US WWII Quotes

[thedrifter]

"The atom bomb was no 'great decision.' . . . It was merely another powerful weapon in the arsenal of righteousness."
-President Harry Truman

"[Mariners] have written one of its most brilliant chapters. They have delivered the goods when and where needed in every theater of operations and across every ocean in the biggest, the most difficult and dangerous job ever undertaken. As time goes on, there will be greater public understanding of our merchant's fleet record during this war [World War II]."
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt
[summitted by Harold "BUD" Schmidt Sr., check out his page on the Merchant Marines in the links section]

"Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan."
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt

"History knows no greater display of courage than that shown by the people of the Soviet Union".
- Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War

"We and our allies owe and acknowledge an ever-lasting debt of gratitude to the armies and people of the Soviet Union".
- Frank Knox, secretary of the Navy

"The gallantry and aggressive fighting spirit of the Russian soldiers command the American army's admiration".
- George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army

"The scale and grandeur of the Russian effort mark it as the greatest military achievement in all history".
- General Douglas Macarthur, Supreme Allied Commander of South-West Pacific

"We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand, of overwhelming power on the other."
- G.C. Marshall, Chief of Staff

"No compromise is possible and the victory of the democracies can only be complete with the utter defeat of the war machines of Germany and Japan."
- G.C. Marshall, Chief of Staff

"This is a fight between a free world and a slave world."
- Vice President Henry A. Wallace

"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."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle."
-General George S. Patton, Jr.

"I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones."
-Albert Einstein

"On the European Front the most important development of the past year has been the crushing offensive of the Great Armies of Russia"...
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt (April 29, 1942)

"I shall return."
- General Douglas Macarthur, Supreme Allied Commander of South-West Pacific (speaking about the Philippines, when he was forced to retreat to Austrailia, 1942)

"I have returned."
- General Douglas Macarthur, Supreme Allied Commander of South-West Pacific (at the Philippines, 1944)

"Nuts"
- General MacAuliffe (when asked to surrender during the Battle of the Bulge, 1944)

"The American forces have suffered terrible losses. The losses are far more than what Eisenhower has admitted, and worse is ahead. Tunis is only a foretaste of what is waiting for us in Europe."
- Roane Waring, Commander of the American Legion (after the victory at North Africa)

"A bright light filled the plane. The first shock-wave hit us. We were eleven and a half miles slant range from the atomic explosion but the whole airplane cracked and crinkled from the blast... We turned back to look at Hiroshima. The city was hidden by that awful cloud... mushrooming, terrible and incredibly tall."
- Colonel Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the B-29 Enola Gay

History - in every century,
records an act that lives forevermore.
We'll recall - as in to line we fall,
the thing that happened on Hawaii's shore.

Let's REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR -
As we go to meet the foe -
Let's REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR
As we did the Alamo.

We will always remember -
how they died for liberty,
Let's REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR
and go on to victory.
- The "Remember Pearl Harbor" song

"United in this determination and with unshakable faith in the cause for which we fight, we will, with God's help, go forward to our greatest victory."
- General Dwight D. Eisenhower (1944)

"The Bomb will never go off, and I speak as an expert in explosives."
- Admiral William Daniel Leahy (advising President Truman on the U.S. atom bomb project, 1945)

"Don't fire until you can see the whites of their eyes."
- Major Devereux (the battle of Wake Island, 1941)

"It is the function of the Navy to carry the war to the enemy so that it will not be fought on U.S. soil."
- Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet

"We must not again underestimate the Japanese."
- Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet (after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 1941)

"They (Women Marines) don't have a nickname, and they don't need one. They get their basic training in a Marine atmosphere, at a Marine Post. They inherit the traditions of the Marines. They are Marines."
- Lieutenant General Thomas Holcomb (1943)

"Goddam it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!"
- Captain Henry P. "Jim" Crowe (Guadalcanal, January 13, 1943)

"Casualties many; Percentage of dead not known; Combat efficiency; we are winning."
- Colonel David M. Shoup (Tarawa, November 21, 1943)

"The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years."
- James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy (February 23, 1945)

"Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue."
- Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (March 16, 1945)

"The battle of Iwo Island has been won. The United States Marines by their individual and collective courage have conquered a base which is as necessary to us in our continuing forward movement toward final victory as it was vital to the enemy in staving off ultimate defeat."
- Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet

"By their victory, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions and other units of the Fifth Amphibious Corps have made an accounting to their country which only history will be able to value fully. Among the American who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue."
- Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet

"Kill Japs, kills Japs, kill more Japs!"
- Vice-Admiral "Bull" Halsey

"It is my earnest hope - indeed the hope of all mankind - that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past, a world found upon faith and understanding, a worl dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish for freedom, tolerance and justice."
- General Douglas Macarthur, Supreme Allied Commander of South-West Pacific (1945)

"Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world, and that God will preserve it always."
- General Douglas Macarthur, Supreme Allied Commander of South-West Pacific (1945)

"No other island received as much preliminary pounding as did Iwo Jima."
- Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet

"Nothing would please me better than if they would give me three months and then attack here."
- General Douglas Macarthur, Supreme Allied Commander of South-West Pacific (speaking of the Philippines, December 5, 1940)

continued.......

[thedrifter]

"Rangers, Lead The Way!"
- Colonel Francis W. Dawson (D-Day Invasion, 1944)

"When this war is over, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell."
- Admiral Bill Halsey (December 7, 1941)

"The hand that held the dagger has struck it into the back of its neighbor."
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt (speaking of when Italy invaded her neighboring country, France) [Summitted by Diane]

"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 B."Chesty" Puller (when surrounded by 8 enemy divisions)

"We want to get the hell over there. The quicker we clean up this *******ed mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple ****ing Japs and clean out their nest, too. Before the *******ed Marines get all of the credit."
- General George S. Patton, Jr (addressing to his troops before Operation Overlord, June 5, 1944)

"Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin, I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-***** Hitler. Just like I'd shoot a snake!"
- General George S. Patton, Jr (addressing to his troops before Operation Overlord, June 5, 1944)

"There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, "Well, your Granddaddy shoveled **** in Louisiana." No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, "Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-*******ed-***** named Georgie Patton!"
- General George S. Patton, Jr (addressing to his troops before Operation Overlord, June 5, 1944)

"I become Death, the Destroyer of Worlds."
- J. Robert Oppenheimer, a scientist involve with the development of the atomic bomb (July 16, 1945 quoting the Hindu Scriptures after the first atomic bomb detonation) [summited by Jim Marchetti]

"For a time, the Flying Tigers provided the only victories against the Japanese anywhere in the Far East... This handful of men had shown that the Japanese were not invincible."
- Duane Schultz, author of The Maverick War


Sempers,

Roger
:marine:

[G392339]

Quite good, however the only saying we wanted was the "War is over your going home" Who said that Me, and a couple of million of guys over there. Semper Fi Gene

[CPLRapoza]

These are all good, except the one "Don't shoot till you see the whites of their eyes". That first came to be during the Revolutionary war. It was said by Maj. Gen. Williaim Howe if I'm not mistaken, when he found himself and his men low on ammo for the battle of Bunker/Breeds Hill.

[ecomsg68]

KISS, SNAFU & FUBAR comes to mind!

[G392339]

Here's one you wont hear anymore I'll bet "Smoking Lamp is Lit"