23 Quotes by Eugene B. Sledge

Lying in a foxhole sweating out an enemy artillery or mortar barrage or waiting to dash across open ground under machine-gun or artillery fire defied any concept of time.

Courage meant overcoming fear and doing one’s duty in the presence of danger, not being unafraid.

I concluded that it was impossible for me to be killed, because God loved me. Then I told myself that God loved us all and that many would die or be ruined physically or mentally or both by the next morning and in the days following.

As I looked at the stains on the coral, I recalled some of the eloquent phrases of politicians and newsmen about how “gallant” it is for a man to “shed his blood for his country,” and “to give his life’s blood as a sacrifice,” and so on. The words seemed ridiculous. Only the flies benefited.

We were unable to understand their attitudes until we ourselves returned home and tried to comprehend people who griped because America wasn’t perfect or their coffee wasn’t hot enough or they had to stand in line and wait for a train or bus.