In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

-By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

Information about the author. *1


If you are able, save them a place inside of you and save one backward glance when you are leaving for the places they can no longer go. Be not ashamed to say you loved them, though you may or may not have always. Take what they have left and what they have taught you with their dying and keep it with your own. And in that time when men decide and feel safe to call the war insane, take one moment to embrace those gentle heroes you left behind.

-Major Micheal Davis O'Donnell, Date of Loss: 24 March 1970


Have you forgotten yet? . . .
Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you’ll never forget! . . .
Have you forgotten yet? . . .
Look up, and swear by the green of spring that you’ll never forget!"

-From "Aftermath" by Siegfried Sassoon, 1919, (Quote Source)

 

There is no honrable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy; there is nothing good in war except its ending.

- Abraham Lincoln*


I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.

-- Abraham Lincoln, November 1864*1


War drew us from our homeland in the sunlit springtime of our youth.
Those who did not come back alive remain in perpetual springtime -- forever young --
And a part of them is with us always.

-- Author Unknown*1


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*2


It takes twenty years or more of peace to make a man; it takes only twenty seconds of war to destroy him.

- Baudouin I, King of Belgium *2


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 world 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) *2


We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. You ask, what is our policy? I say it is to wage war by land, sea and air--war with all our might and with all the strength God has given us--and to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark and lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy.

- Prime Minister Winston Churchill (1940) *2


You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terrors. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival.

- Prime Minister Winston Churchill *2

We passed their graves:
The dead men there,
Winners or losers,
Did not care.

In the dark
They could not see
Who has gained
The Victory.

-Langston Hughes


How can we justify sending our boys against a hill a dozen times or more until soldier's themselves question the madness of the action?

-Sen. Edward M. Kennedy May '69 'Tour of Duty'


When we take up leadership, we forfeit the right to be human, and nobody who is fit to lead can do that. Perhaps leadership is a crime.

-'The Red Tent'

This is my rifle.
There are many like it, but this one is mine.
My rifle is my best friend.
It is my life. I must master it,
as I must master my life.

Without me my rifle is useless.
Without my rifle, I am useless.
I must fire my rifle true.
I must shoot straighter than my enemy who
is trying to kill me.
I must shoot him before he shoots me.
I will.

Before God I swear this creed.
My rifle and myself are defenders of my country.
We are the masters of our enemy.
We are the saviours of my life.
So be it ... until there is no enemy

...
but peace. Amen.

-Full Metal Jacket


Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.
Hey there. Hi there. Ho there. You're as welcome as can be.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.
Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.)
Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.)

Forever let us hold our banner high.
High. High. High.
Come along and sing a song and join the jamboree.
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.

Here we go a-marching and a-shouting merrily.
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.

We play fair and we work hard and we're in harmony.
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.
Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.)
Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.)
Forever let us hold our banner high.
High. High. High.

Boys and girls from far and near you're as welcome as can be.
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.

Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.
Who is marching coast to coast and far across the sea?
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.

Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.)
Mickey Mouse. (Mickey Mouse.)

Forever let us hold his banner high.
High. High. High.
Come along and sing a song and join the family.
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E.

Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me?
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E
Hey there! Hi there! Ho there!
You're as welcome as can be.

Mickey Mouse ...

- The marines sing this song at the end of Full Metal Jacket


I am so happy that I am alive,
in one piece and short,.
I'm in a world of shit...yes.
But I am alive. And I am not afraid.

-Joker's voiceover at the end, Full Metal Jacket


The war for hills and trails continued, the places and the names forgotten, except by those who where there.

-Hamburger Hill, at the end of the movie before the credits. A big thanks to Sal for reminding me the source of the quote.


It was a time that would leave no one unchanged. It was a place where friendship made the difference between life and death. This was no game, it was their Tour of Duty.

-Source Unknown. It might be from the television show "Tour of Duty"

There never was a good war or a bad peace.

- Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)*3

In war, whichever side may call itself the victor, there are no winners, but all are losers.

- Neville Chamberlain *3

You can't say civilization isn't advancing: in every war, they kill you in a new way.

- Will Rogers*3

Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.

- Herbert Hoover*3

The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.

- General George Patton *3

History teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.

- Abba Eban *3


Source of several poems and quotes on this page (at the top):

Prairie Ridge 'Patriotic Poetry' Index

USMC Vietnam Tankers and Tribute

1) Arlington National Cemetery Website (Unofficial site)

2) Blank's Talking Drink

3) Delphae's Book

Who is that girl? *Some of my quotes came from this great webmaster.