October 13, 1944 – Part 4 – Some more of my Dad’s favorite Infantry quotes
October 13, 2024October 15, 1944 – Bruyères was the beginning of a far different kind of fight than Italy
October 15, 2024Here are some more of my Dad’s favorite quotes about the Infantrymen he served with and loved that I used in my book, At First Light.
These are all cited in At First Light, from Chapters 29-35.
“The Infantryman sure takes a beating in this war both physically and mentally. Nobody knows what combat is like until he has fought in the Infantry.” — Staff Sergeant Bruce E. Egger, Company G, 328th Infantry, and co-author of G Company’s War: Two Personal Accounts of the Campaigns in Europe, 1944–1945 [1]
“The pride of the Infantryman comes not from knowing that he’s doing a job that others can’t, but that he’s doing a job that others simply won’t.” — Unknown [2]
“My time in the Army was important in my life. I wouldn’t want to repeat it, but having survived it, I can say I’m glad it occurred. The army taught me discipline and respect for authority. It taught me a great deal about living and a few things about dying.” — Private Sydney Fierman, F Company, 410th Infantry Regiment [3]
“I have been in combat for only about two months, but I am so weary of it all. Sometimes I feel awful discouraged when I think of what the future holds and the long bitter months ahead. I can make it with the help of the Lord, but not otherwise. I am glad so many people are praying for me because I sure need them.” — Staff Sergeant Bruce E. Egger [4]
“From the sunny beaches of the Riviera to the frozen forests of the Vosges, the campaign gave the average American soldier a tour of the European heartland that he would not soon forget. One said, ‘I wouldn’t trade the experience for a million dollars, but I wouldn’t give a nickel to do it all over again.’” — Jeffrey J. Clarke and Robert Ross Smith, authors of Riviera to the Rhine [5]
“…days of struggling, toiling, and praying, with very little food and sleep. It was … unremitting hell. In fact, the comparison is hardly fair to hell.” — An American soldier named Hugh, fighting in France [6]
“I hear a lot of crap about what a glorious thing it is to die for your country. It isn’t glorious—it’s stupid! You don’t go into battle to die for your country. You go into battle to make the other bastard die for his country.” — General George S. Patton, Jr., speaking to troops in 1941 [7]
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[1] Larimore, At First Light, 157.
[2] Ibid, 163.
[3] Ibid, 167.
[4] Ibid, 173.
[5] Ibid, 178.
[6] Ibid, 185.
[7] Ibid, 192.
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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