VETERANS PRESS: Remembering history

• MARCH 3, 1865: Congress approves the establishment of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers

Congress approves legislation establishing the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. The injured who returned home from the Civil War needed long-term care, often more than their families could provide. These men were not eligible for care in the homes serving career military officers. Legislation for the creation of the National Asylum of Disabled Volunteer Soldiers was introduced in Congress on Feb. 28, 1865. Both Houses of Congress quickly passed the legislation, with President Lincoln signing the bill on March 3, 1865. In 1873, the name was changed to the National Home of Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. It was one of three predecessors to the Veterans Administration.  

• MARCH 23, 1775: Give me liberty, or give me death!” speech is given by Patrick Henry  

Patrick Henry delivers his famous speech to the Second Virginia Convention (including Thomas Jefferson and George Washington) at St. John’s Church in Richmond. Henry is credited with convincing the convention to pass a resolution delivering Virginia troops for the Revolutionary War. A gifted orator and major figure during the American Revolution, his rousing speeches fired up America’s fight for independence. He became governor of Virginia in 1776 and influenced creation of the Bill of Rights.  

• MARCH 26, 1945: World War II Battle of Iwo Jima is won by American forces  

The World War II Battle of Iwo Jima is won after heavy fighting and casualties. Iwo Jima was considered strategically important as an air base for Japanese fighter planes to intercept U.S. long-range B-29 Superfortress bombers. The U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Navy landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army. The invasion, designated Operation Detachment, had the goal of capturing the entire island, including the three Japanese-controlled airfields (including the South Field and the Central Field), to provide a staging area for attacks on the Japanese main islands. This five-week battle comprised some of the fiercest and bloodiest fighting of the Pacific and cost U.S. forces 6,871 killed and 19,217 wounded. Medals of Honor were awarded to 22 Marines and five Sailors, 14 of them posthumously. In the words of Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, “Uncommon valor was a common virtue.”