• In a letter to his wife from Paris, John Adams observed: “I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study paintin, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry and porcelain.” Seven Miracles That Saved America, Page 126
    • “Amazingly, throughout the battle, Abraham Lincoln remained unexplainably calm. During the entire episode at Gettysburg, while his Union army faced the possibility of a final crushing defeat, he was described as being “in excellent spirits.” Only later did Lincoln confide why he was possessed of such calm…. “When Lee crossed the Potomac and entered Pennsylvania, followed by our army, I felt that the great crisis had come. I knew that defeat in a great battle on northern soil involved the loss of Washington, to be followed perhaps by the intervention of England and France in favor of the Confederacy. I went to my room and got down on my knees in prayer. Never before had I prayed with so much earnestness. I wish I could repeat m prayer. I felt I must put all my trust in Almighty God. He gave our people the best country ever given to man. He alone could save it from destruction. I had tried my best to do my duty and had found myself unequal to the task. The burden was more than I could bear. I asked Him to help us and give us victory now. I was sure my prayer was answered. I had no misgivings about the result at Gettysburg.” Seven Miracles that Saved America, Page 190
    • “The discussion (between Abraham Lincoln and General Daniel Sickles) was observed by General James Rusling, who gave the following account of the conversation: In reply to a question from General Sickles whether or not the President was anxious about the battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln gravely said, “No, I was not; some of my Cabinet and many others in Washington were, but I had no fears.” General Sickles inquired how this was, and seemed curious about it. Mr. Lincoln hesitated, but finally replied: “Well, I will tell you how it was. In the pinch of the campaign up there, when everybody seemed panic-stricken, and nobody could tell what was going to happen, oppressed by the gravity of our affairs, I went to my room one day, and I locked the door, and got down on my knees before Almighty God, and prayed to Him mightily for victory at Gettysburg. I told Him that this was His war, and our cause His cause, but we couldn’t stand another Fredericksburg or Chancellorsville. And I then and there made a solemn vow to Almighty God, that if He would stand by our boys at Gettysburg, I would stand by Him. And he did stand by your boys, and I will stand by Him. And after that (I don’t know how it was, and I can’t explain it), soon a sweet comfort crept into my soul that God Almighty had taken the whole business into His own hands and that things would go all right at Gettysburg. And that is why I had no fears about you.” Seven Miracles that Saved America, Page 191
    • “In November 1863, Lincoln was asked to speak at the dedication of the Gettysburg Cemetery….”It is for us the living, rather, to be 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- that 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.” Seven Miracles that Saved America, Page 195-196
    • “The Battle at Midway had finally come to an end. Despite the fact that the Japanese outnumbered and outgunned the U.S Fleet, they suffered a devastating defeat. The total casualties suffered by the Japanese included 2,500 men, four aircraft carrier and 332 airplanes. The United States, in turn, lost 307 men, one carrier, and 147 airplanes.” Seven Miracles that Saved America, Page 243
    • “By every estimation, the U.S. should have lost the Battle of Midway. Consider the list of seemingly impossible occurrences that led to U.S. victory: 1. There was one chance in a million the US could have broken the Japanese code that revealed the time and place of their next attack. 2. Workers at the Honolulu shipyards were able to complete three month’s worth of repairs on the damaged Yorktown in just two days. 3. Against all odds, and while running out of fuel, Ensign Jack Reid was able to locate the Japanese fleet, removing any doubt that they were headed for Midway. 4. Scout aircraft from the Tone launched half an hour late, allowing US reconnaissance aircraft to discover the Japanese fleet first. 5. In the midst of the battle, Vice Admiral Nagumo ordered his fighters to change their ordnance from torpedoes to bombs then back to torpedoes, allowing the US to catch the Japanese aircraft on the carrier decks before they could be launched. 