I can give you a six-word formula for success: "Think things through - then follow through."

There is a peculiar gratification in receiving congratulations from one's squadron for a victory in the air. It is worth more to a pilot than the applause of the whole outside world.

Courage is about doing what you're afraid to do.

Flying is one of the safest jobs in the Army as long as you don't drop out. If you do drop out, you are a dead man, and dropping out means, usually, that you have made a mistake or let go of your grip.

I pay those guys to fly, so let them fly. I'll be damned if I'll pay them to just sit there.

I am not such an egotist as to believe that God has spared me because I am I. I believe there is work for me to do and that I am spared to do it, just as you are.

The experienced fighting pilot does not take unnecessary risks. His business is to shoot down enemy planes, not to get shot down.