Here are some more of my Dad’s favorite quotes about the Infantrymen he served with and loved (as well as one about horses he rode) that I used in my book, At First Light. 

These are all cited in At First Light, from Chapters 49-54.

“The country is now peaceful, and long may it remain so. To you soldiers, they owe the debt of gratitude.” — Union Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman[1]

“We have raised our hands and said, ‘Take me, America. I am willing to kill for you. I am willing to sacrifice my limbs for you. I will come back to America scarred and disfigured for you.’” — National Infantry Museum[2]

“The most precious commodity with which the Army deals is the individual soldier, who is the heart and soul of our combat forces.” — General J. Lawton Collins, Commander of VII Corps during the Allied invasion of Normandy[3]

“In a war such as this one where the gain to be had was so great and the destruction of the evil force so necessary, great sacrifice was inevitable.” — Lieutenant General John “Iron Mike” O’Daniel[4]

“The Infantry suffers the biggest number of casualties too, and to my notion, they get the least praise…. Pray for me, so I’ll have courage and strength for whatever is ahead.” — Staff Sergeant Bruce E. Egger[5]

“The cost has been great—almost at times, it seemed, too great. It is now our task to build the future on the solid foundation laid by those who have left us. We shall go forward in our traditional way, never forgetting those who march with us in memory.” — Lieutenant Donald G. Taggart, editor of History of the Third Infantry Division in World War II[6]

“Everyone who fought was a hero.” — Sergeant Murray Soskil, author of From the Bronx to Berchtesgaden[7]\

“They had a character like a rock, these members of the generation born between 1910–1928. They were the children of the Depression, fighters in the greatest war in history, builders of and participants in the postwar boom.

They accepted a hand-up in the G.I. Bill, but they never took a handout. They made their own way. A few of them became rich, a few became powerful, and almost all of them built their houses and did their jobs and raised their families and lived good lives, taking full advantage of the freedom they had helped preserve.” — Stephen E. Ambrose, author of Band of Brothers[8]

~~~~~

[1] Larimore, At First Light, 313.

[2] Ibid, 318.

[3] Ibid, 324.

[4] Ibid, 340.

[5] Ibid, 355.

[6] Ibid, 339.

[7] Ibid, 348.

[8] Ibid, 355.

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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