28 Quotes by Douglas MacArthur about war

  • Author Douglas MacArthur
  • Quote

    This does not mean that you are warmongers. On the contrary, the soldier above all other people prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war. But always in our ears ring the ominous words of Plato, that wisest of all philosophers: "Only the dead have seen the end of war.

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  • Author Douglas MacArthur
  • Quote

    War's very object is victory, not prolonged indecision. In war there is no substitute for victory.

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  • Author Douglas MacArthur
  • Quote

    Here are centered the hopes and aspirations and faith of the entire human race. I do not stand here as advocate for any partisan cause, for the issues are fundamental and reach quite beyond the realm of partisan consideration. They must be resolved on the highest plane of national interest if our course is to prove sound and our future protected. I trust, therefore, that you will do me the justice of receiving that which I have to say as solely expressing the considered viewpoint of a fellow American.

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  • Author Douglas MacArthur
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    In my dreams I hear again the crash of guns, the rattle of musketry, the strange, mournful mutter of the battlefield.

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  • Author Douglas MacArthur
  • Quote

    In this situation, it becomes vital that our own country orient its policies in consonance with this basic evolutionary condition rather than pursue a course blind to the reality that the colonial era is now past and the Asian peoples covet the right to shape their own free destiny. What they seek now is friendly guidance, understanding, and support - not imperious direction - the dignity of equality and not the shame of subjugation.

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  • Author Douglas MacArthur
  • Quote

    Once war is forced upon us, there is no alternative than to apply every available means to bring it to a swift end. War’s very object is victory-not prolonged indecision.

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  • Author Douglas MacArthur
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    "Duty, Honor, Country" - those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be. They are your rallying point to build courage when courage seems to fail, to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith, to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.

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