[. . .] all of the boys somehow made testament to a time in their lives when they were chucked into the roaring flames of history.
-- Michael (chapter 2)

Importance: In the first chapter he writes, Michael recounts his reasoning for keeping a journal at all, and remembers his fellow soldiers in the Civil War who would keep details journals of the battles in which they fought. Even only a few years removed from the conflict, Michael realizes the historical significance of the war and those who fought in it. Though the conflict was a violent and bloody one, signified by the use of fire imagery in the quote, the journals will go down in history. The implication is that history is intrinsically violent, and for anything to have historical significance it must survive the "roaring flames".

So I did at least feel some good fortune in being among the white men of this country though as...
-- Michael (chapter 6)