Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak, and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid, one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat, and humble and gentle in victory.

Like the old soldier of the ballad, I now close my military career and just fade away, an old soldier who tried to do his duty as God gave him the light to see that duty. Goodbye.

We must offer the world leadership designed to advance the goal of universal progress and enduring peace.

Even when opportunity knocks, a man still has to get up off his seat and open the door.

In war, as it is waged now, with the enormous losses on both sides, both sides will lose. It is a form of mutual suicide.

The world is in a constant conspiracy against the brave. It's the age-old struggle: the roar of the crowd on the one side, and the voice of your conscience on the other.

The scale and grandeur of the Russian effort mark it as the greatest military achievement in all history.