Soldier Quotes - Page 5

• You need some insecurity if you're an actor. It keeps the pot boiling. I haven't yet started to think about retiring. I was shocked when I heard about Paul Newman retiring at age 82. Most actors just fade away like old soldiers.

  Al Pacino

  Retirement, Thinking, Insecurity

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• No operational commander should have to assign a soldier a task that could be done as well by a computer, a remote sensor, or an unmanned airplane.

  Richard Perle

  Airplane, Should Have, Tasks

  David Frum, Richard Perle (2003). “An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror”, p.195, Random House

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• Like the old soldier of the ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye.

  Douglas MacArthur

  Goodbye, Military, Light

  1951 Address to Congress after being relieved of his duty by President Truman, 19 Apr.

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• We are soldiers of the cross, we've been found to reach the lost.

  Randy Travis

  Politics, Lost, Crosses

  Song: Everywhere We Go, Album: Rise and Shine

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• I am a soldier, convinced that I am acting on behalf of soldiers.

  Siegfried Sassoon

  Acting, Behalf, Convinced

  Siegfried Sassoon (1983). “Siegfried Sassoon's long journey: selections from the Sherston memoirs”, Oxford University Press, USA

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• Does a soldier go to war in order to kill the enemy? no, he goes in order to die for his country. Does a wife want to show her husband how happy she is? no, she wants him to see how she suffers in order to make him happy Does the husband go to work thinking he will find personal fulfillment there? no, he is giving his sweat and tears for the good of the family And so it goes on: sons give up their dreams to please their parents, parents give up their lives in order to please their children; pain and suffering are used to justify the one thing that should bring only LOVE.

  Paulo Coelho

  Dream, Country, Pain

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• Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.

  Thomas Jefferson

  Peace, War, House

  Thomas Jefferson, Brett F. Woods (2009). “Thomas Jefferson: Thoughts on War and Revolution”, p.257, Algora Publishing

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• My mother said to me, 'If you are a soldier, you will become a general. If you are a monk, you will become the Pope.' Instead, I was a painter, and became Picasso.

  Pablo Picasso

  Confidence, Mother, Encouragement

  "Life with Picasso" by François Gilot, (p. 60), 1964.

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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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• There are three ways in which a ruler can bring misfortune on his army: By commanding the army to advance or to retreat, being ignorant of the fact that it cannot obey. This is called hobbling the army. By attempting to govern an army in the same way as he administers a kingdom, being ignorant of the conditions which obtain in an army. This causes restlessness in the soldier's minds. By employing the officers of his army without discrimination, through ignorance of the military principle of adaptation to circumstances. This shakes the confidence of the soldiers.

  Sun Tzu

  Art, Military, War

  Sun Tzu (2010). “The Art of War”, p.10, Cosimo, Inc.

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• Soldiers are issued armour for their flesh and bones, but they must fashion their own for their souls. Piece by piece.

  Steven Erikson

  Fashion, Soul, Pieces

  "Memories of Ice". Book by Steven Erikson, December 6, 2001.

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• And Oliver North was really a good soldier, up to the last moment, shoving memos into the shredder and defending the policy to the end.

  Bobby Ray Inman

  Lasts, Moments, Ends

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• I could have become a soldier if I had waited; I knew more about retreating than the man who invented retreating.

  Mark Twain

  Funny, Military, Humorous

  Mark Twain (2014). “Mark Twain on Common Sense: Timeless Advice and Words of Wisdom from America's Most-Revered Humorist”, p.60, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

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• I never expect a soldier to think.

  George Bernard Shaw

  Thinking, Never Expect

  'The Devil's Disciple' (1901) act 3

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• I rose by sheer military ability to the rank of corporal.

  Thornton Wilder

  Military, Rose, Ability

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• I wonder if a soldier ever does mend a bullet hole in his coat?

  Clara Barton

  Dodging Bullets, Doe, Coats

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• For every Seaman of Industry and Ingenuity, is not only a Navigator, but a Merchant, and also a Soldier.

  William Petty

  Seamen, Navigators, Merchants

  "Several Essays in Political Arithmetick".

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• The British soldier can stand up to anything except the British War Office.

  George Bernard Shaw

  Witty, War, British Soldiers

  The Devil's Disciple (1901) act 3

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• Drinking is the soldier's pleasure.

  John Dryden

  Drinking, Army, Navy

  'Alexander's Feast' (1697) l. 57

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• I met someone from the German side and we both shared the same opinion: we fought, we finished and we were friends... It wasn't worth it.

  Harry Patch

  War, Fighting, Germany

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• and I wonder if Beethoven held his breath the first time his fingers touched the keys the same way a soldier holds his breath the first time his finger clicks the trigger. We all have different reasons for forgetting to breathe.

  Andrea Gibson

  Keys, Different, Way

  Andrea Gibson (2018). “Take Me With You”, p.158, Penguin

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• In Russia, we have proverb: Only bad soldiers don't want to be general.

  Sasha Pivovarova

  Russia, Want

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• Within the soul of each Vietnam veteran there is probably something that says "Bad war, good soldier." Only now are Americans beginning to separate the war from the warrior.

  Max Cleland

  War, Soul, Vietnam

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• Dogs really are perfect soldiers. They are brave and smart; they can smell through walls, see in the dark, and eat Army rations without complaint.

  Susan Orlean

  Dog, Wall, Smart

  "Hero Dogs" by Susan Orlean, www.newyorker.com. May 5, 2011.

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• The natural formation of the country is the soldier's best ally

  Sun Tzu

  Country, Allies, Natural

  Lionel Giles', Sun Tzu (1910). “Sun Tzu's Art of War - Illustrated & Translated for Modern Readers”, p.29, SJ Creations Tokyo

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