They teach you to be proud and unbending in honest failure, but humble and gentle in success not to substitute words for actions, not to seek the path of comfort, but to face the stress and spur of difficulty and challenge.' They make you strong enough to know when you are weak, and brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid. They mold you for your future roles as the custodians of the nation's defense. Today, we hear the motto, 'family first, mission always.' And yet those in uniform, who have sworn the oath to defend this nation against all enemies, should strive to remember the words duty, honor, country.Īs the general further states in his speech about those three words, 'these are some of the things they do. Every pedant, every demagogue, every cynic, every hypocrite, every troublemaker, and I am sorry to say, some others of an entirely different character, will try to downgrade them even to the extent of mockery and ridicule,' the general stated. 'The unbelievers will say they (duty, honor, country) are but words, but a slogan, but a flamboyant phrase. While some on TV argue about the 'meaning of words,' it is interesting to note that the general also had something to say about words in his speech. They are your rallying points: to build courage when courage seems to fail to regain faith when there seems to be little cause for faith to create hope when hope becomes forlorn.' In his speech before assembled West Point cadets, General MacArthur, who reminisced of his 30 plus years of military service, said, 'Those three hallowed words reverently dictate what you ought to be, what you can be, what you will be.

The award is presented to outstanding citizens of the United States whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion to the ideals expressed in the West Point motto, 'Duty, Honor, Country.' Douglas MacArthur, one of America's greatest wartime general officers, was awarded the Sylvanus Thayer Award at West Point Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. Our involvement around the world in the war on terrorism brought to mind a farewell speech from an Army general officer that is as relevant today as it was when he spoke his words almost 50 years ago.

The 437th Airlift Wing's mission of 'taking the fight to the enemy' continues. The fifth anniversary of the liberation of Iraq occurred last month.

Duty honor country speech