75 Inspirational Veterans Day Quotes to Honor Our Heroes

"Bravery is being the only one who knows you’re afraid."

- Col. David Hackworth

"May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please but as the opportunity to do what is right."

- Peter Marshall

"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."

- Christopher Reeve

"Let me ask you, sir, when is the time for brave men to exert themselves in the cause of liberty and their country, if this is not?"

- George Washington

"All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."

- Winston Churchill

"He who is brave is free."

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country."

- John F. Kennedy

"When duty calls, that is when character counts."

- William Safire

"Every post is honorable in which a man can serve his country."

- George Washington

"No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks."

- James Allen

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them."

- John F. Kennedy

"On this Veterans Day, let us remember the service of our veterans, and let us renew our national promise to fulfill our sacred obligations to our veterans and their families who have sacrificed so much so that we can live free."

- Dan Lipinski

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same."

- Ronald Reagan

"It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle."

- H. Norman Schwarzkopf

"Americans should always honor our veterans. At this moment, we especially need the example of their character. And we need a new generation to set examples of its own, examples in service and sacrifice and courage. These veterans have shaped our history, and with their values, your generation will help guide our future."

- George W. Bush

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

- John F. Kennedy

"Duty, honor, country: Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be."

- General Douglas MacArthur

"And we must never forget that it is the mighty arm of the American warrior — never bending, never breaking, never yielding — generation after generation that secured for us the blessings of a nation that still stands today as the beacon of liberty, democracy, and justice around the world."

- Joe Biden

"How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!"

- Maya Angelou

"It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle."

- General Norman Schwarzkopf

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave."

- Elmer Davis

"The valor and courage of our young women and men in the armed services are a shining example to all of the world, and we owe them and their families our deepest respect."

- Bill Frist

"Whenever the world makes you cynical; whenever you seek true humility, and true selflessness — look to a veteran."

- Barack Obama

"The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

- Abraham Lincoln

"On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind."

- Dan Lipinski

"I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country."

- Nathan Hale

"This will remain the Land of the Free only so long as it is the Home of the Brave."

- Elmer Davis

"This will remain the land of the free so long as it is the home of the brave."

- Elmer Davis

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."

- General George S. Patton

"I was born an American; I will live an American; I shall die an American."

- Daniel Webster

"National honor is the national property of the highest value."

- James Monroe

"One flag, one land, one heart, one hand, one Nation, evermore!"

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

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

- Harry Truman

"Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run it is easier. We do not have to become heroes overnight. Just one step at a time, meeting each thing that comes up, seeing it is not as dreadful as it appeared, discovering we have the strength to stare it down."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing."

- Emma Donoghue

"Brave men rejoice in adversity, just as brave soldiers triumph in war."

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war."

- Douglas MacArthur

"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost."

- Arthur Ashe

"Soldiers, when committed to a task, can’t compromise. It’s unrelenting devotion to the standards of duty and courage, absolute loyalty to others, not letting the task go until it’s been done."

- John Keegan

"Honoring the sacrifices many have made for our country in the name of freedom and democracy is the very foundation of Veterans Day."

- Charles B. Rangel

"Better than honor and glory, and History’s iron pen, Was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men."

- Richard Watson Gilder

"If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live."

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Never was so much owed by so many to so few."

- Winston Churchill

"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form or a readiness to die."

- G.K. Chesterton

"Fortune favors the brave."

- Virgil

"When the will defies fear, when duty throws the gauntlet down to fate, when honor scorns to compromise with death — that is heroism."

- Robert Green Ingersoll

"These fallen heroes represent the character of a nation who has a long history of patriotism and honor—and a nation who has fought many battles to keep our country free from threats of terror."

- Michael N. Castle

"There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer."

- General Jimmy Doolittle

"The patriot’s blood is the seed of freedom’s tree."

- Thomas Campbell

"Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared to death."

- General Omar Bradley

"My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place – police, firefighters, and member of our armed forces."

- Sidney Sheldon

"Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"America’s veterans have served their country with the belief that democracy and freedom are ideals to be upheld around the world."

- John Doolittle

"The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave."

- Patrick Henry

"Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country’s cause. Honor, also, to the citizen who cares for his brother in the field and serves, as he best can, the same cause."

- Abraham Lincoln

"Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened."

- Billy Graham

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation."

- George Washington

"I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear."

- Nelson Mandela

"We few, we Band of Brothers. For he who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother."

- William Shakespeare

"A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself."

- Joseph Campbell

"My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place — police, firefighters, and members of our armed forces."

- Sidney Sheldon

"The willingness of America’s veterans to sacrifice for our country has earned them our lasting gratitude."

- Jeff Miller

"Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul."

- Michel de Montaigne

"Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world, but the Marines don’t have that problem."

- Ronald Reagan

"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear — not absence of fear."

- Mark Twain

"The young patriots now returning from war in Iraq and Afghanistan and other deployments worldwide are joining the ranks of veterans to whom America owes an immense debt of Gratitude."

