“Alone we stand as the shining beacon of liberty and freedom to the world. The freedoms we enjoy today have not come without a price and are too often taken for granted. Because of the brave men and women — who, from the very start of our nation’s existence, have worn the uniform of all branches of the military so we can live in freedom without fear — we have the freedom to worship as we choose; vote as we choose; travel from one end of this great country to the other; and the opportunity to succeed or fail in pursuing our own individual versions of the American dream. Every American, especially our children, needs to understand and embrace the sacrifices of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardsmen, and marines — and most importantly, what their families have endured, all to help preserve the promise of the American dream. At a military cemetery, there is no differentiation of politics, rank, color, or gender — just men and women who had the honor to wear the uniform of the United States of America. For it is at this final resting place that one of our Founding Fathers’ principles, ‘All Men Are Created Equal,’ truly comes to life. … To those of every generation who made that commitment, the commitment to duty, honor, and country, we say: Thank you!” –author Tom Ruck
Plus a few Quotes reposted from The Patriot Post Newsletter:
“I have only two men out of my company and 20 out of some other company. We need support, but it is almost suicide to try to get it here as we are swept by machine gun fire and a constant barrage is on us. I have no one on my left and only a few on my right. I will hold.” –1st. Lt. Clifton B. Cates, Navy Cross, 2 Distinguished Service Crosses, (later Commandant), USMC, July 19, 1918 commanding 96 Company, 6th Marines, near the French town of Soissons
“Casualties: many, Percentage of dead: not known, Combat efficiency: we are winning.” –Colonel David M. Shoup, USMC, MOH, (later Commandant) Tarawa, Nov. 21, 1943
“We fight not for glory, nor for riches, nor for honour, but only and alone for Freedom, which no good man lays down but with his life.” –Declaration of Arbroath, Scotland, 1320
“War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; the decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a war, is worse. A man who has nothing which he cares more about than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance at being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.” –British philosopher John Stuart Mill
“Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude; American will never forget their sacrifice.” –President Harry S. Truman
“They fought together as brothers-in-arms, they died together, and now they sleep side by side. To them we have a solemn obligation.” –Admiral Chester Nimitz
“[W]hat sort of soldiers are those you are to lead? Are they reliable? Are they brave? Are they capable of victory? Their story is known to all of you. It is the story of the American man-at-arms. My estimate of him was formed on the battlefield many, many years ago, and has never changed. I regarded him then as I regard him now — as one of the world’s noblest figures, not only as one of the finest military characters, but also as one of the most stainless. His name and fame are the birthright of every American citizen. In his youth and strength, his love and loyalty, he gave all that mortality can give. … [W]hen I think of his patience under adversity, of his courage under fire, and of his modesty in victory, I am filled with an emotion of admiration I cannot put into words. He belongs to history as furnishing one of the greatest examples of successful patriotism. He belongs to posterity as the instructor of future generations in the principles of liberty and freedom. He belongs to the present, to us, by his virtues and by his achievements. In twenty campaigns, on a hundred battlefields, around a thousand campfires, I have witnessed that enduring fortitude, that patriotic self-abnegation, and that invincible determination which have carved his statue in the hearts of his people. From one end of the world to the other he has drained deep the chalice of courage. I do not know the dignity of their birth, but I do know the glory of their death. They died unquestioning, uncomplaining, with faith in their hearts, and on their lips the hope that we would go on to victory. Always for them: Duty, Honor, County; always their blood and sweat and tears, as we sought the way and the light and the truth.” –General Douglas MacArthur
