Quotes

Japanese Soldier: Are you righteous? Kind? Does your confidence lie in this? Are you loved by all? Know that I was, too. Do you imagine your suffering will be any less because you loved goodness and truth?

Capt. James 'Bugger' Staros: I've lived with these men, sir, for two and a half years and I will not order them all to their deaths.

First Sgt. Edward Welsh: In this world, a man, himself, is nothing. And there ain't no world but this one.

Private Witt: [voice over] We were a family. How'd it break up and come apart, so that now we're turned against each other? Each standing in the other's light. How'd we lose that good that was given us? Let it slip away. Scattered it, careless. What's keepin' us from reaching out, touching the glory?

Pvt. Jack Bell: [voice over] We. We together. One being. Flow together like water. Till I can't tell you from me. I drink you. Now. Now.

Private Witt: [voice over] This great evil. Where does it come from? How'd it steal into the world? What seed, what root did it grow from? Who's doin' this? Who's killin' us? Robbing us of life and light. Mockin' us with the sight of what we might've known. Does our ruin benefit the earth? Does it help the grass to grow, the sun to shine? Is this darkness in you, too? Have you passed through this night?

Lt. Col. Gordon Tall: You're Greek, aren't you, Captain? Did you ever read Homer? We read Homer at the Point. In Greek.

Private Witt: I seen another world. Sometimes I think it was just my imagination.

First Sgt. Edward Welsh: What difference do you think you can make, one man in all this madness?

First Sgt. Edward Welsh: Property. The whole fucking thing's about property.

First Sgt. Edward Welsh: Everything a lie. Everything you hear, everything you see. So much to spew out. They just keep coming, one after another. You're in a box. A moving box. They want you dead, or in their lie... There's only one thing a man can do - find something that's his, and make an island for himself. If I never meet you in this life, let me feel the lack; a glance from your eyes, and my life will be yours.

Pvt. Jack Bell: Love. Where does it come from? Who lit this flame in us? No war can put it out, conquer it. I was a prisoner. You set me free.

Colonel Gordon Tall: John, I'm convinced that the Japanese position can be broken right now. All we have to do is keep going and we'll have this hill. We'll have this hill by sundown! You see the spirit in these men? Do you see the new spirit? Well, I want to take advantage of that before something happens to sap their strength. To have this battalion relieved in a defeat, or even to have it reinforced by troops from a reserve regiment, if we were stalled before reaching the top, well, Jesus Christ, that's just a hell of a lot more than I could stand! I've waited all my life for this. I've worked, slaved, eaten untold buckets of shit to have this opportunity and I don't intend to give it up now.

Colonel Gordon Tall: Look at this jungle. Look at those vines, the way they twine around, swallowing everything. Nature's cruel, Staros.

Private Edward P. Train: [narrating] Oh, my soul, let me be in you now. Look out through my eyes, look out at the things you've made. All things shining.

Sergeant Storm: It makes no difference who you are, no matter how much training you got and the tougher guy you might be. When you're at the wrong spot at the wrong time, you gonna get it.

Private Witt: [narrating] War don't ennoble men. It turns them into dogs... poisons the soul.

Pvt. Charlie Dale: See them birds up there... they gonna eat you raw. You're dyin'.

Japanese soldier: We know you out there, Yank!

Sergeant Keck: Tojo eats shit!

Japanese soldier: No, Roosevelt eats-a shit!

Private Ash: I'm outta this war for good, Witt.

Private Witt: I remember my mother when she was dyin', looked all shrunk up and gray. I asked her if she was afraid. She just shook her head. I was afraid to touch the death I seen in her. I couldn't find nothin' beautiful or uplifting about her goin' back to God. I heard of people talk about immortality, but I ain't seen it.

Private Witt: I wondered how it'd be like when I died, what it'd be like to know this breath now was the last one you was ever gonna draw. I just hope I can meet it the same way she did, with the same... calm. 'Cause that's where it's hidden - the immortality I hadn't seen.

First Sgt. Edward Welsh: Where's your spark now?

Lt. Col. Gordon Tall: Come on, men, let's go! You're gonna see plenty more of these where we're goin'! Are we going up this hill or aren't we?

Brigadier General Quintard: The Marines had their chance now we have ours.

First Sgt. Edward Welsh: We're living in a world that's blowing itself to hell as fast as everybody can arrange it.

Capt. James 'Bugger' Staros: The tough part is, uh... Not knowing if you're doing any good. That's the hard part.

Private Witt: Kids around here never fight.

Melanesian Woman with Child: Sometimes. Sometimes when they see the planes, they always fighting.

Private Witt: [narration] You're death that captures all. You too are the source of all that's going to be born.

Capt. James 'Bugger' Staros: You are my sons, my dear sons. You live inside me now. I'll carry you wherever I go.