Limited Time Offer
Premium members can get their quote collection automatically imported into their Quotewise collections.
We fought an eighteen-hour battle that day. Most people don't realize this, but we were fighting over two of our dead comrades- the pilot and co-pilo… - William G. Boykin
" "We fought an eighteen-hour battle that day. Most people don't realize this, but we were fighting over two of our dead comrades- the pilot and co-pilot. And we took more casualties because we refused to leave them behind. We couldn't get those two bodies extracted from that helicopter, and we were not going to leave the remains of our two men behind. We were fighting over dead bodies. But, to us, it didn't matter. Alive or dead, they were our comrades and they were coming out with us. We knew they would have been there for us were the roles reversed. When Randy Shughart and Gary Gordon made that third request to go down into the street, they knew there wasn't much chance they would come out alive. That's a transcendent cause. And so was recovering the bodies of the others who died. The question for today is this- have we assessed our lives to determine who and what it is that's worth living and dying for? One can be part of today's "give me" generation or one can be part of "I'll give to you." Shughart and Gordon were givers- not takers. And they gave their lives. But they gave their lives because they had a transcendent cause. Their cause was- at the tactical level- the same for every warrior who's ever been on the battlefield: the guy behind you, in front of you, and on your right and left.
English
Collect this quote
About William G. Boykin
William G. "Jerry" Boykin (born April 19, 1948) was the United States Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence under President George W. Bush from 2002 to 2007 and retired general officer. During his 36-year career in the military he spent 13 years in the Delta Force and was involved in numerous high-profile missions, including the 1980 Iran hostage rescue attempt, the 1992 hunt for Pablo Escobar in Colombia, and the Black Hawk Down incident in Mogadishu, Somalia. He is an author and teaches at Hampden–Sydney College, Virginia. He is currently executive vice president at the Family Research Council.
Also Known As
Pen Names:
Jerry Boykin
Also Known As:
Jerry
Alternative Names:
William "Jerry" G. Boykin
•
William Gerald Boykin
Related quotes. More quotes will automatically load as you scroll down, or you can use the load more buttons.
Additional quotes by William G. Boykin
We also need to be encouragers to our friends. Some of them have hopes and dreams, yet although they've prayed and watched and waited, there's been no answer from above. I think most of us want instant gratification. We even want it in our walk with Christ. Sometimes we get quick and miraculous answers to our prayers. The more typical story is one of persistence and steadfastness; pray, watch, and wait. Do you remember the story of Elijah? He was up on Mount Carmel waiting for God to send the rain He'd promised. Elijah told his servant, "Go look. Do you see any rain clouds?" His servant came back to him six times and said, "Nope." Elijah sent him out yet again. That time the servant came back and said, "Well, yeah. I did see a cloud the size of a man's fist..." After seven tries, the rain was finally on its way.
Cecil's habit of providing for others wasn't limited to his immediate family. One day he got word his best friend had lost his home in a fire. At that time Cecil was struggling to pay his own bills. But that didn't stop him: he cut corners and scraped together whatever he could. And he gave his friend all the cash he could find. I remember that day- as he handed the cash to his friend- because it looked like so much money to me at the time. I would guess it was no more than a hundred dollars in various denominations of bills, but to an eight-year-old it looked like a fortune. It left a powerful impression on me and just deepened my respect and admiration for him over the years. Throughout my life my father exhibited many examples for me to follow concerning the responsibility a man has to care for those he loves and for those who are in need. My father firmly believed it wasn't the U.S. government's responsibility to take care of his parents, his children, friends, or his neighbors. In fact, in his view, it was his role as an American who loved his country to provide for others as much as possible.
Well, is he <nowiki>[</nowiki>bin Laden<nowiki>]</nowiki> the enemy? Next slide. Or is this man <nowiki>[</nowiki>Saddam<nowiki>]</nowiki> the enemy? The enemy is none of these people I have showed you here. The enemy is a spiritual enemy. He’s called the principality of darkness. The enemy is a guy called Satan.”
Loading...