75 Inspirational Veterans Day Quotes to Honor Our Heroes

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

- Winston Churchill

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

- Christopher Reeve

"On this Veteran's 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

"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

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

- John F. Kennedy

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

- James Allen

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

- George Washington

"We sleep peaceably in our beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on our behalf."

- George Orwell

"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

"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

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

- Jeff Miller

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

- Elmer Davis

"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 best he can, the same cause."

- Abraham Lincoln

"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

"Never give in—never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy."

- Winston Churchill

"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

"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

"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

"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

"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

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

- Winston Churchill

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

- Winston Churchill

"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

"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

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

- Doc Hastings

"Any nation that does not honor its heroes will not long endure."

- Abraham Lincoln

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

- Doc Hastings

"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

"The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men."

- Minot J. Savage

"The soldier's heart, the soldier's spirit, the soldier's soul, are everything."

- George Marshall

"No man is a man until he has been a soldier."

- Louis de Bernières

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

- Marcus Tullius Cicero

"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

"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

"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

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

- Martin Luther King Jr.

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

- Nathan Hale

"Who kept the faith and fought the fight; The glory theirs, the duty ours."

- Wallace Bruce

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

- Sebastian Junger

"I go where the sound of thunder is."

- Alfred M. Gray

"Courage in danger is half the battle."

- Plautus

"Because all of us believe and understand in the fabric of the common bond of why we call ourselves American is to care for the men and women who wear the uniform; and when they take off the uniform, we care for them when they are veterans."

- Steve Buyer

"I am not a hero but the brave men who died deserved this honor."

- Ira Hayes

"Our soldiers have nobly fought to protect freedom since our country's birth, and have fought to protect those that could not protect themselves, even in foreign lands when called upon."

- John Linder

"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

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

- Elmer Davis

"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

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

- Barack Obama

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

- Maya Angelou

"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

"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

"Here men endured that a nation might live."

- Herbert Hoover

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

- Daniel Webster

"He who is brave is free."

- Lucius Annaeus Seneca

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

- Carrie Jones

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

- William Safire

"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

"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

"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

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

- James Bryce

"Where liberty dwells, there is my country."

- Benjamin Franklin

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

- Meister Eckhart

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

- Emma Donoghue

"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

"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

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

- Alexander Hamilton

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

- General George S. Patton Jr.

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

- General Norman Schwarzkopf

"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

"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

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

- Claudia Pemberton

"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

"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

"Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

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

- Barack Obama

"Only our individual faith in freedom can keep us free."

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"I’ve lived the literal meaning of the 'land of the free' and 'home of the brave.' It’s not corny for me. I feel it in my heart. I feel it in my chest."

- Chris Kyle

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

- Joseph Campbell

"A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom."

- Bob Dylan

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him."

- G.K. Chesterton

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

- Michel de Montaigne

"The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it."

- Thucydides

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

- Mark Twain

"Our Veterans accepted the responsibility to defend America and uphold our values when duty called."

- Bill Shuster

"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

"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

"We come, not to mourn our dead soldiers, but to praise them."

- Francis A. Walker

"We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude."

- Cynthia Ozick

"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

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

- Elmer Davis

"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

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

- Benjamin Disraeli

"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

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

- William Shakespeare

"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

"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

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

- James Monroe

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

- Thomas William Parsons

"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

"Lord, bid war's trumpet cease; fold the whole Earth in peace."

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Freedom is nothing but a chance to be better."

- Albert Camus

"In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."

- Jose Narosky

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

- Marquis de Lafayette

"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

"Bravery never goes out of fashion."

- William Makepeace Thackeray

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

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"As a former veteran, I understand the needs of veterans, and have been clear - we will work together, stand together with the Administration, but we will also question their policies when they shortchange veterans and military retirees."

- Solomon Ortiz

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

- Thomas M. Smith

"Gentlemen, when the enemy is committed to a mistake we must not interrupt him too soon."

- Horatio Nelson

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

- Bernard Malamud

"I'm trying to raise the awareness of the troops that, when they deploy and go to war, it's not just them at war - it's also their family. Their family is having to go through all the hardships and the stresses."

- Chris Kyle

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

- H.L. Mencken

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

- Gary Hart

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

- Gilbert K. Chesterton

"Fortune favors the brave."

- Virgil

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

- George Santayana

"Honor to the soldier and sailor everywhere, who bravely bears his country's cause."

- Abraham Lincoln

"A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer."

"Freedom is never free."

"We don’t know them all, but we owe them all."

"Saluting the brave hearts with pride and respect all the way."

"To our men and women in uniform, past, present, and future, God bless you and thank you."