth maker pain bearer, the life giver, bless you and keep you now and always, amen. [trumpet playing taps]

>> i would like to back up with some closing remarks this morning. i want to thank you all for being here with us today. on the hundred 50th anniversary of the battle of greater. >> on to thank you all for coming. i've learned what it is time for things to be over it is time for them to be over. on to thank you all for coming out. realize itdon't petersburg used to be a part of fort lee. we were actually cut out of fort lee to be created