Tag: Military

Quotes March 15, 2024

When you give your phone to a kid you’re not giving your kid access to the world, you’re giving the world access to your kid.
Shawn Ryan
Former Navy SEAL/CIA
 
 
 
 
I was a grunt, walking around in the jungle of Vietnam, trying not to find the enemy. Because I am so big, they were going to give me either a heavy radio or a huge machine gun to carry. I carried a radio.
Bob Gunton
 
 
 
 
You don’t attack the grunts of Vietnam; you blame the theory behind the war. Nobody who fought in that war was at fault. It was the war itself that was at fault. It’s the same thing with psychotherapy.
James Hillman
 
 
 
 
That’s what supporting the troops is really all about – making sure American grunts get the right stuff!
David Hackworth
 
 
 
 
“US General Mathew Ridgeway was speaking about “Operation Vulture”. He said, “When the day comes for me to meet my maker and account for my actions, the thing that I would be most proud of is the fact that I fought against and perhaps totally prevented the carrying out of one of the most hare-brained tactical schemes that would have cost the lives of thousands upon thousands of men!”
Michael G. Kramer
(A Gracious Enemy & After the War Volume Two)”
 
 

Quotes March 01, 2024

“Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it.”
Bear Grylls
 
 
 
 
Anger may in time change to gladness; vexation may be succeeded by content. But a kingdom that has once been destroyed can never come again into being; nor can the dead ever be brought back to life.”
Sun Tzu
 
 
 
 
“Be an example to your men, in your duty and in private life. Never spare yourself and let your troops see that you don’t in your endurance of fatigue and privation. Always be tactful and well-mannered. Avoid excessive sharpness or harshness of voice, which usually indicates the man who has shortcomings of his own to hide.”
German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
 
 
 
 
“The discipline which makes the soldiers of a free country reliable in battle is not to be gained by harsh or tyrannical treatment. On the contrary, such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army. It is possible to impart instruction and give commands in such a manner and such a tone of voice as to inspire in the soldier no feeling but an intense desire to obey, while the opposite manner and tone of voice cannot fail to excite strong resentment and a desire to disobey. The one mode or the other in dealing with subordinates springs from a corresponding spirit in the breast of the commander. He who feels the respect which is due to others cannot fail to inspire in them respect for himself; while he who feels, and hence manifests, disrespect toward others, especially his subordinates, cannot fail to inspire hatred against himself.”
LTG John M. Schofield, 1879
 
 
 
 
The essential tasks of the military leader, summarized by Dick Winters (1/506 Airborne Infantry Regiment, WWII): “I may not have been the best combat commander, but I always strove to be. My men depended on me to carefully analyze every tactical situation, to maximize the resources that I had at my disposal, to think under pressure, and then to lead them by personal example.”

“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”
John Stuart Mills
 
 

Quotes February 16, 2024

“On the 30th of April 1975, American helicopters flew out of Saigon in an ignominious retreat as the tanks of the People’s Liberation Army of Vietnam rumbled into the grounds of the American Embassy in Saigon.”
Michael G. Kramer, A Gracious Enemy & After the War Volume One
 
 
 
 
“The Japanese fought to win – it was a savage, brutal, inhumane, exhausting and dirty business. Our commanders knew that if we were to win and survive, we must be trained realistically for it whether we liked it or not. In the post-war years, the U.S. Marine Corps came in for a great deal of undeserved criticism in my opinion, from well-meaning persons who did not comprehend the magnitude of stress and horror that combat can be. The technology that developed the rifle barrel, the machine gun and high explosive shells has turned war into prolonged, subhuman slaughter. Men must be trained realistically if they are to survive it without breaking, mentally and physically.”
E.B. Sledge, With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa
 
 
 
 
“Is killing a known terrorist wrong? I ask this, did the terrorist allow any of his victims quarter? No, then allow him no quarter, and hoist the black flag.”
T.R. Wallace
 
 
 
 
“Who supports the troops? The troops support the troops.”
Clint Van Winkle, Soft Spots: A Marine’s Memoir of Combat and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
 
 
 
 
“Maxim 3:
An ordnance technician at a dead run outranks everybody.
The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries”
Howard Tayler
 
 

Quotes January 12, 2024

Army: A body of men assembled to rectify the mistakes of the diplomats.
Josephus Daniels
 
 
 
 
Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem.
Ronald Reagan
 
 
 
 
A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living.
John F. Kennedy
 
 
 
 
A ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons.
Admiral David D. Porter, USN
 
 
 
 
Diplomats are just as essential in starting a war as soldiers are in finishing it.
Will Rogers
 
 
 
 
Be convinced that to be happy means to be free and that to be free means to be brave. Therefore do not take lightly the perils of war.
Thucydides
 
 
 
 
Now I recall the Recon Marines ragged, filthy cammie shirted young men in green paint who move silent like the fog with deadly purpose in their eyes. Swift, Silent, Deadly. I smile.
GYSGT Correll, USMC, Retired– Recon Marine
 

Quotes January 05, 2024

“He who permits himself to tell a lie once finds it much easier to do it a second and third time, till at length it becomes habitual; he tells a lie without attending to it, and truths without the world believing it.”

“In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current. Give up money, give up fame, give up science, give up earth itself and all it contains, rather than do an immoral act. And never suppose that in any situation, or under any circumstances, it is best for you to do a dishonorable thing.

