*** The following quotes were gathered from 1950s & 60s newsreels ***

(It can all be heard on the History of the Marine Corps DVD set)

In time of crisis will I lift up a man, and a man is lifted up; then two, then a
score. Each Marine is able to carry out the mission in the sector that he finds
himself. Spontaneity of effort replaces chaos, confusion gives way to
achievement.
~ U.S. Marine General Holland M. Smith,
former commanding general fleet Marine force, Pacific area

GEN. SMITH: What sends this man to face death? Pride in his country, his principles, in
himself as a man. What sends this exposed American against a hidden enemy? History.
He walks in the footprints of Valley Forge, the Little Big Horn, Belleau Woods. What
sends this man forward when every instinct says wait? Tradition, his fathers yardstick
against which he stands to be measured. What sends this man thru enemy fire to rescue
a fallen comrade? Esprit de corps, love of his fellow Marine. What inspires this man,
imprisoned by treads of the enemy tank to render this service above and beyond? Love
of country, its righteous cause, lessons learned at his mothers knee. A question
abounds in the land: Is our military indoctrination too rugged? This is your son. War has
brought him here. War has made him to fight. Will you have him, lean and trained and
fit, able to defend himself, or will you, with softness, rob him of confidence and his best
chance for survival? In victory, we are forgiving. . . . Across a major portion of the
world an iron curtain has descended, and there too this indoctrination of hatred for our
country has begun. Now is no time to weaken our own. So let us teach pride in America,
for if you weaken it, incentive dies. Teach our history, for if you delete, example is lost.
Teach our traditions, for if you omit them, comparison vanishes. Build esprit de corps,
for if you soften it the will to win will slip. This must never happen to our country. In
the bosom of the earth lie the men. . . but not their spirit. For their magnificent effort,
they indicated their desire; their proxy was left in our keeping.

NARRATOR: Behind us stretches the 3-year, 3,000-mile corridor. How hurried the
beginning [of World War 2], how distant the entrance, how valorous the deeds that
leveled the tortuous path, how magnificent the sacrifices that ensured success, how
righteous the intent that lent the impetus, how costly the losses for freedom spent, how
remembered the departed, how honored their memories, how vindicated their passing,
for in the progress of their relentless course oppression and aggression were put to
route. In the bitter turmoil were republics born. From the wreckage rise the edifices of
freed nations. In the administration of the affairs of the conquered enemy nation are our
true and unselfish intents displayed for all the world to see. We fought for freedom
nothing more.

NARRATOR: Oppression never changes, or relaxes its intent. But August 12th is a cup
of many flavorswe are tasting triumph, victory, satisfaction. We have forgotten that
the dregs lie at the bottom of the cup. As the day fades, the sun is like a woman. She
can scorch you, and nag you, and keep you hot under the collar, but when she prepares
to leave you begin to miss her. As the furnace the Koreans call a sun sinks, we prepare
for the night. . . . Dawn replaces the night, but not the dead of night. Nature is a
woman, and all women are unpredictable.

GEN. SMITH: To the Communists pledges are meant to be broken [as was done at the
signing of the Armistice of the Korean War] for as Marx indicated, the end justifies the
means. It is not the American way.
 NARRATOR: . . . A new yardstick of valor against which we stand to be measured. It
is finished, and yet it is not. For so long as memory remains, actuality exists, even
though strained thru the gauze of each receding day.

GEN. SMITH: In every war as it inevitably must, death picks and chooses, selecting
many comrades from our midst. In the registry of honor, beneath the scroll of memory,
write the names of those who fell beside us. But write of them not as private or colonel,
as sergeant or captain, as corporal or general, as lieutenant or majorwrite not of any
rank! For in that great brotherhood of those who gave their last full measure there was
no inequality. Each gave of himself the best that he had. Each went forward toward
victory as a man. . . a Marine.

PRESIDENT JOHNSON: To back a commitment honorably given: that is a good cause.

To shield a nation from aggression: that is a good cause. To defend men against
coercion and intimidation: that is a good cause. To prove that terror and aggression
simply will not work: that is a good cause. [From a speech at the Congressional Medal
of Honor ceremony for Marine Lance-Corporal Robert E. OMalley for action in Vietnam,
Aug. 1965]

NARRATOR: . . . They won't all come back alive. Prayers are said, a letter is written
home to the family, yet so little can be done for this one who has given so much. There
will be no more tales of his exciting adventure in a far-off land, no more plans for his
education, his family, his home. He may have been a lad not quite a man in years, but
he gave us a mans greatest treasurehis life. And he gave it not unknowingly.

SERVICE-MEMBERS WRITING HOME: I'm just trying to do my part in this war. But its
a war that Id gladly give my life for if it would help bring freedom to the people here
and help it grow stronger in our own country. . . I have no fear of death. I know my God
is real, and my trust and faith is in Him. Id rather be here than in Minnesota. If and
when my time to go comes, I will go. Ill go because I know the meaning of the word
freedom. I'll go because I love my family, I love my country, and I love my God. Call it
any name you will, from foolish to sacrifice. But be sure to include love.

NARRATOR JACK WEBB: These young men are growing up in a hurry. . . . The
suffering, hardships and sorrow they bear, not only their own but what they see in
others around them has helped to make them compassionate, tolerant, and mature. The
young men who comprise the vast bulk of our Navy and Marine Corps who are seldom
seen on television, who are rarely interviewed by the press, these men are as they have
always been the truly strong men of our nation. Only a couple of years ago these young
men would have been embarrassed to tell what patriotism meant to them, how much
they love their homes, their God, their country. Now they daily risk their lives for their
beliefs. This vast cross-section of Americaits young, tired, gallant fighting menthis is
not only the face of America, this is the heart of America. They will return (most of
them), but that valiant heart will keep beating only if it is nourished and sustained by
the rest of America. And these, then, are the true heroes of the warthe young men of
your Navy and your Marine Corps. Whatever they are and ultimately whatever our
country is, we owe to them and their brothers in the other services past, present and
future.