When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite.

When you have to kill a man it costs nothing to be polite.

Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima.... The force from which the sun draws its power read more

Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima.... The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East.

All of us who served in one war or another know very well that all wars are the glory and read more

All of us who served in one war or another know very well that all wars are the glory and the agony of the young.

A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny.

A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny.

War is the unfolding of miscalculations.

War is the unfolding of miscalculations.

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic read more

War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse.

Let who will boast their courage in the field,
I find but little safety from my shield,
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Let who will boast their courage in the field,
I find but little safety from my shield,
Nature's, not honour's law we must obey:
This made me cast my useless shield away.

Fighting men are the city's fortress.

Fighting men are the city's fortress.

The history of those who shed those other tears, the history of those anonymous millions, is what Terkel wants readers read more

The history of those who shed those other tears, the history of those anonymous millions, is what Terkel wants readers and listeners to come away with. What's it like to be that goofy little soldier, scared stiff, with his bayonet aimed at Christ? What's it like to have been a woman in a defense-plant job during World War II? What's it like to be a kid at the front lines? It's all funny and tragic at the same time.