Duty Honor Country - Audio (P08 - 10)

And what sort of soldiers //are those you are to lead? //




Are they reliable? //




Are they brave? //




Are they capable of victory? //




Their story is known to all of you. //




It is the story /of the American //man-at-arms. //




My estimate of him //was formed on the battlefield //many，/many years ago，//and has never changed. //

I regarded him //then as I regard him now //–

as one /of the world's /noblest figures，//




not only /as one /of the finest /military characters，//




but also /as one /of the most stainless. //

His name and fame /are the birthright /of every /American citizen. /

In his youth and strength，//his love and loyalty，//he gave /all /that mortality can give. ///

He needs no eulogy from me //or from any other man. //

He has written /his own history /and written it /in red /on his enemy's breast. //




But when I think //of his patience under adversity，//




of his courage under fire，//




and of his modesty in victory，//


  

I am filled /with an emotion /of admiration I cannot put into words. //

He belongs to history //as furnishing /one /of the greatest examples /of successful /patriotism. //

He belongs to posterity //as the instructor //of future generations //in the principles of liberty and freedom. //

He belongs to the present，to us，//by his virtues /and by his achievements. /

In 20 campaigns，//on a hundred battlefields，//around a thousand campfires，//

I have witnessed //that enduring fortitude，//

that patriotic /self-abnegation，//

and that /invincible /determination//

which have carved his statue /in the hearts of his people. //

From one end of the world to the other // has drained deep //the chalice of courage. ///

As I listened to those songs，//

in memory's eye //     





I could see those //staggering columns //of the First World War，//

bending under soggy packs，//on many a weary march //

from dripping /dusk /to drizzling dawn，//

slogging /ankle-deep /through the mire of shell-shocked roads，//

to form /grimly for the attack，//

blue-lipped，//covered with sludge and mud，//

chilled by the wind and rain，//driving home to their objective，//


  

and for many，//to the judgment seat of God. //

Duty Honor Country - Audio (P07)

But these //are some /of the things they do: //




They build //your basic character. //




They mold you /for your future roles /as the custodians /of the nation's defense. //




They make you //strong enough /to know when you are weak，//




and brave enough /to face yourself /when /you are afraid. //

They teach you //to be proud /and unbending /in honest failure，//

but humble /and gentle /in success; //



not to substitute /words for actions，//




not to seek the path /of comfort，//




but to face the stress /and spur /of difficulty /and challenge; 




to learn /to stand up in the storm //but to have compassion /on those who fall; /




to master yourself /before you seek to master others; //




to have a heart /that is clean，//a goal /that is high; //




to learn to laugh，//yet never forget how to weep; //




to reach into the future //yet never neglect the past; ///




to be serious //yet never to take yourself too seriously; //




to be modest //so that you will remember /the simplicity /of true greatness，//

the open mind /of true wisdom，/

the meekness /of true strength. //

They give you //a temper of the will，//




a quality //of the imagination，//




a vigor //of the emotions，//

a freshness //of the deep springs of life，//

a temperamental /predominance //of courage over timidity，//




of an appetite for adventure /over love of ease. //




They create in your heart //the sense of wonder，//

the unfailing hope /of what next，//

and the joy /and inspiration of life. ///

They teach you /in this way /to be /an officer /and /a gentleman. ///

x

Duty Honor Country - Audio (P04 - 06)

Duty，//Honor，//Country: //Those /three hallowed words //reverently dictate //what you ought to be，//what you can be，//what you will be. ///




They are your /rallying points://




to build courage /when courage seems to fail; //




to regain /faith /when there seems to be little cause for faith; //




to create hope /when hope becomes /forlorn. //




Unhappily，//I possess //neither that /eloquence of diction，//




that /poetry of imagination，//




nor that /brilliance of metaphor//




to tell you /all that they mean. //




The unbelievers /will say they are but words，//but a slogan，//but a flamboyant phrase. //




Every pedant，//every demagogue，//every cynic，//every hypocrite，//every troublemaker，//




and I am /sorry to say，/some others of an entirely different character，//




will try /to downgrade them /even to the extent /of mockery /and ridicule. ///

Duty Honor Country - Audio (P01 - 03)

General Westmoreland，//General Grove，//distinguished guests，//and gentlemen/ of the Corps!///

As I was leaving the hotel this morning，///

a doorman asked me，/"Where are you bound for，General?"///

And when I replied，"West Point，" he remarked，"Beautiful place. /Have you ever been there before?"///

No human being //could fail to be deeply moved //by such a tribute as this. ///

Coming //from a profession I have served so long，//

and a people /I have loved so well，//

it fills me /with an emotion /I cannot express. ///

But this award //is not intended primarily /to honor a personality，//

but to symbolize /a great /moral code --//

the code /of conduct /and chivalry /of those /who guard /this /beloved land /of culture //and ancient descent./

That //is the animation /of this medallion. /

For all eyes and for all time，//it is an expression /of the ethics /of the American soldier. ///

That I should be integrated in this way//

with so /noble an ideal //arouses /a sense of pride /and yet /of humility //which will be with me /always. ///