Soldiers

"Having now visited Termini Imerese, I can't help but be filled with admiration for my great-grandfather. To think of that journey- from a coastal city in Sicily to Chicago and finally to Dubuque, Iowa- well, you don't do something like that unless you have a sturdy set of balls. I can only imagine the disorientation the Giuntas must have felt while passing through the great, sweeping cornfields of eastern Iowa. But I guess they figured it was worth the risk."

"No point in denying who and what we are."

"Like most people, I can vividly recall exactly where I was when I heard the news. It was chemistry class, second period. I was a sixteen-year-old junior, wandering aimlessly through another school day, working halfheartedly on a lab assignment, trying to figure out the density of different liquids, when word filtered down to our classroom. Something about a terrible accident in New York City: a plane crashing into one of the Twin Towers. Suddenly every television set in the school was lit up, and every classroom had suspended normal teaching activities to focus on this tragedy half a continent away. At that point that morning, no one knew what had happened yet. The news commentators- like everyone else- were working under the assumption that the jet had gone wildly off course and experienced some sort of catastrophic failure, resulting in a collision with one of the towers. It wasn't until the second plane ht that the unfathomable became real: This wasn't an accident- it was a terrorist attack, intentional, willful, coordinated, and almost incomprehensibly lethal. To those of us watching, it was our first view of evil."

"Under the same circumstances — and the key words are "the same circumstances" — yes, I would do it again. We were in a war for five years. We were fighting an enemy that had a reputation for never surrendering, never accepting defeat. It's really hard to talk about morality and war in the same sentence. In a war, there are so many questionable things done. Where was the morality in the bombing of Coventry, or the bombing of Dresden, or the Bataan Death March, or the Rape of Nanking, or the bombing of Pearl Harbor? I believe that when you're in a war, a nation must have the courage to do what it must to win the war with a minimum loss of lives."

"“What?” Jenna came out of her chair so fast, it crashed over. “Are you insane?” “No,” Skeeter said mildly, “although I know a few people who might argue the point.”"

"Careless is stupid, he snarled at himself, and stupid can be fatal."

"Once again, Caddrick had failed to use the few brains God had given him."

"“How much did that ridiculous maintenance job of yours pay?” Skeeter blinked. “Five bucks an hour, why?” “Five bucks? That’s not a salary, that’s slavery!”"

"Playing God was a sweetly addictive game."

"Are you out of your mind? No, you have to be in possession of a mind, first, to be out of it."

"Li was a very honest and honorable man. But when it came to any man’s abiding passion, honesty occasionally went straight out the nearest available window."

"“You know,” Malcolm remarked to no one in particular, “I’d say that chap doesn’t enjoy time travel.”"

"“No matter how you look at it,” Margo muttered, “when you get down to it, human beings aren’t really much better than killer plains apes, are they? Just a thin sugar-coating of civilization to make ’em look prettier.”"

"So fare the fortunes of men, Skeeter thought bitterly, when seven wolves and a sheep decide what’s for lunch. Perfect democracy: everybody got to vote. Even the lunch."

"It operates very much like the social structure of a nomadic tribe. Those in the brotherhood are fully human; those outside are not."

"“He’ll get a life sentence for the illegal trafficking alone and probably a death sentence for the people he killed along the way.” He sighed slightly. “I always did fancy happy endings.”"

"It is jihad, Mr. Morgan, a particularly virulent, fundamentalist form of hatred."

"A tiny whisper at the back of her mind warned her to be wary of what one asked the gods for, lest they grant it."

"The more I learn about history, the more savage I find it was."

"“Fools have a way of discovering...that the laws of time travel, like the laws of physics, have no pity and no remorse.”"

"All the years he’d spent fooling himself into thinking that what he did was correct was simply time wasted from his life, on delusions and fantasies that kept him from seeing what he was and where he was inevitably headed with genuine clarity."

"The more chaotic the world, the greater the need for ritual."

"Skeeter just couldn’t figure out what was so horrible about taking a good, long, clear-eyed look at one’s past and facing whatever one found in it. Making up the past to fit whatever idea some politically correct group wanted to pass off as reality this week seemed a lot more dangerous to him than facing brutal facts."

"Skeeter thought dark, vile thoughts at bureaus and the bureauc-rats that ran ’em."

"Kit chuckled. “You, Bull Morgan, are a wicked judge of human character.” “Hell, Kit, thought you’d figured it out by now: all human character is wicked. Just varies in degree is all.”"

"Bull Morgan was just the right man for the job, a man who found the law useful in how far it could occasionally be bent to save a friend."

