59. QUOTES

“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, President of the United States of America

“I have just returned from visiting the Marines at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world!”—General Douglas MacArthur, US Army

“The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.”—General George Patton, US Army

“The battle of Iwo Jima has been won. Among the Americans who served on Iwo, uncommon valor was a common virtue.”—Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN

“Marines are about the most peculiar breed of human beings I have ever witnessed. They treat their service as if it was some kind of cult, plastering their emblem on almost everything they own, making themselves up to look like insane fanatics with haircuts to ungentlemanly lengths, worshipping their Commandant almost as if he was a god, and making weird animal noises like a band of savages. They’ll fight like rabid dogs at the drop of a hat just for the sake of a little action, and are the cockiest SOBs I have ever known. Most have the foulest mouths and drink well beyond man’s normal limits, but their high spirits and sense of brotherhood set them apart and, generally speaking, of the United States Marines I’ve come in contact with are the most professional soldiers and the finest men I have had the pleasure to meet.”—An Anonymous Canadian Citizen

“Old breed? New breed? There’s not a damn bit of difference so long as it’s the Marine breed.”—Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, USMC

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”—George Orwell

“The deadliest weapon in the world is a marine and his rifle!”—General Pershing, US Army

“The more marines I have around the better I like it!”—General Mark Clark, US Army

“You don’t hurt ’em if you don’t hit ’em.”—Lieutenant General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, USMC

“Being ready is not what matters. What matters is winning after you get there.”—Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak, USMC

“I still need marines who can shoot and salute. But I need marines who can fix jet engines and man sophisticated radar sets, as well.”—General Robert E. Cushman, Jr., USMC

“The morale of soldiers comes from three things: a feeling that they have an important job to do, a feeling that they are trained to do it well, and a feeling that their good work is appreciated and recognized.”—Unknown

“Come on, you guys; do you want to live forever?—Gunnery Sergeant Dan Daly, USMC

“To ERR is human, to FORGIVE divine. HOWEVER, neither is Marine Corps Policy.”—Unknown

“The Marines have landed, and the situation is well in hand.”—Richard Harding Davis, war correspondent (1885)

“This will be the bloodiest fight in Marine Corps history. We’ll catch seven kinds of hell on the beaches, and that will be just the beginning. The fighting will be fierce, and the casualties will be awful, but my marines will take the damned island.” (concerning the upcoming attack on Iwo Jima)—Lieutenant General Holland M. “Howlin’ Mad” Smith, USMC

“Victory was never in doubt. Its cost was.… What was in doubt, in all our minds, was whether there would be any of us left to dedicate our cemetery at the end, or whether the last marine would die knocking out the last Japanese gun and gunner.” (In reference to the Battle of Iwo Jima)—Major General Graves B. Erskine, USMC

“The raising of that flag means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years.” (concerning the flag raising at Mt. Suribachi)—James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy

“A ship without marines is like a garment without buttons.”—Admiral David Porter, USN

“Casualties many; percentage of dead not known; combat efficiency: we are winning!—Colonel David M. Shoup, USMC

“I can never again see a United States Marine without experiencing a feeling of reverence.”—General Johnson, US Army

“We’re not retreating. Hell! We’re just attacking in different direction!”—General Oliver Smith, USMC

“We have two companies of marines running all over this island and thousands of Army troops doing nothing!”—General John Vessey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

“Retreat, hell! We just got here!”—Captain Lloyd Williams, USMC