There’s no bigger task than protecting the homeland of our country.

The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, and that is the path of surrender, or submission.

I have never been a quitter. To leave office before my term is completed is opposed to every instinct in my body. But as president I must put the interests of America first Therefore, I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.

I like America, just as everybody else does. I love America, I gotta say that. But America will be judged.

For me, America is really, truly the indispensable nation.

Every citizen should be a soldier. This was the case with the Greeks and Romans, and must be that of every free state.

The spirit of this country is totally adverse to a large military force.

Some have argued that confronting the threat from Iraq could detract from the war against terror. To the contrary, confronting the threat posed by Iraq is crucial to winning the war on terror.

Here at home, when Americans were standing in long lines to give blood after the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we squandered an obvious opportunity to make service a noble cause again, and rekindle an American spirit of community.

What pity is it That we can die, but once to serve our country.

I was a Marine for 41 years, and it wasn’t long enough. We enjoy putting on that uniform.

It is lamentable, that to be a good patriot one must become the enemy of the rest of mankind.

I have done for my country, and for all mankind, all that I could do, and I now resign my soul, without fear, to my God – my daughter to my country.

Given a fair shot, given a fair chance, Americans have never, ever, ever, ever let their country down. Never. Never. Ordinary people like us. Who do extraordinary things.

There is nothing wrong with America that faith, love of freedom, intelligence, and energy of her citizens cannot cure.

None but an armed nation can dispense with a standing army. To keep ours armed and disciplined is therefore at all times important.

For the mission’s sake, for our country’s sake, and the sake of the men who carried the Division’s colors in past battles – carry out your mission and keep your honor clean.

Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our nation – not because of the height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the size of our economy. Our pride is based on a very simple premise, summed up in a declaration made over two hundred years ago.

It is rather for us here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion.

Whoever won’t fight when the President calls him, deserves to be kicked back in his hole and kept there.

Terrorist attacks can shake the foundations of our biggest buildings, but they cannot touch the foundation of America. These acts shatter steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.

America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.

I believe in American exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism.

My dream is of a place and a time where America will once again be seen as the last best hope of earth.

Just like the Alamo, somebody damn well needed to go to their aid. Well, by God, I’m going to Viet Nam’s aid!

If we love our country, we should also love our countrymen.

The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all other ties, any other history, and himself adopts the vesture of his adopted land.

There are seasons in every country when noise and impudence pass current for worth; and in popular commotions especially, the clamors of interested and factious men are often mistaken for patriotism.

Fighting corruption is not just good governance. It’s self-defense. It’s patriotism.

If we are marked to die, we are enough to do our country loss; and if to live, the fewer men, the greater share of honor.

If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.

Everyone, no doubt, remains first and foremost a man of his own country and continues to draw from it his motive force.

We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

I started to make a study of the art of war and revolution and, whilst abroad, underwent a course in military training. If there was to be guerrilla warfare, I wanted to be able to stand and fight with my people and to share the hazards of war with them.

True patriotism is better than the wrong kind of piety.

I can assure you that my first and foremost interest is my country.

A man who says that no patriot should attack the war until it is over… is saying no good son should warn his mother of a cliff until she has fallen.

The American people are so much stronger, so much more resolved than any enemy can fully understand.

You want to know whether we’re better off? I’ve got a little bumper sticker for you: Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive. Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive! Osama bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive!

There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum.

One thing I just want to say to the military families – while you might not wear a uniform, I know – we all know, the nation knows – that you serve and sacrifice right alongside of your loved ones. And we are so grateful and proud of all of you for your service to this nation.

There is no plausible theory under which the record of the Pentagon Papers can be interpreted as relating to the national defense.

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.

The Iraqis have become invested in their nationhood.

I think I’m one of the most patriotic people that I’ve ever encountered in America. I consider myself a bedrock patriot. I participate very actively in local politics, because my voice might be worthwhile. I participate in a meaningful way – not by donations; I work at it.

‚My country, right or wrong‘ is a thing no patriot would ever think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying ‚My mother, drunk or sober.‘

We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.

Gold is good in its place; but loving, brave, patriotic men are better than gold.

We didn’t crumble after 9/11. We didn’t falter after the Boston Marathon. But we’re America. Americans will never, ever stand down. We endure. We overcome. We own the finish line.

When we assumed the Soldier, we did not lay aside the Citizen.

The resolve of our great nation is being tested. But make no mistake, we will show the world that we will pass the test.

Patriotism is the willingness to kill and be killed for trivial reasons.

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.

Who serves his country well has no need of ancestors.

If ever I feel the soul within me elevate and expand to those dimensions not wholly unworthy of its Almighty Architect, it is when I contemplate the cause of my country, deserted by all the world beside, and I standing up boldly and lone and hurling defiance at her victorious oppressors.

If you can ask a young man to give his life for his country, you can lead people.

The man who loves other countries as much as his own stands on a level with the man who loves other women as much as he loves his own wife.

I carry the flag of Ireland all the time. I want to represent my country.

Patriot: the person who can holler the loudest without knowing what he is hollering about.

When trouble breaks out, our men and women in uniform, they don’t just sit around thinking about it or talking about it – they act. They put on that uniform. They leave their loved ones behind. They go out there. They give orders. They follow orders. They do whatever it takes to keep our country safe.

France has more need of me than I have need of France.