"A brave man is one who admits his fear. Only a fool believes himself invincible."

"The death of the wildebeest herd didn’t change the bloody savagery she’d witnessed in the Roman Circus, but it put life and death in much clearer perspective. Nature wasn’t any nobler or gentler than human beings. It was just as deadly and just as cruel and just as savagely “unfair” to the weak... Maybe more so."

"“Uncle Sven and I are about to start your first lesson in survival theory.” She gave them both a dubious glance. “That being?” Sven guffawed. “When the fight starts, be someplace else. And always remember, nobody watches your butt for you when it’s You versus the Universe—and Margo, the universe just don’t give a damn.”"

"“Oh. I was beginning to worry.” “You do that,” Kit laughed. “I like it better when you’re worried. Proves you’re thinking.” She put out a pink tongue. “You’re mean and horrible. Why does everybody else like you?” Kit scratched his head. “Search me. Guess it’s my good looks and charm.”"

"When it comes to scouts, heroes are just people who confuse cowardice with common sense."

"“Education,” he smiled, “is never a waste of time.”"

"Small towns were terrible places to grow up with world-sized dreams—especially when those dreams were the only things you had left to hold onto."

"“She’s young, Kit.” “That’s no excuse. The universe doesn’t give a damn when it squashes you.”"

"“Hi, Sven.” “Hi, yourself. The answer’s no.”"

"Malcolm had forgotten how very young eighteen was, with its mixture of invincible assuredness, fragile emotions, and the desperate need to be taken seriously—even when caught in complete ignorance."

"But—as Kit and Sven had been so fond of saying—the Universe didn’t give beans for “fair.” It simply was. You got it right or paid the price."

"I am deeply ashamed at my failure to serve His Majesty."

"After such a close brush with mortality I feel that I have an obligation to destiny and want to do something with my life that will benefit mankind. I am not a writer but think the best thing I can do is try to report on and understand what is happening in the world."

"The book cannot be called, as some say, “a written evidence of the mind and character of Hitler and his henchmen,” for at the time of writing Hitler was seeking power, and once having gained this power it becomes the old story of the oppressed gaining power, becoming the oppressor, a fact that runs through history with a persistency of man’s claims to “natural rights.”"

"The Hitler... as dictator of the Reich... has a new personality. He seems to be a disciple of Nietzsche’s Metaphysical divinity – power and the masses of people are to be used as pawns in the chessboard Power Politics."

"...[T]he day that the Japanese captured Nanking. As many as 300,000 civilians were killed. I would like to understand how such things can happen in a civilized society. It is as though a mantle of evil is periodically draped over the world."

"John Dewey ...said “Education is a social process; education is growth; education is not preparation for life, but is life itself.” I understand and completely agree with this philosophy."

"Virgil was buried in the Normandy military cemetery near Omaha beach... One of the 9386 crosses in the cemetery marks the site of Virgil’s grave... In 2000 a memorial was dedicated in Periers, at the urging of Henri Levaufre, and the support of Periers citizens. A monument was erected with four life-sized statues of American soldiers who were killed in the invasion. One of the statues is Virgil as a medic assisting a wounded comrade. The cemetery is visited by nearly 2 million people each year, most of them Europeans, who look at these crosses and say, “they did this for us”. Thus, Virgil’s memory lives on in the hearts and minds of millions of grateful people in France and other European countries."

"Pfc Virgil J. Tangborn 37172938, Inf, United States Army. On June 14, 1944 the field in which an artillery ammunition dump was located was heavily shelled. The ammunition dump was set on fire and during the ensuing explosions, Pfc Tangborn, seeing a wounded soldier trapped in a burning truck which was filled with exploding ammunition, hurried to the truck accompanied by two other enlisted men to effect a rescue of the wounded man. At this point Pfc Tangborn was mortally wounded by enemy shellfire. Entered service from Minnesota."

"He was just a young man who desperately wanted “a clearer philosophy of life.” He endured so much just to be able to read some important books and get the knowledge that would help him understand and live a full life... Like so many boys of his generation, he never had the chance. But I think to all those boys, and their devastated families, Virgil would say, “we must face whatever life offers us and try to enrich our lives as much as possible to become an important tool in the general progress of mankind.”"

"Henri Levaufre"

"A strange calm has come over my feelings and disposition last two days. Feel a strong will to achieve something forming and growing. ...Maybe I am squarely facing reality at last and am beginning to mature mentally."

"World War II"

"Try out for position in 90th Division Band. I’m afraid I did not do so well because my lips were chapped from the hot, desert wind and I was terribly thirsty."