A soldier will fight long and hard for a bit of coloured ribbon.

I am convinced that the French could not win the war because the internal political situation in Vietnam, weak and confused, badly weakened their military position.

A great and lasting war can never be supported on this principle [patriotism] alone. It must be aided by a prospect of interest, or some reward.

I have spent my life in the study of military strength as a deterrent to war, and in the character of military armaments necessary to win a war... We are rapidly getting to the point that no war can be won.

Those who can win a war well can rarely make a good peace, and those who could make a good peace would never have won the war.

A medal glitters, but it also casts a shadow.