W.E.B. Griffin Quotes

William Edmund Butterworth III (1929-2019)

W. E. B. Griffin was an American writer of military and detective fiction with 59 novels in seven series published under that name. (W.E.B. Griffin Quotes)

“A good soldier goes where he is told to go, and does what he is told to do, and he smiles.”
W.E.B. Griffin
The Majors

“As far as he was concerned, there were only two kinds of soldiers. There were those who lost their heads at the sound of hostile fire, and those who didn’t. The warriors and the chair-borne.”
W.E.B. Griffin
The Captains

“Bible said was that if you prayed, the Good Lord would point out a Christian man’s path to him. Nothing was said about that path being easy.”
W.E.B. Griffin
The Murderers

“But he just knew how to fly. All they had to do was explain to him what the propeller was doing, spinning around like that.”
W.E.B. Griffin
Call To Arms

“Everybody, sooner or later, stubs their toe. When that happens, the thing to do is swallow hard and go on”
W.E.B. Griffin
Call To Arms

“Find capable subordinates, give them a clear mission, and then get out of their way and let them do their jobs.”
W.E.B. Griffin
Under Fire

“Gentlemen,” he said. “The Marine Corps loves you. Because the Marine Corps loves you, it has gone to considerable effort and expense to provide you with a healthy, nutritious breakfast. The Marine Corps expects you to eat the healthy, nutritious breakfast it has provided for you.”
W.E.B. Griffin

“He had, in fact, held every rank in the Philadelphia Police Department except police woman.”
W.E.B. Griffin
The Witness

“Himmler rarely made little jokes, and when he smiled he reminded Canaris of a funeral director who had just sold an impoverished widow the most expensive coffin he had for sale.”
W.E.B. Griffin

“It’s easier finding a virgin in a whorehouse than an honest politician.”
W.E.B. Griffin
The Vigilantes

“Operations aren’t so bad. It’s sitting around with your thumb up your ass that gets you down.”
W.E.B. Griffin

“The behavioral scientists at the University of California, after extensive research, concluded that the best human material to train to be a pilot are classified intellectually as cretins.”
W.E.B. Griffin

“The Combat Infantry Badge was the only marksmanship badge that meant anything, marksmanship against targets that were shooting back being inarguably more difficult than shooting at defenseless clay pigeons.”
W.E.B. Griffin

“The first duty of an officer—whether a lieutenant or a captain or the Commander in Chief—is to the enlisted men. That was a basic principle of command. He could not justify not calling up the best qualified officers simply because they had already done their duty. They were needed again. They could save some lives. It was a dirty goddamned trick on them, but that’s the way it was going to have to be.”
W.E.B. Griffin

“The first duty of an officer—whether a lieutenant or a captain or the Commander in Chief—is to the enlisted men. That was a basic principle of command. He could not justify not calling up”
W.E.B. Griffin

“The true test of another man’s intelligence is how much he agrees with you?”
W.E.B. Griffin

“We say here in Texas, ‘Cold as an ex-wife’s heart.”
W.E.B. Griffin

“When you must have permission to do something you know is right and you have good reason to believe that the officer with the power to give you such permission is going to say ‘Hell, no,’ do it anyway, as success washes away all sins.”
W.E.B. Griffin

“When you really get serious about some female, Clete, take a good look at her mother. That’s what your beloved will look like in twenty, thirty years.”
W.E.B. Griffin
Secret Honor