World War l

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“We entered this war because violations of right had occurred which touched us to the quick and made the life of our own people impossible unless they were corrected and the world secured once for all against their recurrence.” 

          President Woodrow Wilson, January 8, 1918

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“I tell you my fellow citizens, the war was won by the American spirit…You know what one of our American wits said that it took only half as long to train an American army as any other because you had only to train them to go one way.”

          President Woodrow Wilson, September 6, 1919

 

World War ll

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“Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan…As Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense…I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese Empire.” 

          President Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 8, 1941

 

“We can repay the debt which we owe to our God, to our dead and to our children only by work—by ceaseless devotion to the responsibilities which lie ahead of us. If I could give you a single watchword for the coming months, that word is—work, work, and more work.
We must work to finish the war. Our victory is but half-over.” 

           President Harry S. Truman remarks after German Surrender, May 8 1945

 

 “It is our responsibility – ours – to see to this victory shall be a monument worthy of the dead who died to win it. This is a victory of more than arms alone! This is a victory of liberty over tyranny.”

          President Harry S. Truman after Japanese Surrender, September 2, 1945

 

“We depend upon you who have known war in all its horror, to keep this nation aware that only through cooperation among all nations can any nation remain wholly secure.  On this night of total victory, we salute you of the Armed Forces of the United States-wherever you may be. What a job you have done!  We are all waiting for the day when you will be home with us again.”

          President Harry Truman from a radio address to members of the Armed Forces, Sept 2, 1945

 

Korean War

 

“We will follow the course we have chosen with courage and with faith because we carry in our hearts the flame of freedom.  We are fighting for liberty and for peace and with God’s blessing we will succeed.” 

           President Harry Truman, July 19, 1950

  

“My friends, almost 90 years ago, Abraham Lincoln at the end of a war…spoke some words that I think more nearly express the true feelings of Americans tonight than would any other words ever spoken or written.  You will recall them: ‘With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right as God give us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in…to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and will all nations.  This is our resolve and our dedication.’ ” 

          President Dwight D. Eisenhower, July 26, 1953

 

Vietnam

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“Unconditioned war can no longer lead to unconditional victory.  Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.”

           President John F. Kennedy, 1961

 

“War is always the same.  It is young men dying in the fullness of their promise.  It is trying to kill a man that you do not even know well enough to hate.  Therefore, to know war is to know that there is still madness in this world.”

          President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966

 

“We must recognize that the ending the war is only the first step toward building the peace.  All parties must now see it that this is a peace that lasts, and also a peace that heals – and a peace that not only ends the war in Southeast Asia but contributes to the prospects of peace in the whole world.”

          President Richard Nixon, January 23, 1973

                                                                                           

Persian Gulf War

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“We are the only nation on this Earth that could assemble the forces of peace.  This is the burden of leadership and the strength that has made America the beacon of freedom in a searching World.”

          George H. W. Bush, January 29, 1991

 

“No one country can claim this victory as its own. This is a victory for the United Nations, for all mankind, for the rule of law and for what is right.”

          President H. W. Bush, February 27, 1991