Quotes

“If you ain’t Cav…you ain’t shit!”
-Unknown 

“Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees. ”
- Last Words of Stonewall Jackson

“If I ordered him to go to Washington and take his regiment…Hell could not stop him.”
—Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest (commenting on Col. Johnson’s command)

“Truly Superior Pilots are those who use their Superior Judgment to avoid those situations where they might have to use their Superior Skills”
Found in emails around the world

“Aim towards the Enemy”
-Instructions printed on US rocket launcher

“BLESSED be the Lord my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight”
-Psalm 144:1

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
-JOHN 15:13

“I came here, where freedom is being defended, to serve it, and to live or die for it.”
-In his first letter to American Commander-in-Chief George Washington, shortly after arriving in the Colonies, Casimir Pulaski had written this. He is known as the “Father of American Cavalry”

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
-Unknown

“Whiskey for my men, beer for the horses.”
-Unknown, later made into a song by Toby Kieth

“When war does come, my advice is to draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.”
-General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

“I have flown among the trees and seen the face of the enemy”.
-Scout Platoon “Ratpack” Patch — 1969-1970

“It is the Soldier, not the reporter who has given us freedom of press.
It is the Soldier, not the poet who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Soldier, not the campus organizer who gives us freedom to demonstrate.
It is the Soldier who salutes the flag,
who serves beneath the flag,
and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
who allows the protester to burn the flag.”
-Father Dennis Edward O’Brien

“A man afoot is half a man.”
-A Texas Civil War cavalryman

“Altogether, Cavalry operations are exceedingly difficult, knowledge of the country is absolutely necessary, and ability to comprehend the situation at a glance, and an audacious spirit, are everything.”
-Maurice de Saxe
Mes Reveries, 1732

“I believe that the value of the horse and the opportunity for the horse in the future are likely to be as great as ever. Aeroplanes and tanks are only accessories to the men and the horse, and I feel sure that as time goes on you will find just as much use for the horse – the well-bred horse – as you have ever done in the past.”
-In 1926 Sir Douglas Haig wrote an article about the impact that the First World War had made on military tactics.

“It is great war is so terrible, lest we grow to fond of it”.
- General Robert E. Lee

“I do not think this army could survive without music.”
- General Robert E. Lee

“I feel that you are free men, I am a free man and we can do as we please. I came here as a friend and whenever I can serve any of you I will do so … therefore let us stand together. Although we differ in color, we should not differ in sentiment”
-Lt. General N.B. Forrest – Memphis, TN – July 1875

“I would sooner die a thousand deaths than betray a friend or be false to duty”.
- Sam Davis (spy)

“There nothing so much like God on earth, than a General on a battlefield.”
- Longstreet

“I can scarcely think of him without weeping.”
- Robert E. Lee on when asked about J.E.B. Stuart

“If I can not whip Bobby Lee, I will be willing to go home.”
- McClellan

“Shoot EVERYTHING blue, txit sky and sea.”
- Forrest

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General Patton's Principles: For Life and Leadership
(from the book by the same name)

Command and Management
Any man, who thinks he is indispensable, ain’t.
People must have authority to match responsibility.
Commanders must command.

Health
An active mind cannot exist in an inactive body.
Always make the mind command the body.
To gain strength, always go beyond exhaustion.

Pride and Confidence
Pride in self-starts with pride in appearance.
Do not be afraid to fail.
Never take counsel of your fears.

Decision Making
Grab ‘em by the nose and kick ‘em in the pants!
If everyone is thinking alike, no one is thinking.
In the long run, it is what we do not say that will destroy us.

Victory and Success
The way to win is to never lose!
Never fight a battle unless you will gain by winning.
Success is not getting on top; it’s how you bounce on the bottom.

Life and Death
Death can be more exciting than life.
Live for something rather than die for nothing.
Fear kills more people than death.

More great (not necessarily Cav related) aviation quotes!

“The thing is, helicopters are different from planes. An airplane by it’s nature wants to fly, and if not interfered with too strongly by unusual events or by a deliberately incompetent pilot, it will fly. A helicopter does not want to fly. It is maintained in the air by a variety of forces and controls working in opposition to each other, and if there is any disturbance in this delicate balance the helicopter stops flying; immediately and disastrously. There is no such thing as a gliding helicopter.

This is why being a helicopter pilot is so different from being an airplane pilot, and why in generality, airplane pilots are open, clear-eyed, buoyant extroverts and helicopter pilots are brooding introspective anticipators of trouble. They know if something bad has not happened it is about to.” – Harry Reasoner, 1971.

When a prang seems inevitable, endeavor to strike the softest, cheapest object in the vicinity, as slowly and gently as possible. —advice given to RAF pilots during W.W.II.

“Instrument flying is when your mind gets a grip on the fact that there is vision beyond sight.”
- U.S. Navy ‘Approach’ magazine circa W.W.II.

“Keep thy airspeed up, less the earth come from below and smit thee.” —William Kershner

“It is not easy to be the best. You must have the courage to bear pain, disappointment, and heartbreak. You must learn how to face danger and understand fear, yet not be afraid. You establish your goal, and no matter what deters you along the way, in your every waking moment you must say to yourself, ‘I could do it’.” —Betty Skelton, first lady of aerobatics.

“The quality of the box matters little. Success depends upon the man who sits in it.”
— Baron Manfred von Richthofen, AKA The Red Baron.

“If you’re faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible”
-Bob Hoover

“This thing we call luck is merely professionalism and attention to detail, it’s your awareness of everything that is going on around you, it’s how well you know and understand your aircraft and your own limitations. Luck is the sum total of your of abilities as an aviator. If you think your luck is running low, you’d better get busy & make some more. Work harder, pay more attention. Do better preflights.”
-Stephen Coonts, The Intruders

Found on Kiowapilots.com (now KiowaPilots.net)
-One of the earliest aviation traditions I can remember is, “Don’t wear your spurs in the aircraft”.
-Funny, I always heard it was “Don’t wear your spurs on a date with your blow-up doll.”

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