READINGS & WARRIOR QUOTES
READINGS
"Challenging
The Generals"
"Such Good
Men"
It Is The Soldier
The
Military Really Never Leaves You
A Salute to Brig Gen Paul Tibbets
WARRIOR QUOTES
ARTILLERY IS KING
"The artillery lends honor to that which would otherwise be a vulgar brawl." - Frederick II of Prussia
"Where do we get guys like this the reporter asked? The answer is as simple as it is profound. You give them to us. You parents, you families, you brothers and sisters, grandparents, uncles and aunts, friends, you loan us these wonderful young people. They are the fruit of our country, raised by caring parents or a single parent, nurtured in love, and taught that Americans are supposed to have concern for the rights, freedoms and needs of not only our own citizens, but the citizens of the world ... The credit for their goodness, and their greatness, rests with all of you back home. The mothers, the fathers, husbands, wives, all of the family members, all the friends, the teachers, the preachers, scout leaders, football coaches, volunteer youth workers of all sorts, each person who had a positive impact on the lives of these young people deserves a piece of the credit."
Colonel Ron Smith, US Army, From, "The war in Iraq, what the media doesn't tell you," The Meridien Star,
March 9, 2005
"We're here today to pay tribute to two great soldiers; to two great Americans. I am 100 percent convinced we will win this war because we have soldiers like Sgt. Shields and Spc. Velez, and the enemy does not. The enemy has no response for sergeants that risk everything to rescue their injured comrades only to immediately return to the fight. The enemy has no answer to soldiers standing over their injured buddies, even when it means their own lives, so that others will live. Because of that, we will win."
LTC James Rainey, CMDR , 2/7th Cavalry Regt., Camp Taji, Iraq, Nov 27, 2004 SGT Jonathan B. Shields and SPC Jose A. Velez, both gave their lives while rescuing others.
"Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimum food or water, in austere conditions, day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon. He doesn't worry about what workout to do---his rucksack weighs what it weighs, and he runs until the enemy stops chasing him. The True Believer doesn't care 'how hard it is'; he knows he either wins or he dies. He doesn't go home at 1700; he is home. He knows only the 'Cause.' Now, who wants to quit?"
Special Forces Instructor
"I LIKE MARINES, BECAUSE BEING A MARINE IS SERIOUS BUSINESS. WE'RE NOT A SOCIAL CLUB OR A FRATERNAL ORGANIZATION AND WE DON'T PRETEND TO BE ONE. WE'RE A BROTHERHOOD OF "WARRIORS" -- NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS, PURE AND SIMPLE. WE ARE IN THE ASS-KICKING BUSINESS, AND UNFORTUNATELY, THESE DAYS BUSINESS IS GOOD.
COLONEL JAMES. M. LOWE, COMMANDER, MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, 2004
"Some people spend an entire
lifetime wondering if they made a
difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that
problem."
Former President Ronald Reagan,
Commander-in-Chief
"The Soldiers of TF 2-7 IN rose to the occasion. All of the values their mothers and fathers and grandparents taught them, they learned. They stepped up to the plate. They did not just follow their leaders, they ACCOMPANIED their leaders. Sometimes, they LED the way! They said, "Sir, the enemy’s over there … don’t worry, we’ll get you there!"
LTC Scott Rutter, Commander, TF 2-7 IN, May 15, 2003
"When you men get home and face an anti-war protester,
look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend, because
she knows she's dating a pussy."
(Attributed to General Tommy Franks)
"American soldiers in battle don’t fight for what some president says on T.V., they don’t fight for mom, apple pie, the American flag…they fight for one another."
LTC Hal Moore, CMDR 1/7 Cav, Ia Drang Valley, Vietnam
"If you’re going to go to war against a major enemy, go; knock the hell out of him fast, and go in there to kill him and get it over with."
Lieutenant General (Ret) Harold Moore
"Hate war, but love the American Warrior."
LTG Harold G. Moore (Ret.)
"We win here or lose everywhere; if we win here, we improve the chances of winning everywhere."
General MacArthur, Korean War
"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."
General Douglas MacArthur
General Matthew Ridgeway, instructions to his troops, Korean War, 1950
"You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth - and the amusing thing about it is that they are."
Father Kevin Keaney, 1st Marine Div Chaplain, Korean War
"The ultimate determinant in war is a man on the scene
with a gun. This man is the final power in war. He is control, he determines who
wins. There are those who would dispute this as an absolute, but it is my belief
that while other means may critically influence war today, after whatever
devastation and destruction may be inflicted on an enemy, if the strategist is
forced to strive for final and ultimate control, he must establish, or must
present as an inevitable prospect, a man on the scene with a gun. This is the
Soldier."
Rear Admiral Wylie, U.S. Navy, World War II
"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't."
General George S. Patton Jr.
"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."
General George S. Patton Jr.
"…an imperfect plan implemented immediately and violently will always succeed better than a perfect plan."
General George S. Patton, Jr
"Urge all of your men to pray, not alone in church, but everywhere. Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle. Pray for the defeat of our wicked enemy whose banner is injustice and whose good is oppression. Pray for victory. Pray for our Army, and Pray for Peace. We must march together, all out for God."
George S. Patton Jr.
"If you're going through hell, keep going."
Winston Churchill
"The object of war is not to die for your country, but to make the other poor bastard die for his."
General George S. Patton Jr.
"I am to surrender to you," German LtGen Ramcke told BG Canham, Assistant Division Commander, 8th ID, through his own interpreter. "I want to see your credentials". BG Canham pointed to the eager dogfaces crowding the entrance with their M-1s. "These are my credentials". This blunt phrase put the Nazi in his place, and paid dramatic tribute to the real power behind America's Army — the G.I.
"I don't mind being called tough, because in this racket it's the tough guys who lead the survivors."
General Curtis LeMay, USAF
"You may fly over a land forever; you may bomb it, atomize it, and wipe it clean of life - but if you desire to defend it, protect it, and keep it for civilization, you must do this on the ground, the way the Roman Legions did - buy putting your soldiers in the mud."
T.R. Fehrenbach, "This Kind of War"
"In this business, you find the enemy, then go after and destroy him. Everything else is rubbish!"
Eddie Rickenbacker, American WWI Flying Ace
"War is cruel and you cannot refine it."
General William Tecumseh Sherman, US Civil War,1864
"Be ashamed to die until you have done something good for mankind."
American pastor Dr. Vernon Johnson during the Revolutionary War
"War is hell, but actual combat is a m___f___."
Colonel David
Hackworth
"Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price."
Sun Tzu
"The Spartans do not
enquire how many the enemy are, but where they are."
Agis II, 427 B.C.