But it was as though they had entered a kind of Valhalla, a hallowed place in which every inch of ground spoke of some profound strife and sacrifice. Lieutenant Joe Owen described it eloquently. “We stood in wonder,” he wrote. “Men bowed their heads in prayer. Some fell to their knees. Others breathed quiet oaths of disbelief.” Tears welled in their eyes as they contemplated the savage ordeal that had transpired in “this place of suffering and courage.”
