Robert Fisk Quotes

A lot of my father's family in Canada volunteered in the First World War because they saw it as a war that was defending the mother country.

The French suffered such catastrophic losses in the First World War. It really was the end of them as a great world power, although they, quote, 'won.'

I could not have the honour of being a German soldier because of my imprisonment in the First World War. And in this world war the Fuehrer refuses to allow me to serve as a soldier.

Culturally, the First World War is the war that stands in for other wars.

The west has a great deal to answer for in the Middle East, from Britain's belated empire-building after the First World War to the US and British policy that condemns modern Iraq to the material and social squalor of a half-century ago.

One thing that was amazing about World War II was that everybody signed up for the duration plus six months. Fliers got to leave combat after 25 missions, or 35 missions, but other than that, you were in it. You were part of the great effort, until, oh boy, six months after it was over.

In the account book of the Great War the page recording the Russian losses has been ripped out. The figures are unknown. Five millions, or eight? We ourselves know not.

There's a tradition of public service in my family. I'm one of three boys that joined the military. My father was in the Peace Corps.

From the world wars of Europe to the jungles of the Far East, from the deserts of the Middle East to the African continent, and even here in our own hemisphere, our veterans have made the world a better place and America the great country we are today.

In 1918, when I was 6 or 7 years old, radio was just coming into use in the Great War.

The story of FDR as U.S. Commander in Chief is a heroic war story of a president who had already overcome great adversity in facing polio but who went on to take the reins of our armed forces in the greatest conflagration in human history - on our behalf.

The mere dates of my existence do not interest me, except in one connection. When the Great War started I was too old to be acceptable as a volunteer; when conscription followed I was too old to be conscripted.

On the death of his brothers, my dad lied about his age and joined the army in 1918. He was in the trenches long enough to be gassed and contract the early stages of tuberculosis from which he would eventually die just before my birth.

What can I say about the First World War, a war in which I served as an infantryman, a war I hated at the start and to which I never warmed as it proceeded?

In the beginning of the Great War, the emotions of Europe ran riot in a most horrible manner, first among the so-called 'living,' and then among the killed when they awoke.

The Great War was a progressive revelation and disillusionment.

Let it be remembered, too, that at a time of war, nearly every one is under great strain.

Both my grandparents were officers in World War Two, and I would be personally offended if somebody distorted their achievements.

The first war zone was declared by Great Britain. She gave us and the world notice of it on the 4th day of November, 1914. The zone became effective Nov. 5, 1914.

Have we so soon forgotten those four years of terrible carnage, the greatest war of all time; forgotten the millions of men who gave their lives, who made the supreme sacrifice and who today, beneath the soil of France and Belgium, sleep the eternal sleep?

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

My grandfather was in World War II and fought in Europe in Army Infantry, so I have such a huge respect for him, and he's shared some personal experiences with me.

My father was in the First World War.

My grandmother was German. She was an immigrant, and my great grandfather fought in World War I and was stationed in France.

While shooting 'The Unit', I went to the Middle East twice to see the troops. I met some great men and women.