#marines

The Japanese fought to win - it was a savage, brutal, inhumane, exhausting and dirty business. Our commanders knew that if we were to win and survive, we must be trained realistically for it whether we liked it or not. In the post-war years, the U.S. Marine Corps came in for a great deal of undeserved criticism in my opinion, from well-meaning persons who did not comprehend the magnitude of stress and horror that combat can be. The technology that developed the rifle barrel, the machine gun and high explosive shells has turned war into prolonged, subhuman slaughter. Men must be trained realistically if they are to survive it without breaking, mentally and physically. ↗

— Eugene B. Sledge

#military #okinawa #peleliu #war #wwii

Your job is to be the hardest motherfucker in your platoon," he said while pointing at me across the desk. "Do that, and everything else will fall into place." He added that I was assigned to Bravo Company, call sign Hitman, and wished me luck. ↗

— Nathaniel Fick

#marines #officer #inspirational

President Reagan was concerned - deeply concerned, emotionally concerned - with the loss of life of any American, but especially with the lives of military soldiers, Marines, navy. ↗

— Robert McFarlane

#any #concerned #deeply #emotionally #especially

Hardness," I was learning, was the supreme virtue among recon Marines. The greatest compliment one could pay to another was to say he was hard. Hardness wasn't toughness, nor was it courage, although both were part of it. Hardness was the ability to face an overwhelming situation with aplomb, smile calmly at it, and then triumph through sheer professional pride. ↗

— Nathaniel Fick

#marines #officer #courage

I became amazed at how much my men would tolerate if someone just took the time to explain the why of it all to them. ↗

— Donovan Campbell

#joker-one #marines #courage

Without the brave efforts of all the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines and their families, this Nation, along with our allies around the world, would not stand so boldly, shine so brightly and live so freely. ↗

— Lane Evans

#allies #along #around #boldly #brave

I would not trade you a billion dollars for the kids I led to combat in Vietnam or in fact any of the Marines that I served with for a quarter of a century. ↗

— Oliver North

#billion #century #combat #dollars #fact

If I charge, follow me. If I retreat, kill me. If I die, revenge me. ↗

— United States Marine Corps

#courage #inspirational #marines #courage

The new Congress needs to move quickly to strengthen the Army and Marines - not to send more troops to Iraq - but to rebuild our capacity to meet national security threats globally. ↗

— Mark Udall

#capacity #congress #globally #iraq #marines

Our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen volunteer to protect and defend this country and all its citizens, and do so with honor, integrity and excellence. Our nation continually asks them to do more and more, with less and less. ↗

— Allen West

#asks #citizens #coast #continually #country