We have a saying in the Marine Corps and that is 'no better friend, no worse enemy, than a U.S. Marine.' We always hope for the first, friendship, but are certainly more than ready for the second.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the dual nature of Marines as loyal friends and formidable enemies.
John F. Kelly's quote reflects the strong camaraderie that exists among Marines, highlighting their deep loyalty and commitment to one another. It also acknowledges the fierce determination and readiness to confront adversaries when necessary, suggesting that the qualities that make a Marine a great friend also make them a formidable opponent. This duality encapsulates the ethos of the Marine Corps, where honor and duty intertwine with personal bonds.
In practice
During a military ceremony, a speaker might quote this to emphasize the bond between service members.
Those with less of a sense of service to the nation never understand it when men and women of character step forward to look danger and adversity straight in the eye, refusing to blink, or give ground, even to their own deaths. The protected can't begin to understand the price paid so they and their families can sleep safe and free at night.
Unless confronted by an immediate, visible, or uncomfortable crisis, our nation's tendency is to take the security of the Western Hemisphere for granted.
The one thing I was always told is you absolutely have to tell truth to power. Whether you're a second lieutenant working with a captain and a lieutenant colonel, or a four-star general working with the Office Secretary of Defense and the White House, the decision makers have got to have ground truth.
Whether you're a second lieutenant working with a captain and a lieutenant colonel, or a four-star general working with the Office Secretary of Defense and the White House, the decision makers have got to have ground truth. Otherwise, the decisions they make could be flawed - and that can be dangerous.
Since 1945, no one in the U.S. military has liked the end result of the military conflicts we've been in: Vietnam, Korea, certainly Iraq, and probably Afghanistan. But in a democracy, you salute.
One day, you'll get out of the Marine Corps; you'll put your uniform up, but you'll never not be a Marine.
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of the weary pilgrimage.
The heart may think it knows better: the senses know that absence blots people out. We really have no absent friends. The friend becomes a traitor by breaking, however unwillingly or sadly, out of our own zone: a hard judgment is passed on him, for all the pleas of the heart.
I let the dog out, or I let him in, and we talk some. I let him know I like him, and he lets me know he likes me.
It is only the great hearted who can be true friends. The mean and cowardly, Can never know what true friendship means.
A true friend is the most precious of all possessions and the one we take the least thought about acquiring.
A friend in power is a friend lost.
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