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George S. Patton on Memorial Day

1885–1945 United States

← All quotes by George S. Patton

8 quotes

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.

Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base.

Speech to the Third Army (1944)

Now in war we are confronted with conditions which are strange
If we accept them we will never win.
Since being realistic, as in mundane combats fistic
We will get a bloody nose and that's a sin.

War as I knew it (1947), as cited in Oxford Essential Quotations (4th ed.), By Susan Ratcliffe.

Men are at war with each other because each man is at war with himself.

Misattributed

I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his country.

Misattributed

Give me an army of West Point graduates, I'll win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I'll win a war!

Misattributed

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: George S. Patton (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.