Marine Corps Quotes

“No better friend, no worse enemy.” – Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis

“The safest place in Korea was right behind a platoon of Marines. Lord, how they could fight!” – MGen. Frank E. Lowe

“The Japanese fought to win – it was a savage, brutal, inhumane, exhausting and dirty business. Our commanders knew that if we were to win and survive, we must be trained realistically for it whether we liked it or not.” – Eugene B. Sledge, “With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa”

“You don’t hurt ’em if you don’t hit ’em.” – Capt. Gerry Coffee, Vietnam War veteran

“Freedom is not free, but the U.S. Marine Corps will pay most of your share.” – Ned Dolan

“Marines are about the most peculiar breed of human beings I have ever witnessed. They treat their service as if it was some kind of cult, plastering their emblem on almost everything they own, making themselves up to look like insane fanatics with haircuts to ungentlemanly lengths, worshipping their Commandant almost as if he was a god, and making weird animal noises like a band of savages. They’ll fight like rabid dogs at the drop of a hat just for the sake of a little action, and are the cockiest SOBs I have ever known. Most have the foulest mouths and drink well beyond man’s normal limits, but their high spirits and sense of brotherhood set them apart and, generally speaking, of the United States Marines I’ve come in contact with, are the most professional soldiers and the finest men I have had the pleasure to meet.” – An Anonymous Canadian Citizen

“I’d rather go down the river with seven studs than with a hundred shitheads.” – Col. Gerald H. Turley

“The deadliest weapon in the world is a Marine and his rifle.” – Gen. John “Black Jack” Pershing

“All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us… they can’t get away this time.” – Lt. Gen. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller

“You will kill. The enemy will kill. But you will win. In every clime and place where you fight, know it: You are a United States Marine.” – Col. John Ripley

“A ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons.” – Adm. David D. Porter

“Marines have a great attitude. They will sleep anywhere, eat anything, and do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission.” – Gen. James Mattis

“My business is killing.” – Gunnery Sgt. Carlos Hathcock II, USMC

“Old breed? New breed? There’s not a damn bit of difference so long as it’s the Marine breed.” – Lt. Gen. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller

“Every morning you get up, and you’re alive, put your feet on the ground, and get after it.” – Marine R. Lee Ermey

“Do not attack the First Marine Division. Leave the yellowlegs alone. Strike the American Army.” – Orders given to Communist troops in the Korean War, shortly before the Marines broke out of the Chosin Reservoir

“USMC: The spineless need not apply.” – Cpl. Wally Beddoe

“The Marine Corps does two things: We make Marines, and we win battles.” – Gen. Charles C. Krulak

“I can’t say enough about the two Marine divisions. If I use words like ‘brilliant,’ it would really be an under-description of the absolutely superb job they did in breaching the so-called ‘impenetrable barrier.’ It was a classic- absolutely classic- military breaching of a very very tough minefield, barbed wire, fire trenches-type barrier.” – Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, speaking of the Marines’ role in the Gulf War

“Marines know how to use their bayonets. Army bayonets may as well be paper-weights.” – Navy Times

“The Marines are the first to fight because they love it.” – RAdm. Douglas MacArthur

“Marines I see as two breeds, Rottweilers or Dobermans, because Marines come in two varieties, big and mean, or skinny and mean. They’re aggressive on the attack and tenacious on defense. They’ve got really short hair and they always go for the throat.” – RAdm. “Jay” R. Stark

“The Marine Corps was formed for combat. If you don’t like combat, you might want to consider another service.” – Gen. Ray Davis

“I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm’s way.” – John Paul Jones

“I am convinced that there is no smarter, handier, or more adaptable body of troops in the world.” – Prime Minister Winston Churchill

“If you can’t find a way, make a way.” – Marine saying

“Every Marine carries a legacy of valor, knowing that each step forward is a tribute to those who came before.” – Cpl. Wally Beddoe

“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don’t have that problem.” – Ronald Reagan

“The only easy day was yesterday.” – Navy SEALs motto, often adopted by Marines

“The Marines have been using the same tactics that win battles since men have fought with weapons. Why change? What works, works.” – Lt. Gen. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller

“Marines don’t know how to spell the word defeat.” – Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis

“I don’t lose any sleep at night over the potential for failure. I cannot even spell the word.” – Gen. James Mattis

“For over 221 years our Corps has done two things for this great Nation. We make Marines, and we win battles.” – Gen. James Amos

“You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth – and the amusing thing about it is that they are.” – Father Kevin Keaney, 1st Marine Division Chaplain, Korean War

“The Marine Corps is a fraternity. We have guys of all races, colors, religions. We are all colors of the country.” – Marine Eddie Ryan

“Marines die. That’s what we’re here for. But the Marine Corps lives forever. And that means YOU live forever.” – The Commandant’s Own

“Gone to Florida to fight the Indians. Will be back when the war is over.” – Commandant Archibald Henderson’s note in 1836, explaining his absence from his duties

“A Marine is a Marine. I set that policy two weeks ago – there’s no such thing as a former Marine. You’re a Marine, just in a different uniform and you’re in a different phase of your life. But you’ll always be a Marine because you went to Parris Island, San Diego or the hills of Quantico. There’s no such thing as a former Marine.” – Gen. James F. Amos

“To observe a Marine is inspirational; to be a Marine is exceptional.” – GySgt. Jason B. Cervantes

“The Marine Corps is the Navy’s police force and as long as I am President, that is what it will remain. They have a propaganda machine that is almost equal to Stalin’s.” – Harry S. Truman

“The Marines’ mission is to fight our country’s battles and win our nation’s wars.” – Gen. Robert E. Cushman Jr.

“The raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next 500 years.” – James Forrestal

“Marines. We don’t just endure the tough times, we own them.” – Cpl. Wally Beddoe

“Don’t you forget that you’re First Marines! Not all the communists in Hell can overrun you!” – Col. Lewis B. Puller

“Retreat, Hell! We just got here!” – Capt. Lloyd Williams at the Battle of Belleau Wood

“Come on, you sons of bitches, do you want to live forever?” – GySgt. Dan Daly, Belleau Wood, 1918

“The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps.” – Gen. Alexander A. Vandergrift, 1946

“Marines don’t have that word in their vocabulary.” – Gen. James Mattis on “surrender”

“The Marines will storm hell if properly led.” – Capt. M.W. Hennessy

“We’re surrounded. That simplifies our problem.” – Chesty Puller, Battle of Chosin Reservoir

“It was the Marines who taught me how to take a chance. It was the Marines who taught me to make things happen.” – Lee Marvin, actor and Marine

“The essence of war is violence. Moderation in war is imbecility.” – Adm. Jacky Fisher

“The Marine Corps is the best at finding, closing with, and destroying the enemy.” – Col. Michael D. Wyly

“The Marines I have seen around the world have the cleanest bodies, the filthiest minds, the highest morale, and the lowest morals of any group of animals I have ever seen. Thank God for the United States Marine Corps!” – Eleanor Roosevelt

SEMPER FI!