I've made up stuff that's turned out to be real, that's the spooky part.

For over two weeks, the defenders of Wake Island held off a vastly superior force of Japanese ships and troops, inspiring the whole nation with their plucky spirit and sacrifice. Unfortunately, Navy leaders at Pearl Harbor, struggling to protect what was left of the shattered Pacific Fleet, canceled a relief mission, allowing the island and its defenders to fall without support. Wake damaged the long-standing trust between the Corps and the Navy, a memory that still rankles Marines and shames sailors.

Whenever somebody comes up with a good idea, there's somebody else who has never had a good idea in his life who stands up and says, "Oh, you can't do that..."

That's the ultimate pornography. There's nothing more pornographic than glorifying war.

What the government is good at is collecting taxes, taking away your freedoms and killing people. It's not good at much else.

In battle, you forgive a man anything except an unwillingness to take risks. Sometimes you have to put it on the line.

Giving your book to Hollywood is like turning your daughter over to a pimp.