J: C. Turner Joy to Daniel James, and John Paul Jones Military Quotes
“Nobody dislikes war more than warriors.”
– Daniel James, Jr., military analyst
“It is better to be broken jade than a rude, whole clay pot.”
(Death before dishonor)
– Yuan Jinghao, Zhou Dynasty
“We are not about to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.”
– Lyndon B. Johnson, Oct. 1964
“Our purpose in Vietnam is to prevent the success of aggression. It is not conquest, it is not empire, it is not foreign bases, it is not domination. It is, simply put, just to prevent the forceful conquest of South Vietnam by North Vietnam.”
– Lyndon B. Johnson
“Peace is a journey of a thousand miles and it must be taken one step at a time.”
– Lyndon B. Johnson
“Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier.”
– Samuel Johnson
“We supplicate all rulers not to remain deaf to the cry of mankind. Let them do everything in their power to save peace. By so doing they will spare the world the horrors of a war that would have disastrous consequences, such as nobody can foresee.”
– Pope John XXIII
“As the excited passions of hostile people are of themselves a powerful enemy, both the general and his government should use their best efforts to allay them.”
– Lieutenant General Antoine-Henri Baron de Jomini, 1838
“I have not yet begun to fight.”
– Captain John Paul Jones (aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard)
Bon Homme fought the British ship, Serapis. September 23, 1779
The Sarapis Captain asked if Capt. Jones wanted to surrender.
Jones yelled back, “I have not yet begun to fight!”.
Jones fought one of the bloodiest engagements in naval history as of that time. Jones
attacked in a daring maneuver and lashed his Bonhomme Richard, a rebuilt
French merchant ship renamed in honor of Benjamin Franklin, to the 44-gun
Royal Navy frigate Serapis, a larger warship, and proceeded to slug it out
at point-blank range with Serapis in close combat. Although his own vessel
was burning and sinking, Jones would not accept the British captain’s demand
for surrender, which issued after two of USS Bonhomme Richard’s cannon exploded,
replying instead, “Sir, I have not yet begun to fight.” More than three
hours later, Serapis struck her colors and Jones took over her command. And
Jones’ own ship, the Bonhomme Richard? She sank.
“I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm’s way.”
– John Paul Jones (later adopted by the US Navy’s Special Boat Units)
“It is by no means enough that an officer be capable…He should be a gentleman of liberal education, refined, manners, punctilious courtesy, and the nicest sense of personal honor… No meritorious act of a subordinate should escape his attention, even if the reward be only one word of approval. Conversely, he should not be blind to a single fault in any subordinate.”
– John Paul Jones – 1775
“The field of combat was a long, narrow, green-baize covered table. The weapons were words.”
– Admiral C. Turner Joy
I can’t guarantee that these quotations are correct or true, but I have tried to verify as many of the quotes as possible. Please contact me if you find any errors in the quotes, have some additional information about the quotes or if you know any more quotations that are not listed here.
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