- Steve Buyer

"There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise about itself, in acts of bravery and heroism."

- Alexander Hamilton

"Live as brave men; and if fortune is adverse, front its blows with brave hearts."

- Marcus Tullius Cicero

"The veterans of our military services have put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. They have dedicated their lives to their country and deserve to be recognized for their commitment."

- Judd Gregg

"While only one day of the year is dedicated solely to honoring our veterans, Americans must never forget the sacrifices that many of our fellow countrymen have made to defend our country and protect our freedoms."

- Randy Neugebauer

"We owe our World War II veterans — and all our veterans — a debt we can never fully repay."

- Doc Hastings

"Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die."

- G.K. Chesterton

"Regard your soldiers as your children, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys. Look on them as your own beloved sons, and they will stand by you even unto death!"

- Sun Tzu

"My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place -- police, firefighters, and members of our armed forces."

- Sidney Sheldon

"...The military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that...we leave no veteran behind."

- Dan Lipinski

"Veterans Day is an acknowledgement that those willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for or country - and their families - deserve our admiration and respect today and every day."

- Elizabeth Esty

"The legacy of heroes is the memory of a great name and the inheritance of a great example."

- Benjamin Disraeli

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country."

- Benjamin Franklin

"I want people to take the initiative to find veterans that need help, veterans that are suffering and in need of assistance reintegrating from combat back into society, into normal family lives and jobs. We need to take a real 'boots on the ground' approach to helping veterans in need."

- Max Martini

"But this Veterans Day, I believe we should do more than sing the praises of the bravery and patriotism that our veterans have embodied in the past. We should take this opportunity to re-evaluate how we are treating our veterans in the present."

- Nick Lampson

"I go where the sound of thunder is."

- Alfred M. Gray

"In war the heroes always outnumber the soldiers ten to one."

- H.L. Mencken

"This country has not seen and probably will never know the true level of sacrifice of our veterans."

- Thomas M. Smith

"This year's Veterans Day celebration is especially significant as our country remains committed to fighting the War on Terror and as brave men and women are heroically defending our homeland."

- John Doolittle

"One way to remember who you are is to remember who your heroes are."

- Steve Jobs

"America without her soldiers would be like God without his angels."

- Claudia Pemberton

"When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?"

- Michel de Montaigne

"Valor is a gift. Those having it never know for sure whether they have it till the test comes. And those having it in one test never know for sure if they will have it when the next test comes."

- Napoleon Bonaparte

"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."

- Mark Twain

"In the face of impossible odds, people who love this country, can change it."

- Barack Obama

"Patriotism consists not in waving the flag, but in striving that our country shall be righteous as well as strong."

- James Bryce

"The only thing that makes battle psychologically tolerable is the brotherhood among soldiers. You need each other to get by."

- Sebastian Junger

"Without heroes, we are all plain people, and don’t know how far we can go."

- Bernard Malamud

"Brave men are all vertebrates; they have their softness on the surface and their toughness in the middle."

- Gilbert K. Chesterton

"There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty, that makes human nature rise above itself, in acts of bravery and heroism."

- Alexander Hamilton

"Better than honor and glory, and history’s iron pen, was the thought of duty done and the love of his fellow-men."

- Richard Watson Gilder

"If the only prayer you said was ‘thank you,’ that would be enough."

- Meister Eckhart

"We’re blessed with the opportunity to stand for something — for liberty and freedom and fairness. And these are things worth fighting for, worth devoting our lives to. And we have good reason to be hopeful and optimistic."

- Ronald Reagan

"Veterans come from all walks of life, and they live in small towns and big cities, in red states and blue states."

- John Delaney

"On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation!"

- Thomas William Parsons

"Wherever the standard of freedom and independence has been or shall be unfurled, there will be America’s heart, her benedictions and her prayers be."

- John Quincy Adams

"I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot."

- Gary Hart

"The secret of happiness is freedom, the secret of freedom is courage."

- Carrie Jones

"Humanity has won its battle. Liberty now has a country."

- Marquis de Lafayette

"Only the dead have seen the end of war."

- George Santayana

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory."

- Woodrow Wilson

"I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."

"Freedom is never free."

"Once let the black man get upon his person the brass letters, U.S.; let him get an eagle on his button, and a musket on his shoulder and bullets in his pocket, and there is no power on earth which can deny that he has earned the right to citizenship."

"The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated [this ground], far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."

"In war, using their native language, they relayed secret messages that turned the course of battle. At home, they carried for decades the secret of their own heroism."

"Veterans know better than anyone else the price of freedom, for they’ve suffered the scars of war. We can offer them no better tribute than to protect what they have won for us."

"The unparalleled perseverance of the armies of the United States, through almost every possible suffering and discouragement for the space of eight long years, was little short of a standing miracle."

"Whatever gains are secured, it is loss the veteran remembers most keenly. Only a fool or a fraud sentimentalizes the merciless reality of war."

"The nicest veterans…the kindest and funniest ones, the ones who hated war the most, were the ones who’d really fought."