Here are some more of my Dad’s favorite quotes about the Infantry and the Infantrymen he loved that I used in my book, At First Light. 

These are all cited in At First Light from chapters 15-21.

“The first time a man goes into battle is strangely like the first time a man makes love to a woman. The anticipation is overpowering; the ignorance is obstructive; the fear of disgrace is consuming; and survival is triumphant.” — Ben Bradlee, World War II veteran and executive editor of The Washington Post from 1965–1991 [1]

“As we entered combat, I had a strange feeling. All my life, I felt secure, knowing the United States would protect me, but now it was reversed. The country was now depending on me to protect them. It was an awesome feeling, but I was not sure I could bear so much weight.” — Anonymous Veteran, 351st Regiment, 88th Division in Italy [2]

“In every battle, the last one hundred yards of the fight belongs to the Infantry. Armed with rifle and bayonet, Infantrymen must face and defeat the enemies of our nation.” — National Infantry Museum, Fort Benning, Georgia [3]

“The Infantryman, the soldier whose greatest armor is his courage; whose most dependable vehicle are his own two feet; whose weapons are those only which he can carry and use with his hands.” —Robert Vermillion, United Press war correspondent during World War II [4]

“We who are living know the success of the Division, and our own very existence is due mainly to those who unselfishly gave their lives in battle. That realization will be with us always.” — Major General John W. “Iron Mike” O’Daniel of the 3rd Infantry Division during the Battle of Anzio [5]

“Incentive is not ordinarily a part of an Infantryman’s life. For him there are no twenty-five or fifty missions to be completed for a ticket home. Instead, the rifleman trudges into battle knowing that statistics are stacked against his survival. He fights without promise of either reward or relief. Behind every river, there’s another hill—and behind that hill, another river. — General Omar N. Bradley, Commander of the Twelfth Army Group [6]

“I have arrived in the First City of the World! … All the dreams of my youth have come to life.” —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German poet [7]

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[1] Larimore, At First Light, 81.

[2] Ibid, 86.

[3] Ibid, 93.

[4] Ibid, 99.

[5] Ibid, 105.

[6] Ibid, 111.

[7] Ibid, 114.

In case you haven’t read or listened to Dad’s book, you can learn more about it or order it here.

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