Whenever you are to do a thing, though it can never be known but to yourself, ask yourself how you would act were all the world looking at you, and act accordingly.”
President Thomas Jefferson
 
 
 
 
“Integrity is the fundamental premise for military service in a free society. Without integrity, the moral pillars of our military strength, public trust, and self-respect are lost.”
General Charles A. Gabriel, Chief of Staff, USAF
 
 
 
 
“A man has integrity if his interest in the good of the service is at all times greater than his personal pride, and when he holds himself to the same line of duty when unobserved as he would follow if his superiors were present.”
General S.L.A. Marshall, British Army, Great Britain
 
 
 
 
“When a man has strong qualities of leadership, but is of low moral character, there is always the danger that his subordinates will be influenced by his bad characteristics, to the detriment of the leader and of the group. But if the leader is a man of strong qualities of leadership and high moral character, he will endure and he will achieve better results.”
Edgar F. Puryear Jr
 
 
 
 
“Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.”
General Douglas MacArthur, USA
 
 
 
 
“War makes extremely heavy demands on the soldier’s strength and nerves. For this reason, make heavy demands on your men in peacetime exercises.”
German Field Marshall Erwin Rommel
 
 
 
 
“Duty, then, is the sublimest word in the English language. You should do your duty in all things. You can never do more. You should never wish to do less.”
Attributed to General Robert E. Lee
 
 
 
 
“An officer’s ultimate commanding loyalty at all times is to his country, and not to his service or to his superiors.”
General of the Army George C. Marshall
 
 
 
 
“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.”
President John F. Kennedy (Inaugural Address, 20 Jan 1961)
 
 
 
 
“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.”
John Stuart Mill
 
 
 
 
“If I do my full duty, the rest will take care of itself.”
General George S. Patton Jr., USA
 
 
 
 
“The power of excellence is overwhelming. It is always in demand and nobody cares about its color.”
General Daniel S. “Chappie” James, USAF
 
 
 
 
“Victory smiles upon those who anticipate the changes in the character of war, not upon those who wait to adapt themselves after the changes occur.”
Italian Air Marshall Giulio Douhet
 
 

Quotes December 15, 2023

“Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere who bravely bears his country’s cause.”
Abraham Lincoln
 
 
 
 
“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
Ronald Reagan
 
 
 
 
“On this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free.”
Dan Lipinski
 
 
 
 
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
John F. Kennedy
 
 
 
 
“Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.”
Douglas MacArthur
 
 
 
 
“For the veteran, thank you for bravely doing what you’re called to do so we can safely do what we’re free to do.”
Unknown
 
 

Quotes December 01, 2023

“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”

Douglas MacArthur
 
 
 
 
“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
Ulysses S. Grant
 
 
 
 
He loves his country best who strives to make it best.
Robert G. Ingersoll
 
 
 
 
Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall.
John Dickinson
 
 
 
 
The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.
John F. Kennedy
 
 

Quotes October 20, 2023

The soldier is the army. No army is better than its soldiers. The soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country.
Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
 
 
 
 
Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations, that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of a free and undivided Republic.
John A. Logan
 
 
 
 
Then join hand in hand, brave Americans all! By uniting we stand, by dividing we fall.
John Dickinson
 
 
 
 
The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.
John F. Kennedy
 
 
 
 
True patriotism isn’t cheap. It’s about taking on a fair share of the burden of keeping America going.
Robert Reich
 
 
 
 
These fallen heroes represent the character of a nation who has a long history of patriotism and honor – and a nation who has fought many battles to keep our country free from threats of terror.
Michael N. Castle
 
 

Quotes June 23, 2023

“For the first time in a long time, I felt like I had a purpose being in the Navy. It wasn’t about money and rank or prestige. It was about raising the flag. We do what we do because no one else can or will do it. We fight so others can sleep at night. And I had forgotten that.”
Timothy Ciciora
 
 
 
 
“Word to the Nation: Guard zealously your right to serve in the Armed Forces, for without them, there will be no other rights to guard.”
John F. Kennedy
 
 
 
 
“Any survey of the free world’s defense structure cannot fail to impart a feeling of regret that so much of our effort and resources must be devoted to armaments.”
Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union, 1/9/59

“But all history has taught us the grim lesson that no nation has ever been successful in avoiding the terrors of war by refusing to defend its rights — by attempting to placate aggression.”
Radio and Television Report to the American People: Security in the Free World, 3/16/59

“But all history has taught us the grim lesson that no nation has ever been successful in avoiding the terrors of war by refusing to defend its rights — by attempting to placate aggression.”
Radio and Television Report to the American People: Security in the Free World, 3/16/59

“In this hope, among the things we teach to the young are such truths as the transcendent value of the individual and the dignity of all people, the futility and stupidity of war, its destructiveness of life and its degradation of human values.”
Address at the Opening Session of the White House Conference on Children and Youth, College Park, Maryland, 3/27/60

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”
Farewell Radio and Television Address to the American People, 1/17/61

“Morale is the greatest single factor in successful war.”
Crusade in Europe, page 210

“Nothing is easy in war. Mistakes are always paid for in casualties and troops are quick to sense any blunder made by their commanders.”
Crusade in Europe, page 450

“We need an adequate defense, but every arms dollar we spend above adequacy has a long-term weakening effect upon the nation and its security.”
Waging Peace, page 622
Dwight David Eisenhower
 
 
 
 

Quotes June 02, 2023

It’s tough to drive a vehicle when you are looking through the rear view mirror. The windshield has got everything I need to look at in front of me.
Andy Stumpf
 
 
 
 
“If you want to go anywhere in modern war, in the air, on the sea, on the land, you must have command of the air.”
William Halsey Jr.