6. Nagumo got word from his scout plane that the US fleet was turning into the wind in the middle of an attack from Midway aircraft, wasting precious minutes before he realized the US fleet included aircraft carriers. 7. Lieutenant Commander Waldron somehow, instinctively, selected the right course to fly. 8. The Japanese destroyer Arahi chased after the US submarine Nautilus, then turned back, leading US dive bombers directly to the Japanese carrier fleet. 9. Despite the fact that the US attacking squadrons got separated while searching for the Japanese fleet, all of them arrived at the exact location and at the exact time they needed to in order to mount a devastating attack. 10. Nagumo made the mistake of ordering all of his Zero fighters to descend from high altitude and attack the low-flying torpedo planes, leaving the American dive bombers able to press their attack without interference from the Japanese fighters. 11. The dive bombers were able to hit the enemy carriers at the exact moment when they had their aircraft, ammunition, bombs, fuel and aircrews exposed atop the carrier decks.” Seven Miracles that Saved America, Page 243-244
    • “No other nation is as willing as the United States to sacrifice blood and treasure in order to defend the peace and liberty of others. In World War I, 117,000 American soldiers were killed defending the democracies of Europe; 416,800 in World War II; and 55,200 on the Korean Peninsula. Untold billions were spent on the Cold War defeating communist oppression throughout the world. In addition, over the past fifty years, the United States has been the primary force in peacekeeping and defensive operations throughout the Baltics, Kosovo, Eastern Europe, eastern and central Africa, Vietnam, Laos, South America….the list goes on and on.” Seven Miracles that Saved America, Page 291
    • “There will be two great political parties in this country. One will be called the Republican, and the other the Democrat party. These two parties will go to war and out of these two parties will spring another party which will be the Independent American Party. The United States will spend her strength and means warring in foreign lands until other nations will say, ‘Let’s divide up the lands of the United States.’ Then the people of the U.S. will unite and swear by the blood of their forefathers that the land shall not be divided. Then the country will go to war. They will fight until one half of the U.S. army will give up, and the rest will continue to struggle. They will keep on until they are very ragged and discouraged, and almost ready to give up—when the boys from the mountains will rush forth in time to save the American Army from defeat and ruin. And they will say, ‘Brethren, we are glad you have come; give us men, henceforth, who can talk with God.’ Then you will have friends; but you will save the country when its liberty hangs by a hair, as it were.” Joseph Smith, Jr.
    • “By Victor Davis Hanson Until the millennium arrives and countries cease trying to enslave others, it will be necessary to accept one’s responsibilities and to be willing to make sacrifices for one’s country—as my comrades did. As the troops used to say, “If the country is good enough to live in, it’s good enough to fight for.” With privilege goes responsibility.” With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa (E.B. Sledge)- Page 1
    • “When the real history of mankind is fully disclosed, will it feature the echoes of gunfire or the shaping sound of lullabies? The great armistices made by military men or the peacemaking of women in homes and in neighborhoods? Will what happened in cradles and kitchens prove to be more controlling than what happened in congresses?” (Neal A. Maxwell, Ensign, May 1987, 10-11)
    • “We wish to be remembered. Willing to die, we are not willing to be forgotten.” (Joshua Lawrence Chamberlaine, Memorial Day Address, 1884)
    • “Stand firm ye boys from Maine. For not once in a century are men permitted to bear such responsibilities for freedom and justice; for God and humanity is now placed upon you.” (Joshua Lawrence Chamberlaine, Witness to Gettysburg [1987], 195)
    • “The purpose of war, as Patton put it, is to make the other dumb bastard die.” American Sniper: Memorial Edition (Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice) Page 84
    • “AT ANOTHER LOCATION, WE FOUND BARRELS OF CHEMICAL material that was intended for use as biochemical weapons. Everyone talks about there being no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but they seem to be referring to completed nuclear bombs, not the many deadly chemical weapons or precursors that Saddam had stockpiled.” American Sniper: Memorial Edition (Chris Kyle, Scott McEwen and Jim DeFelice) Page 88