American Military Quotes

• Were the Soviet Union to sink tomorrow under the waters of the ocean, the American military-industrial establishment would have to go on, substantially unchanged, until some other adversary could be invented. Anything else would be an unacceptable shock to the American economy.

  George F. Kennan

  Military, Ocean, Government

  Foreword to 'The Pathology of Power' by Norman Cousins in 1987. "At a Century's Ending: Reflections 1982-1995". Book by George F. Kennan, p. 118, 1996.

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• I submit that those who run the American military at the top, and those whose boots are on the ground and who run the machinery and equipment, are sending a signal: You asked us to do something. Give us some time and we will solve the problems and we will do it.

  Pete Domenici

  Running, Military, Giving

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• How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!

  Maya Angelou

  Strong Women, Veterans Day, Courage

  "Celebrating Our She-roes" by Jill S. Tietjen, www.huffingtonpost.com. June 10, 2014.

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  No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

  George S. Patton

  Country, Military, War

  Attributed in Patton (motion picture) (1970). This is sometimes said to have been uttered in a speech by Patton to the Sixth Armored Division of the Third Army, 31 May 1944, but documentation is lacking. The following poem appeared in the Bureau of Aeronautics Navy Department News Letter, 1 Jan. 1943: "The greatest duty of a sailor / Is duty from worries and cares, / Not to die for his country, / Make our enemies die for theirs!"

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• Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.

  George S. Patton

  Veterans Day, Courage, Fear

  "Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

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• **** the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!

  David Farragut

  War, Military, Marine

  At the battle of Mobile Bay, 5 August 1864 ('torpedoes' were mines). Capt. A. T. Mahan 'Admiral Farragut' (1892) ch. 10

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• It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.

  Mark Twain

  Inspirational, Funny, Motivational

  Mark Twain (2014). “Mark Twain on Common Sense: Timeless Advice and Words of Wisdom from America's Most-Revered Humorist”, p.53, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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• To be prepared for war is one of the most effective means of preserving peace.

  George Washington

  Inspirational, Leadership, Motivation

  1790 First Annual Address, 8 Jan.

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  In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.

  Mark Twain

  Change, Thank You, Memorial Day

  Mark Twain (2012). “Mark Twain at Your Fingertips: A Book of Quotations”, p.351, Courier Corporation

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• The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.

  Patrick Henry

  Inspirational, Veterans Day, Courage

  Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death, delivered 23 March 1775 at Henrico Parrish Church St, Richmond Virginia, Second Virginia Convention

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• Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes! Then fire low!

  Israel Putnam

  Military, War, Eye

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• There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time.

  George S. Patton

  Military, Mean, Army

  "Liberalism Is a Mental Disorder". Book by Michael Savage. Chapter 1: "More Patton, Less Patent Leather", p. 4, 2005.

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• 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.

  John Stuart Mill

  Military, War, Patriotic

  "The Contest in America", Fraser's Magazine, February 1862.

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• Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.

  Billy Graham

  Motivational, Veterans Day, Memorial Day

  "A Time for Moral Courage". Reader's Digest, July 1964.

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• Don't fire until you see the whites of their eyes!

  William H. Prescott

  Memorial Day, Military, War

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  What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight - it's the size of the fight in the dog.

  Dwight D. Eisenhower

  Inspirational, Life, Basketball

  Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1959). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1958”, p.135, Best Books on

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• It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.

  Zell Miller

  Veterans Day, Military, Army

  2004 Republican National Convention Address, delivered 1 September 2004, Madison Square Garden, New York

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• 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 the success of liberty.

  John F. Kennedy

  Inspirational, Memorial Day, Freedom

  Inaugural Address, 20 Jan. 1961

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• The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.

  Robert H. Schuller

  Inspirational, Life, Truth

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• 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

  Life, Fear, Military

  Letter to Le Ray de Chaumont, 16 Nov. 1778

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• A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.

  Dwight D. Eisenhower

  Success, Witty, Memorial Day

  First Inaugural Address, delivered 20 January 1953

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  I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.

  Nathan Hale

  Inspirational, Life, Country

  Before being executed as a spy by the British, 22 September 1776, in Henry Phelps Johnston 'Nathan Hale, 1776' (1914) ch. 7.

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• It is not the critic who counts

  Theodore Roosevelt

  Courage, Military, Failure

  Address at the Sorbonne, Paris, 23 Apr. 1910. Richard M. Nixon quoted this passage in his address to the nation announcing his decision to resign the presidency, 8 Aug. 1974. See Theodore Roosevelt 1; Theodore Roosevelt 2; Theodore Roosevelt 5

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• Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue.

  Chester W. Nimitz

  Military, War, Marine

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• 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.

  Hal Moore

  Mom, Military, Fighting

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