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"Let us be under no illusion; military forces today are not designed to wage war; their purpose is to prevent it. There will be no campaigns like the old ones, with victory at the end of a long and balanced struggle; total war today can only mean total destruction."

"I am convinced that the people of this planet must ultimately and inevitably move toward a single form of world government if civilization is to survive. But it is our immediate task to see that this world government comes as a mutual federation of free peoples rather than through the ruthless domination of a master state enslaving all the others. In this struggle there are still many battles that cannot be avoided. The most critical of these now is to prevent the Communists from organizing the vast and rich land mass of China under their whip and turning its weight against us and the other free peoples of the world."

"My plan proposed to throw a small but well-equipped air force into China. Japan, like England, floated her lifeblood on the sea and could be defeated more easily by slashing her salty arteries then by stabbing for her heart. ... The first phase of these operations entailed pounding the airfields, ports, staging areas, and shipping lanes where the Japanese were accumulating their military strength in Formosa, Hainan Island, Canton, and Indo-China. ... The second phase was to be directed against the Japanese home islands, to burn out the industrial heart of the Empire with fire-bomb attacks on the teeming bamboo ant heaps of Honshu and Kyushu."

"Sometimes, I feel that the Administration is working around toward my plan for building up the strength of South Korea and Nationalist China to the point where eventually they can carry the war to the Communists on the mainland. ... There is no justification for the employment of United States soldiers either in the Far East or in Europe. If the people and the governments in these areas do not wish to fight Communism, we should let them be communized."

"Nowadays, dynamite, TNT, and fuzes, as well as fire bombs, time clocks, knives, pistols, rifles, and tommy guns can turn an occupied country into a hell for its conquerors. These are the weapons of sabotage and, in broader terms, of guerrilla warfare. Old-time campaigners considered this form of internal Strife a rag-tag orphan of war, troublesome until quelled by firm measures. But, though military strategists have been slow to admit it, there are no longer any firm measures that will quell it. Even the torture and mass murder of civilians may multiply a conqueror’s underground enemies. Assuming an outside source of supply, the airplane, the cargo parachute, and the portable radio, twentieth-century guerrilla warfare can assume maddening dimensions."

"In his older years, he was very mellow, very sweet. My dad would drive a hundred miles to pull a thorn out of a dog's paw... He was a very quiet man unless he was asked his opinion. He didn't impose on anybody, he didn't force his opinion on anybody."

"There was a fellow who was an apprentice seaman in the British Navy. A kid. He got torpedoed and his hands were horribly burned. Just the same, he somehow managed to get into a lifeboat and he took his regular place and rowed. In the morning, his shipmates discovered that the flesh had been burned off his fingers and that he was literally rowing with the bones of his hands. This was probably heroism. But I'm not sure that a bombardier who gets a terrific stomachache just as he's aiming his bombs and nevertheless gets them off isn't a greater hero. You never know. In either case, you can be sure there was plenty of adrenaline being pumped into the bloodstream."

"The Medal of Honor opened doors then and it still does, from the Pentagon to the White House. I don't abuse it, but if it is necessary, I will use it."

"I was plenty mad. I pissed on the fire and beat on it with my hands and feet until my clothes began to smoke. [...] Guns, ammunition, clothes, everything. I really had a time with the ammunition cases. They weigh ninety-eight pounds and I weigh one thirty."

"All I know is that it was a miracle that the ship didn't break in two in the air, and I wish I could shake hands personally with the people who built her. They sure did a wonderful job, and we owe our lives to them."

"For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action above and beyond the call of duty. The aircraft of which Sgt. Smith was a gunner was subjected to intense enemy antiaircraft fire and determined fighter airplane attacks while returning from a mission over enemy-occupied continental Europe on 1 May 1943. The airplane was hit several times by antiaircraft fire and cannon shells of the fighter airplanes, two of the crew were seriously wounded, the aircraft's oxygen system shot out, and several vital control cables severed when intense fires were ignited simultaneously in the radio compartment and waist sections. The situation became so acute that three of the crew bailed out into the comparative safety of the sea. Sgt. Smith, then on his first combat mission, elected to fight the fire by himself, administered first aid to the wounded tail gunner, manned the waist guns, and fought the intense flames alternately. The escaping oxygen fanned the fire to such intense heat that the ammunition in the radio compartment began to explode, the radio, gun mount, and camera were melted, and the compartment completely gutted. Sgt. Smith threw the exploding ammunition overboard, fought the fire until all the firefighting aids were exhausted, manned the workable guns until the enemy fighter were driven away, further administered first aid to his wounded comrade, and then by wrapping himself in protecting cloth, completely extinguished the fire by hand. This soldier's gallantry in action, undaunted bravery, and loyalty to his aircraft and fellow crewmembers, without regard for his own personal safety, is an inspiration to the U.S Armed Forces."

"Sgt. Smith not only performed his duty, he carried on after others- more experienced than he- had given up. Through his presence of mind, determination and bravery, he saved the lives of six of his crewmates and the Fortress in which he flew."

