"By their victory, the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions and other units of the Fifth Amphibious Corps have made an accounting to their country which only history will be able to value fully. Among the Americans who served on Iwo Island, uncommon valor was a common virtue. " ~ Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, U.S. Navy

"I've always been proud of being a Marine. I won't hesitate to defend the Corps." ~ Jonathan Winters, comic and Marine

“They say ‘you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink.’ In the Marine Corps, you make that horse wish to hell he had.” ~ USMC Drill Instructor

Weakness in America - "Our Country won't go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won't be any AMERICA because some foreign soldier will invade us and take our women and breed a hardier race!" ~ LT. GEN. LEWIS "CHESTY" PULLER, USMC

"A ship without Marines is like a garment without buttons." ~ Admiral David D. Porter, USN

"Why in hell can't the Army do it if the Marines can. They are the same kind of men; why can't they be like Marines." ~ Gen. John J. "Black Jack" Pershing, USA; 12 February 1918

"I can't say enough about the two Marine divisions. If I use words like brilliant, it would really be an under-description of the absolutely superb job they did in breaching the so-called impenetrable barrier. . .Absolutely superb operation, a textbook, and I think it'll be studied for many, many years to come as the way to do it." - General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 27 February 1991.

"A Marine on duty has no friends." ~ Marine Corps proverb

"We're not retreating, Hell! We're just attacking in a different direction!" — Gen. Oliver Smith | USMC

“We found a water pipe, tied the flag to it and put it up. Then all hell broke loose below. Troops cheered, ships blew whistles, some men openly wept.”  ~ Cpl. Charles Lindbergh, flag raising on Iwo Jima