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I don't lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.
Sep 29, 2025
No war is over until the enemy says it's over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote.
I can never again see a UNITED STATES MARINE without experiencing a feeling of reverence.
I've always been proud of being a Marine. I won't hesitate to defend the Corps.
We're surrounded. That simplifies the problem!
We are United States Marines, and for two and a quarter centuries we have defined the standards of courage, esprit, and military prowess.
The Marines have landed and the situation is well in hand.
The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps.
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.
My great uncle Pvt. Tommy Rooney, USMC, was killed on Guam during the Pacific Campaign in World War II. I was named after him, so I always thought about him and wearing the uniform. The JAG Corps gave me that opportunity after law school.
For over 221 years our Corps has done two things for this great Nation. We make Marines, and we win battles.
It's quite fun to fight them, you know. It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot some people. I'll be right up front with you, I like brawling.
So they've got us surrounded, good! Now we can fire in any direction, those b*****ds won't get away this time!
Goddamn it, you'll never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!
The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years.
Every Marine is, first and foremost, a rifleman. All other conditions are secondary.
I have just returned from visiting the Marines at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world!
Their fiery advance and great tenacity were well recognized by their opponents.
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.
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.
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.
If I had one more division like this First Marine Division I could win this war.
Old breed? New breed? There's not a damn bit of difference so long as it's the Marine breed.
Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.
Heroism is endurance for one moment more.
Casualties many; Percentage of dead not known; Combat efficiency; we are winning.
The more Marines I have around, the better I like it.
A ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons.
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.
The man who will go where his colors go, without asking, who will fight a phantom foe in the jungle and mountain range, without counting, and who will suffer and die in the midst of incredible hardship, without complaint, is still what he has always been, from Imperial Rome to sceptered Britain to democratic America. He is the stuff of which legions are made. His pride is in his colors and his regiment, his training hard and thorough and coldly realistic, to fit him for what he must face and his obedience is to his orders. He has been called United States Marine.
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.
The most important six inches on the battlefield is between your ears.
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.
Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
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!
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.
We have two companies of MARINES running all over this island and thousands of ARMY troops doing nothing!
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?
Being ready is not what matters. What matters is winning after you get there.
The deadliest weapon in the world is a MARINE and his rifle!
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.
Find the enemy that wants to end this experiment (in American democracy) and kill every one of them until they're so sick of the killing that they leave us and our freedoms intact.
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.
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.
You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually, it’s a lot of fun to fight. You know, it’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. I’ll be right up front with you — I like brawling.
I can't see how a single man could spend his time to better advantage than in the Marines.
Among the men who fought on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue.
I am convinced that there is no smarter, handier, or more adaptable body of troops in the world.
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a cash advance.
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.