"From the time he entered the Air Force he had been in some kind of trouble over one petty matter or another. 'Snuffy' was, in fact, known by the fourteen other inhabitants of his Nissen hut by an Army phrase for which there is no socially acceptable replacement. He was a real fuckup."

"What he did was enough. He didn't have to prove anything to anybody."

"Thank you."

"When it was observed that men were dying, Japanese non-commissioned officers entered the compound and ordered the Americans to drag out the bodies and bury them. We were told to put the delirious ones into a thatched shed a few hundred feet away. When this had been done the grave digging began. We thought we had seen every atrocity the Japs could offer, but we were wrong. The shallow trenches had been completed. The dead were being rolled into them. Just then an American soldier and two Filipinos were carried out of the compound. They had been delirious. Now they were in a coma. A Jap noncom stopped the bearers and tipped the unconscious men into the trench. The Japs then ordered the burial detail to fill it up. The Filipinos lay lifelessly in the hole. As the earth began falling about the American, he revived and tried to climb out. His fingers gripped the edge of the grave. He hoisted himself to a standing position. Two Jap guards placed bayonets at the throat of a Filipino on the burial detail. They gave him an order. When he hesitated they pressed the bayonet points hard against his neck. The Filipino raised a stricken face to the sky. Then he brought his shovel down upon the head of his American comrade, who fell backward to the bottom of the grave. The burial detail filled it up."

"To my mother, Elizabeth Basler Rickenbacker, with love and appreciation; her inspiration throughout life never failed me. To my wife, Adelaide Frost Rickenbacker, whose constant confidence, love and dedication have always supported me through failure and success."

"Our American doughboys were pushing in on both sides of the salient. We could see them moving forward. Their bayonets were fixed, and they were using them. They stormed the trenches, fighting with cold steel and rifle butts. From my comparatively safe place in the sky, I watched them with admiration. I have always maintained that American infantrymen were the heroes of the war and that Alvin T. York, winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor, was the greatest hero of them all."

"As the dinner progressed, it became clear that, of all those present, only Vansittart believed that the Germans would dare to precipitate another war. All the others disagreed so bluntly and positively that, after only a few minutes of conversation, I realized that it was pointless to continue the discussion. "Rickenbacker," I told myself, "just be a country boy. Keep your mouth shut and your ears open, and you might learn something." What I learned was that the British leaders of that period were more interested in petty bickering and attempting to keep themselves in power than they were in even learning about German aims, much less preparing to defend against them. At that time in Britain, pre-preparedness was considered warmongering. Winston Churchill, one of the few eminent Britons who believed in preparedness and who made his militant voice heard at every opportunity, was very much in disfavor at the time. So was Anthony Eden. It was a government of compromise and self-delusion. In their internal political fights the English leaders had forgotten the outside world."

"Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared."

"The Prime Minister's car picked me up at the Savoy Hotel, It appeared to be European-royalty day at the Chequers, with all the deposed kings and queens of the Continent present. After a pleasant luncheon, Churchill and I moved outside and sat under a large oak tree. He asked me about Russia, but, when I started to give him my observations, he interrupted me in a bantering tone, questioning my statements as though I had been sold a bill of goods. "Mr. Prime Minister," I said, "you invited me here, and I was pleased to come. If you don't care to listen to what I have to report, then I would really prefer to leave, for I am behind schedule and have plenty to do. And if you aren't busy, you oughyt to be, as I would imagine you'd have plenty to do too." "Oh, I'm sorry, so sorry," he said. "Please do continue." I did, and this time he listened attentively. I concluded by imploring him to work for a better understanding between him and Roosevelt on the one hand and Stalin on the other. I recommended that Britain and the United States be realistic with Stalin and establish a firm and just agreement before the war was ended, with positive understanding and respect on all sides. "If this isn't done," I said, "Russia will demand ten times more after the war than she will ask for today. By sincerely holding out the olive branch of peace today, you will get credit on the books of history for eliminating the possibility of another great war within the next 25 years." Discussing other areas of the war, Churchill said that, when victory in Europe was secure, he would send his armies to the Pacific to give the Americans abundant help against the Japanese. "Mr. Churchill," I said, "when the Germans capitulate, the English people will be through with war. You will probably no longer be prime minister." It is sad, but that is exactly what did happen."

"It seems only yesterday, in 1934, that Eastern Air Lines was a struggling little company pioneering in a new and untried field. It became a giant in the industry. We built it through hard work, dedication and faith in the future of America. This kind of faith in the future of America is being expressed everywhere you look. It is based upon the one eternal trith on which our nation is founded. The future promises that men and women, free to dream and free to work to make their dreams come true, can accomplish anything. There can be no limit to the creative imagination with which a beneficient God has endowed mankind."

"When we arrived home, we found the situation in the United States no better. In vain did I attempt to describe to our military leaders the true situation in Germany. My reports were completely at variance with those coming in from our social-climbing lounge lizards, who were too busy going to cocktail parties to do their jobs."

