Quotes
about Marines
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A special thank you to Teena
Hubbard and Marianne Knight, Marines, for many of the quotes.
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There are only two kinds of people that understand
Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion. |
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Freedom is not free, but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay
most of your share.
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A Marine is a Marine. I set that policy
two weeks ago - there's no such thing as a former Marine. You're
a Marine, just in a different uniform and
you're in a different phase of your life. But you'll always be a Marine
because you went to Parris Island, San Diego or the hills of Quantico.
There's no such thing as a former Marine. General James F. Amos, 35th Commandant of the
Marine Corps |
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I come in peace, I didn't bring artillery. But I am
pleading with you with tears in my eyes: If you fuck with me, I'll kill
you all. Marine
General James Mattis, to Iraqi tribal leaders |
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Hell, these are Marines. Men like them held
Guadalcanal and took Iwo Jima. Bagdad ain't
shit. |
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We signed up knowing the risk. Those innocent people in
New York didn't go to work thinking there was any kind of risk. |
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The safest place in Korea was right behind a platoon of
Marines. Lord, how they could fight! |
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Marines know how to use their bayonets. Army bayonets may
as well be paper-weights. |
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Why in hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can. They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like
Marines. |
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The United States Marine Corps, with its fiercely proud
tradition of excellence in combat, its hallowed rituals, and its unbending
code of honor, is part of the fabric of American myth. |
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For all of those that have son's or daughter's at bootcamp let me pass on what I found. Let me give you a
little back ground first. When my son left home he had no motivation, he was
lazy, slobby, no pride, no self worth. This is the
boy that got off the bus March 18th at Parris Island. The man that I met on
Thursday for parents day is AWESOME. There is no way
I can describe to you all the difference. He looks different, he walks
different, he talks different, he has such a sense of bearing and pride all I
could do was look at him in awe. Oh yes, the training is hard, what he went
through is unimaginable to any one that has not been there. They are
definitely taught to be Warriors. Let me tell you the surprise of what else
they are taught. My Marine son has better values, better morals, better manners than any one I
know. It is so much more than Yes Sir, Yes Mam...so
much more. He cares about how he looks, he cares about what he does, and its not a boastful, bad ass
thing. He is a true gentleman. I saw patience, and a
calmness in him that I have never seen. I could never express my
gratitude enough to the Marine Corps for what they have given my son. I know this, I have an 11 year old Devil pup still at home. When
the time comes for his turn if I had to I would take him kicking and
screaming all the way. Although I'm sure that will not happen. The hero
worship I see in my younger sons eyes for his Marine brother tells me I will
have two Marines in the family, and I will be one very proud mother. |
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The raising of that flag on Suribachi
means a Marine Corps for the next five hundred years. |
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I have just returned from visiting the Marines at the
front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world! |
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We have two companies of Marines running rampant all over
the northern half of this island, and three Army regiments pinned down in the
southwestern corner, doing nothing. What the hell is going on? |
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The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest
bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any
group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine
Corps! |
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Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they
made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem. |
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Marines I see as two breeds, Rottweilers
or Dobermans, because Marines come in two varieties, big and mean, or skinny
and mean. They're aggressive on the attack and tenacious on defense. They've
got really short hair and they always go for the throat. |
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They told (us) to open up the Embassy, or "we'll blow
you away." And then they looked up and saw the Marines on the roof with
these really big guns, and they said in Somali, "Igaralli
ahow," which means "Excuse me, I didn't
mean it, my mistake". |
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For over 221 years our Corps has done two things for this
great Nation. We make Marines, and we win battles. |
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Come on, you sons of bitches! Do you want to live forever?
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Gone to Florida to fight the Indians. Will be back when
the war is over. |
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Don't you forget that you're First Marines! Not all the
communists in Hell can overrun you! |
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Marines die, that's what we're here for. But the Marine
Corps lives forever. And that means YOU live forever. |
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You'll never get a Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole!
Follow me! |
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We are United States Marines, and for two and a quarter
centuries we have defined the standards of courage, esprit, and military
prowess. |
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There are only two kinds of people that understand
Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion. |
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I love the Corps for those intangible possessions that
cannot be issued: pride, honor, integrity, and being able to carry on the
traditions for generations of warriors past. |
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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. |
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Courage is endurance for one moment more… |
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My only answer as to why the Marines get the toughest jobs
is because the average Leatherneck is a much better fighter. He has far more
guts, courage, and better officers... These boys out here have a pride in the
Marine Corps and will fight to the end no matter what the cost. |
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A Marine should be sworn to the patient endurance of
hardships, like the ancient knights; and it is not the least of these
necessary hardships to have to serve with sailors. |
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Lying offshore, ready to act, the presence of ships and
Marines sometimes means much more than just having air power or ship's fire,
when it comes to deterring a crisis. And the ships and Marines may not have
to do anything but lie offshore. It is hard to lie offshore with a C-141 or
C-130 full of airborne troops. |
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This was the first time that the Marines of the two
nations had fought side by side since the defence
of the Peking Legations in 1900. Let it be said that the admiration of all
ranks of 41 Commando for their brothers in arms was and is unbounded. They
fought like tigers and their morale and esprit de corps is second to none. |
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The wonderful love of a
beautiful maid, "Semper Fidelis"
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You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are
convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious
fighters on earth- and the amusing thing about it is that they are. |
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There was always talk of espirit
de corps, of being gung ho, and that must have been a part of it. Better,
tougher training, more marksmanship on the firing range, the instant
obedience to orders seared into men in boot camp. |
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The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps. |
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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
Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue. |
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Being ready is not what matters. What matters is winning
after you get there. |
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The Marine Corps has just been called by the New York
Times, 'The elite of this country.' I think it is the elite of the world. |
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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. |
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I can't say enough about the two Marine divisions. If I
use words like 'brilliant,' it would really be an under description of the
absolutely superb job that they did in breaching the so-called 'impenetrable
barrier.' It was a classic- absolutely classic- military breaching of a very very tough minefield, barbed wire, fire trenches-type
barrier. |
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I am convinced that there is no smarter, handier, or more
adaptable body of troops in the world. |
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The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his
rifle. |
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Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the
yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army. |
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The American Marines have it [pride], and benefit from it.
They are tough, cocky, sure of themselves and their buddies. They can fight
and they know it. |
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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. |
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I've always been proud of being a Marine. I won't hesitate
to defend the Corps. |
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Every Marine is, first and foremost, a rifleman. All other
conditions are secondary. |
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A Ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons. |
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The Marines have landed and the situation is well in hand.
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If I had one more division like this First Marine Division
I could win this war. |
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Copyright 2002-2011, Glenn B. Knight