Famous Quotes & Sayings

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes & Sayings

Enjoy the top 20 famous quotes, sayings and quotations by Eugene B. Sledge.

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Famous Quotes By Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 2129501

Until the millennium arrives and countries cease trying to enslave others, it will be necessary to accept one's responsibilities and be willing to make sacrifices for one's country - as my comrades did. As the troops used to say, "If the country is good enough to live in, it's good enough to fight for." With privilege goes responsibility. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 152952

Something in me died at Peleliu. Perhaps it was the childish innocence that accepted as faith the claim that Man is basically good. Possibly I lost faith that politicians in high places, who do not have to endure war's savagery, will ever stop blundering and sending others to endure it. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 931172

Kick him in the balls before he kicks you in yours — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 593290

As I crawled out of the abyss of combat and over the rail of the Sea Runner, I realized that compassion for the sufferings of others is a burden to those who have it. As Wilfred Owen's poem "Insensibility" puts it so well, those who feel most of others suffer most in war. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 2004426

Lying in a foxhole sweating out an enemy artillery or mortar barrage or waiting to dash across open ground under machine-gun or artillery fire defied any concept of time. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 1307744

As I looked at the stains on the coral, I recalled some of the eloquent phrases of politicians and newsmen about how "gallant" it is for a man to "shed his blood for his country," and "to give his life's blood as a sacrifice," and so on. The words seemed ridiculous. Only the flies benefited. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 2111726

Courage meant overcoming fear and doing one's duty in the presence of danger, not being unafraid. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 2041993

Earlier in the morning Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines had attacked eastward into the ruins of Shuri Castle and had raised the Confederate flag. When we learned that the flag of the Confederacy had been hoisted over the very heart and soul of Japanese resistance, all of us Southerners cheered loudly. The Yankees among us grumbled, and the Westerners didn't know what to do. Later we learned that the Stars and Stripes that had flown over Guadalcanal were raised over Shuri Castle, a fitting tribute to the men of the 1st Marine Division who had the honor of being first into the Japanese citadel. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 1976243

I think the Marine Corps has forgotten where Pavuvu is," one man said.
"I think God has forgotten where Pavuvu is," came a reply.
"God couldn't forget because he made everything."
"Then I bet he wishes he could forget he made Pavuvu. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 1819995

Your soul may belong to Jesus, but your ass belongs to the marines. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 1745152

War is brutish, inglorious, and a terrible waste ... The only redeeming factors were my comrades' incredible bravery and their devotion to each other. Marine Corps training taught us to kill efficiently and to try to survive. But it also taught us loyalty to each other - and love. That espirit de corps sustained us. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 1717502

I concluded that it was impossible for me to be killed, because God loved me. Then I told myself that God loved us all and that many would die or be ruined physically or mentally or both by the next morning and in the days following. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 1535618

The other veteran said Listen, mate, everybody gets scared, and anybody says he don't is a damn liar — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 1155029

Would the war dehumanize me so that I, too, could "field trip" enemy dead with such nonchalance? — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 1071903

To the non-combatants and those on the periphery of action, the war meant only boredom or occasional excitement, but to those who entered the meat grinder itself the war was a netherworld of horror from which escape seemed less and less likely as casualties mounted and the fighting dragged on and on. Time had no meaning, life had no meaning. The fierce struggle for survival in the abyss of Peleliu had eroded the veneer of civilization and made savages of us all. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 1047362

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

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 445765

I asked God "Why, why, why?" I turned my face away and wished that I were imagining it all. I had tasted the bitterest essence of war, the sight of helpless comrades being slaughtered, and it filled me with disgust. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 422903

I am the harvest of man's stupidity. I am the fruit of the holocaust. I prayed like you to survive, but look at me now. It is over for us who are dead, but you must struggle, and will carry the memories all your life. People back home will wonder why you can't forget. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 411643

And I didn't neglect to point out to my Yankee buddies that most of the high shooters in our platoon were Southern boys. — Eugene B. Sledge

Eugene B. Sledge Quotes 394299

As the sun disappeared below the horizon and its glare no longer reflected off a glassy sea, I thought of how beautiful the sunsets always were in the Pacific. They were even more beautiful than over Mobile Bay. Suddenly a thought hit me like a thunderbolt. Would I live to see the sunset tomorrow? — Eugene B. Sledge