Quotes from Flags of Our Fathers

“Today the word "hero" has been diminished. confused with "celebrity." But in my father's generation the word meant something.
celebrities seek fame. They take actions to get attention. Most often, the actions they take have no particular moral content. Heroes are heroes because they have risked something to help others. Their actions involve courage. Often, those heroes have been indifferent to the public's attention. But at least, the hero could understand the focus of the emotion.”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“When I asked him, fifty-three years after the event, "Mr. Lucas, why did you jump on those grenades?" he did not hesitate with his answer: "To save my buddies.”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“The battle of Iwo Jima would quickly turn into a primitive contest of gladiators: Japanese gladiators fighting from caves and tunnels like the catacombs of the Colosseum, and American gladiators aboveground, exposed on all sides, using liquid gasoline to burn their opponents out of their lethal hiding places.

All of this on an island five and a half miles long and two miles wide. An area smaller than Doc Bradley's hometown of Antigo, but bearing ten times the humanity. A car driving sixty miles an hour could cover its length in five and a half minutes. For the slogging, dying Marines, it would take more than a month.”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“This giant fleet of American warships – a modern armada – churns across the ocean day and night for a journey of four thousand miles. It moves with the inevitability of a railroad schedule. It stops for nothing, it deviates for nothing. The United States, having been surprised at Pearl Harbor and then raked in battle after battle by the onrushing forces of imperial Japan, has finally stabilized and gathered its strength. Now the American giant is fully awake and cold-eyed. It is stalking an ocean, rounding the curve of the earth, to crush its tormentor.”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“That is how we always keep our beloved dead alive, isn’t it? By telling stories about them; true stories.”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“Like a moth, Rene was attracted to the flame of fame”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“Roughly fifty percent of procedure in a Marine basic-training program is about disconnecting the young American boy from his concept of himself as a unique individual, a lone operator.”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“Later he would declare that “not getting hit was like running through rain and not getting wet.”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“Iwo Jima had become the number-one front-page story in newspapers across the country. And it had become the most heavily covered, written-about battle in World War II.”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“Celebrities seek fame. They take actions to get attention. Most often, the actions they take have no particular moral content.”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“Late in his life, Rene complained of living a life of a celebrity one minute and a “John Doe” the next.”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without”
― James D. Bradley, quote from Flags of Our Fathers

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“Even a foolish old woman like me knows that lazy people don't think for themselves; they only think about themselves.”
― Terry Goodkind, quote from Blood of the Fold

“As the helicopter fell, its dead rotors started to spin, and Ruvola used that energy to slow the aircraft down. Like downshifting a car on a hill, a hovering auto-rotation is a way of dissipating the force of gravity by feeding it back through the engine. By the time the helicopter hit the water it had slowed to a manageable speed, and all the torque had been bled out of the rotors;”
― Sebastian Junger, quote from The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea

“You can dream on welfare. You can hope as you take in ironing. It is just less painful if you don't.”
― Rick Bragg, quote from All Over But the Shoutin'

“Blaire,

This teardrop represents many things. The tears I know you’ve shed over holding your mother’s piece of satin. The tears you’ve shed over each loss you’ve experienced. But it also represents the tears we’ve both shed as we’ve felt the little life inside you begin to move. The tears I’ve shed over the fact I’ve been given someone like you to love. I never imagined anyone like you Blaire. But every time I think about forever with you I’m humbled that you chose me.

This is your something blue.

I love you,

Rush”
― Abbi Glines, quote from Forever Too Far

“Джесси обнял Фиону, положил голову ей на плечо, и что-то в этой картине – его темная голова рядом с ее светлой – напомнило Мэгги о том, какой она еще до замужества рисовала себе семейную жизнь. Далеко не той, что сложилась у нее. Мэгги думала тогда, что брак гораздо сильнее изменяет людей – две противоположности сходятся, чуть ли не с грохотом и треском. Она полагала, что, когда выйдет замуж, все ее проблемы точно рукой снимет, – вот так, собираясь в отпуск, ты оставляешь неразрешенными несколько запутанных задач, да еще и с легкостью, как будто никогда не вернешься назад и не столкнешься с ними снова. Ошибалась, разумеется. Однако, глядя в те мгновения на Джесси и Фиону, Мэгги почти поверила в справедливость своих давних представлений. Она ушла в дом, тихо закрыла за собой сетчатую дверь и решила, что все кончится хорошо.”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Breathing Lessons

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BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

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