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Ancients
The Nation that makes a great
distinction between its scholars
and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards
and its fighting done by fools.
—Thucydides
I do not fear an army of lions,
if they are led by a lamb.
I do fear an army of sheep, if they are led by a lion.
— Alexander the Great
We will either find a way or
make one.
— Hannibal (247-183 BC)
Carthaginian general
Alea Iacta Est = The Die is
Cast
— Julius Caesar, 100-44 B.C.
attributed, when crossing the Rubicon 49 B.C.
Veni, vidi, vici = I came,
I saw, I conquered
— Julius Caesar, 100-44 B.C.
From Plutarch's Life of Caesar after the defeat of Pharnaces
at Zela in 47 BC
The fear of war is worse than
war itself.
— Seneca
Execute every act of thy life
as though it were thy last.
— Marcus Aurelius, 121-180. B.C
The secret of all victory lies
in the organization of the non-obvious.
— Marcus Aurelius, 121-180. B.C
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Literary
Cowards die many times before
their deaths;
the valiant never taste death but once.
— William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, Julius Caesar
In peace nothing so becomes
a man as modest stillness and humility; but
when the blast of war blows in our ears, then imitate the action
of the
tiger; stiffen the sinews, disguise fair nature with hard favored
rage ...
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers. For he today that sheds
his
blood with me, Shall be my brother; be ne'er so vile, This day
shall gentle
his condition. And gentlemen in England now abed, Shall think
themselves
accursed they were not here, And hold their manhood's cheap whiles
any
speaks, That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day ... From
now until
the end of the world, we and it shall be remembered. We
few,
we Band of Brothers. For he how sheds his blood with me shall
be my brother.
— William Shakespeare, 1564-1616, King Henry V
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Patriotism
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 (1868)
We sleep safely in our beds
because rough men stand ready
in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.
— George Orwell
Keep your fears to yourself,
but share your courage with others.
— Robert Lewis Stevenson
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War
of Independence
War is a terrible
trade. But when the cause
is just, the smell of gunpowder is sweet.
— Miles Standish (American Colonial)
The battle, sir, is not to
the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave
...
— Patrick Henry
I only regret that I have but
one life to lose for my country.
— Nathan Hale
The only thing necessary for
the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
— Edmund Burke, 1729-1797
British statesman and philosopher
If I were an American, as I
am an Englishman, while a foreign troop was
landed in my country I never would lay down my arms, never! Never!
Never!
— William Pitt, 1708-1778
I have not yet begun to fight!
— Captain John Paul Jones
aboard the Bon Homme Richard
I wish to have no connection
with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm's
way.
— John Paul Jones, later adopted by the US Navy's Special
Boat Units
These are the times that try men's
souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will,
in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but
he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and
woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet
we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict,
the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap,
we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives everything
its value.
— Thomas Paine, The
American Crisis
To be prepared for war is one
of the most effectual means of preserving peace.
— George Washington, first
annual address to Congress, 1790
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War
of 1812
We have met the enemy and they
are ours!
— Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry dispatch
Battle of Lake Erie, 10 September 1813
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War
Between the States
Don't say it's impossible!
Turn your command over to the next officer. If he can't
do it,
I'll find someone who can, even if I have to take him from the
ranks!
— General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, 1824–1863
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European
Put your trust in God, but
keep your powder dry.
— Oliver Cromwell, 1599-1658
Lord Protector of England
Everything which the enemy
least expects will succeed the best.
— Frederick the Great's Instructions to his Generals
1712–1786
By push of bayonets, no firing
until you see the whites in their eyes!
— Frederick the Great (1712–1786), at Prague, 1757
Never interrupt your enemy
when he is making a mistake.
— Napoleon Bonaparte
Victory belongs to the most
persevering.
— Napoleon Bonaparte
Fools say that they learn by
experience. I prefer to profit by others experience.
- Otto Von Bismarck, 1815–1898
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World
Wars
Get action. Seize the
moment. Man was never intended to become a oyster.
— Theodore Roosevelt
It is not the critic who counts; not
the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the
doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the
man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by dust
and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes
short again and again. Who knows the great enthusiasms,
the great devotions, and spends himself in a worthy cause. Who
at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement;
and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring
greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold
and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.
— Theodore Roosevelt, The
Man in the Arena
Praise the Lord and pass the
ammunition.
— H. M. Forgy, chaplain
USS New Orleans
Pearl Harbor, 7 December 1941
South Pacific Theatre — Guadalcanal
— the Battle of Henderson Field:
A single battalion stood between a regiment strength Japanese
Sendai Division and a vital airstrip. Providentially, the
1st Battalion, 7th Marines was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
Lewis B. Puller nicknamed “Chesty” for his barrel torso.
The Japanese force suffered over 1400 killed in action and
the airfield was held by the battalion with the Americans sustaining
70 casualties ...
All right, they're on our left,
they're on our right, they're in front of us, they're behind us
... they can't get away this time.
— Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller,
(1898-1971), USMC
most decorated Marine in history
We're Surrounded ... That Simplifies
Our Problems
— Lieutenant General Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller,
(1898-1971), USMC
most decorated Marine in history
Diplomats are just as essential
in starting a war as soldiers are in finishing it.
— Will Rogers
Never give in —never,
never, never, never,
in nothing great or small, large or petty,
never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.
Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently
overwhelming might of the enemy.
— Winston Churchill
It is more agreeable to have
the power to give than to receive.
— Winston Churchill
An appeaser is one who feeds
a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
— Prime Minister Winston Churchill
History does not long entrust
the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
— General Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1890–1969
Leadership is the art of getting
someone else to do something you want done because he wants to
do it.
— General Dwight D. Eisenhower
We are not retreating - we
are advancing in another direction.
— General Douglas MacArthur
If a man does his best, what
else is there?
- General George S. Patton
On 22 December 1944, during the Battle
of the Bulge in World War II, Anthony Clement McAuliffe (1898-1975)
was acting commander of the 101st Airborne Division in charge
of the defense of Bastogne, Belgium. The advancing German
forces called on his garrison to surrender. The Americans
were surrounded. Instead, Anthony McAuliffe wrote:
"To the German Commander: NUTS! The American
Commander." Bastogne was successfully held by the Americans.
Americans never quit.
— General Douglas Macarthur (1880 - 1964)
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Post
Modern
Here's my strategy on the Cold
War: We win, they lose."
— Ronald Reagan
Of the four wars in my lifetime
none came about because the U.S. was too strong.
— Ronald Reagan
I learned that good judgment
comes from experience
and that experience grows out of mistakes.
— General Omar N. Bradley, 1893-1981
A war put off is not a war
avoided.
— Charlton Heston
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
Freedom itself was attacked
this morning by a faceless coward.
Freedom will be defended!
— President George W. Bush, 11 September 2001
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Sayings/Proverbs
The best armor is staying out
of gun-shot.
— Italian proverb
Freedom isn't free.
— Anonymous
If it moves, salute it; if
it doesn't move, pick it up; and if you can't pick it up, paint
it.
— Anonymous (1940's saying)
Train hard, fight easy ...
and win.
Train easy, fight hard ... and die.
— Unknown
It is better to live one day
as a lion than a hundred years as a sheep.
— Italian proverb
Under a good general there
are no bad soldiers.
— Chinese proverb
Though all under heaven be
at peace, if the art of war be forgotten there is peril.
— Chinese proverb
True gold does not fear the
test of fire.
— Traditional Chinese proverb
The hammer shatters glass but
forges steel.
— Russian proverb
Tomorrow's battle is won during
today's practice.
— Samurai maxim
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