"According to Darwin’s Origin of Species, it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself."

"It is not the strongest species that survive, nor the most intelligent but the ones most adaptable to change."

"....that the civilization that is able to survive is one that is able to adapt to the changing physical, social, political, moral and spiritual environment in which it finds itself."

"All through history, the philosophers, Dante, Manius and Socrates, they called themselves world citizens. ...[I]t's one of the oldest ideas ...and we're the privileged ones who will decide whether the human race will go on... whether all those... prophets... seers... philosophers and poets... were justified. We here... in this day, in this age... decide whether the human race will continue and all the future people will be born."

"[I]t requires intelligence... guts... courage and commitment... but the tools are there. ...The People are sovereign. The Constitution... The first three words say "We the People"... [M]ost of the state constitutions say "This Constitution derives from the People." Well, we are the People, and we have to exercise our sovereignty."

"On September 11, 1948 I went to the United Nations General Assembly meeting, which was in Paris. ...[T]hey declared that piece of France international territory. ...[T]hat was the same day that the French government said [to me] to get out. ...I knew that once I got on that territory I couldn't get off. ...I told the U.N. General Assembly ..."I'm your first citizen" and the U.N said... "We don't have citizens. We only have states." I said "Yeah, but... I'm a world citizen and this is international territory.""

"[I]t was... a meta-moment where some human being populated a territory which had been declared by the nations as international... So it was like... I was populating that vacuum... 7,000 journalists were on my back. I became world famous in seven days... because the moment was right, the words were right and the commitment was right..."

"We registered 750,000 people practically overnight. We set up the International Registry of World Citizens. We started issuing documents based upon world citizenship. ...This passport is one of the most important key documents in the world because it represents one world, no frontiers, freedom of travel and humanity."

"I have traveled with this document to India. I've traveled back from India... with... number 000001."

"[W]e now have a world government which... has an office in Washington D.C. and we have an office in Shanghai... We have an agency called the World Service Authority which issues these passports."

"I have 58 years of material here and he's only given me twenty minutes on this stand. ...I'll talk to you later."

"Davis established himself as an apostle of peace last spring when he renounced his U.S. citizenship, proclaimed himself a "citizen of the world" and called upon the U.N. to make way for a world state forthwith."

"Three thousand Parisians... jammed a Paris music hall to hear him. Two thousand more could not get seats. ...15,000 turned out for a Davis rally in a Paris sports arena. Letters poured in at a rate of 400 a day."

"Albert Camus... and other French intellectuals formed "The Association for the International Registry of World Citizens and People's Assembly.""

"His radical proposal... was a world with no borders... in which all people belonged to the same global citizenry. ...[A] place of peace ...no need for war."

"His most-noted supporters included physicist Albert Einstein, the existentialist philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre, and author and philosopher Albert Camus."

"In 1953, Mr. Davis founded the World Government of World Citizens. He later created the ... that continues today to issue passports and other documents. To date, 950,000 people are registered as world citizens... In 1991... the State Department... determined [he] was not legally empowered to print such documents. Critics charged that Mr. Davis was hawking "false hope" to people who had few other places to turn for help."

"It's about a song and dance man on a mission to unite the world, to save this little ball... in space."

"World War II comes along and he finds himself... bombing the city of Brandenburg, and his own brother has been killed... [H]e says, "Why am I killing..? Why wasn't I arrested for killing..? Whey weren't they?" and he goes on a mission to figure out how he can save our world."

"He went to Paris where the United Nations was meeting in 1948, before they had built the building in New York... [H]e leaps up in the middle of the entire U.N. General Assembly... to say that nations you represent divide us and lead us to the brink of total war. ...[H]e calls on the delegates to elect a government of, by and for the People of this planet."

"Delegates actually applaud him, but he's hauled away. ...Albert Einstein, Jean-Paul Sartre... Albert Camus rally to his defense and 20,000 Parisians join him in demanding the U.N. represent the rights of humanity..."

"It's... crucial that humanity come together, rise above these borders that divide us, and... have the People of the world have a voice at the global level, to... express the will of humanity globally... by bringing together the highest and best wisdom of all of us on the planet, not a race to the bottom like this current broken system. A new system that we invent with the incredible genius of humanity to... amalgamate... all of our best thoughts about how we can save the planet... how we can save our children."

"The very next day, (he did that on December 9, 1948) December 10 the Soviets dropped their objection to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights... they abstained and let that incredible document get passed unanimously, that declares every citizen on this planet has rights and freedoms."

"Why am I killing people in their homes... schools and factories..? Why wasn't I arrested for killing people? Whey weren't they?"

"Here we are, in one little world, one planet... Everybody agrees that world government is the logical solution..."

"Peace doesn't come through hope, prayer or time; we have to reach out and grasp what is within reach."

"A lot of times it works, and a lot of times it doesn’t, and we make no bones about that... But if you’re dealing with bureaucrats who recognize documents rather than human beings, then we will issue the documents. And if the bureaucrat doesn’t recognize it, whose fault is that?"