"Our orientation has been wrong. We have been talking of aid to Britain as if Britain were a beggar at the gate, whereas, in point of fact, Britain has been our shield behind which we can pull up our socks, tie our shoelaces and get ready—and also our laboratory."
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Military leaders from the United StatesMedal of Honor recipientsDistinguished Service Cross recipientsCentral Intelligence Agency personnelUnited States Intelligence Community personnel
Original Language: English
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Speech (April 1941); reported in Allen Dulles, The Secret Surrender (1966)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_J._Donovan
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William J. Donovan
William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan KBE (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat. He is best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), during World War II. He is regarded as the founding father of the CIA, and a statue of him stands in the lobby of the CIA headquarters building in Langley, Virginia.
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