I was only a gun captain on the battleship Alabama for 34 months. People have called me a hero for that, but I'll tell you this - heroes don't come home. Survivors come home.
Bob FellerRead
The soldiers that didn't come back were the heroes. It's a roll of the dice. If a bullet has your name on it, you're a hero. If you hear a bullet go by, you're a survivor.
Interpretation
This quote honors fallen soldiers and emphasizes the unpredictable nature of survival in warfare.
Bob Feller's quote reflects on the bravery of soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice in battle, stating that those who do not return are the true heroes. It highlights the randomness of life and death in combat—suggesting that if fate has marked you for death, you are a hero, while those who escape bullets are merely survivors. This duality recognizes both the honor of sacrifice and the sheer luck involved in surviving conflict.
In practice
A speech at a veterans' gathering to honor those who served.
I was only a gun captain on the battleship Alabama for 34 months. People have called me a hero for that, but I'll tell you this - heroes don't come home. Survivors come home.
I'm no hero. Heroes don't come back. Survivors return home. Heroes never come home. If anyone thinks I'm a hero, I'm not.
Courage is indispensible because in politics not life but the world is at stake.
A brave man is a man who dares to look the Devil in the face and tell him he is a Devil.
The struggle isn't just about being straight or gay or transgender - it's a human struggle. That's always really been my kind of starting point: If you're out there and you're odd, come over to my house.
Women are strong, strong, terribly strong. We don't know how strong until we are pushing out our babies. We are too often treated like babies having babies when we should be in training, like acolytes, novices to high priestesshood, like serious applicants for the space program.
Girls can do anything. We do do anything and we expect to be treated as equals.
Hate crimes are the scariest thing in the world because these people really believe what they're doing is right.
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