What is your favorite inspirational military speech from a movie or tv show?

2014-01-09T23:05:22-05:00

I will go first Patton speech from the beginning of Patton in front of the flag. Especially the make the enemy die for their country line.

Response by Col Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 9 at 2014 11:16 PM

2014-01-09T23:16:47-05:00

SSG Ricciardelli, great question, I definitely agree with the Patton speech; another good one that immediately comes to mind is the inspirational speech from the movie "Braveheart" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr_OpFxCx-A

They Will Never Take Our Freedom - Braveheart (3/9) Movie CLIP (1995) HD

Braveheart Movie Clip - watch all clips http://j.mp/yGSKIq click to subscribe http://j.mp/sNDUs5 William (Mel Gibson) delivers a powerful speech while trying...

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 9 at 2014 11:25 PM

2014-01-09T23:25:36-05:00

Another great speech is the German Generals final speech to his troops from Band of Brother. Give it a listen especially my paratrooper brethren.

Response by CH (CPT) Heather Davis made Jan 10 at 2014 1:48 AM

2014-01-10T01:48:14-05:00

<p><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000154/?ref_=tt_trv_qu"><span class="character"><u><font color="#0066cc">Lt. Colonel Hal Moore</font></u></span></a>: I can't promise you that I will bring you all home alive. But this I swear, before you and before Almighty God, that when we go into battle, I will be the first to set foot on the field, and I will be the last to step off, and I will leave no one behind. Dead or alive, we will all come home together. So help me, God. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><img width="214" height="317" title="We Were Soldiers (2002) Poster" alt="We Were Soldiers (2002) Poster" src="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTY3ODk4MTc5Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTk2MTUyMQ@@._V1_SX214_.jpg" itemprop="image"></p><div class="pta-link-card"><div class="pta-link-card-picture"><img src="http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BNTUzOTMwNTM0OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNDQwMTUxMw@@._V1_SY317_CR8,0,214,317_.jpg"></div><div class="pta-link-card-content"><div class="pta-link-card-title"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000154/?ref_=tt_trv_qu" target="_blank">Mel Gibson</a></div><div class="pta-link-card-description">Mel Gibson, Actor: Braveheart. Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born on January 3, 1956, in Peekskill, New York, USA as the sixth of eleven children to parents Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and ...</div></div><div style="clear: both;"></div><div class="pta-box-hide"><i class="icon-remove"></i></div></div>

Response by 1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 10 at 2014 11:13 AM

2014-01-10T11:13:42-05:00

I'm partial to this one. Too bad it was an abysmal failure:

Bridge Too Far, A (1977) -- (Movie Clip) Market Garden

General Horrocks (Edward Fox) at the map, explaining Montgomery's plan to staff in England, including Colonel Vandeleur (Michael Caine), in <B>A Bridge Too Far</B>, 1977, from Cornelius Ryan's novel a...

Response by 1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 10 at 2014 11:45 AM

2014-01-10T11:45:19-05:00

A modern classic:

Col Tim Collins' inspirational speech - Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh recreates Col. Tim Collins' speech to 1 Batt., Royal Irish Regiment, on 19 March 2003, immediately prior to the invasion of Iraq. From the BB...

Response by SGT Dan Knispel made Jan 11 at 2014 5:09 PM

2014-01-11T17:09:01-05:00

My favorite is President Thomas Whitmore's speech from the movie "Independence Day".

“Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join
others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest
aerial battle in the history of mankind. “Mankind.” That word should
have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty
differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps
it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be
fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution…
but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist.
And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as
an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice:
“We will not go quietly into the night!” We’re going to live on! We’re
going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 19 at 2014 3:15 PM

2014-03-19T15:15:41-04:00

THATS A FACT JACK- STRIPES (1981)................ RIP HAROLD RAMIS

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2014 5:45 AM

2014-04-06T05:45:00-04:00

this is always a very good go to.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2014 5:50 AM

2014-04-06T05:50:41-04:00

the Kings Speech

King George VI: In this grave hour, perhaps the most fateful in our history, I send to every household of my peoples, both at home and overseas, this message, spoken with the same depth of feeling for each one of you, as if I were able to cross your threshold and speak to you myself. For the second time in the lives of most of us, we are at war. Over and over again we have tried to find a peaceful way out of the differences between ourselves and those who are now our enemies. But it has been in vain. We have been forced into a conflict, for we are called to meet the challenge of a principle, which, if it were to prevail, would be fatal to any civilized order in the world. Such a principle, stripped of all disguise, is surely the mere primitive doctrine that might is right. For the sake of all that we ourselves hold dear, it is unthinkable that we should refuse to meet the challenge. It is to this high purpose that I now call my people at home, and my peoples across the seas, who will make our cause their own. I ask them to stand calm and firm and united in this time of trial. The task will be hard. There may be dark days ahead, and war can no longer be confined to the battlefield. But we can only do the right as we see the right, and reverently commit our cause to God. If one and all we keep resolutely faithful to it, then, with God's help, we shall prevail.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2014 5:51 AM

2014-04-06T05:51:50-04:00

Sgt. Ernie Savage: Good morning, Sergeant Major.

Sergeant Major Basil Plumley: How do you know what kind of goddamn day it is?

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2014 5:54 AM

2014-04-06T05:54:39-04:00

Captain Stillman: All right, soldier, let's see how you fire that mortar.

Soldier with Mortar: What coordinates, sir?

Captain Stillman: [annoyed] Coordinates?

Soldier with Mortar: Yes, sir, they determine where the mortar's...

Captain Stillman: Soldier, the army has spent a lot of money teaching you to fire that thing. Now set it and fire it.

Soldier with Mortar: Sir, we don't know where the shell's gonna...

Captain Stillman: Soldier. The only way to learn anything is to do it. Now fire the weapon.

Response by CSM Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 6 at 2014 5:55 AM

2014-04-06T05:55:50-04:00

ok my last one for this thread

John Winger: C'mon, it's Czechoslovakia. We zip in, we pick 'em up, we zip right out again. We're not going to Moscow. It's Czechoslovakia. It's like going into Wisconsin.

Russell Ziskey: Well I got the shit kicked out of me in Wisconsin once. Forget it!

Response by CW2 Jonathan Kantor made Apr 10 at 2014 10:53 AM

2014-04-10T10:53:14-04:00

Yup. Patton. That's the serious one. The slightly less than serious one would be the President's speech from Independence Day.

Response by CW2 Jonathan Kantor made Apr 10 at 2014 10:55 AM

2014-04-10T10:55:19-04:00

Another real good one is from Julius Caesar:

Blood and destruction shall be so in use

And dreadful objects so familiar

That mothers shall but smile when they behold

Their infants quarter’d with the hands of war;

All pity choked with custom of fell deeds:

And Caesar’s spirit, ranging for revenge,

With Ate by his side come hot from hell,

Shall in these confines with a monarch’s voice

Cry ‘Havoc,’ and let slip the dogs of war;

That this foul deed shall smell above the earth

With carrion men, groaning for burial.

Response by CW2 Jonathan Kantor made Apr 10 at 2014 10:57 AM

2014-04-10T10:57:40-04:00

Last one, I promise (My fingers are crossed, don't tell anyone). I have to hit you with one of Tennyson's greatest:

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!

"Charge for the guns!" he said:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

"Forward, the Light Brigade!"

Was there a man dismay'd?

Not tho' the soldier knew

Someone had blunder'd:

Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why,

Theirs but to do and die:

Into the valley of Death

Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,

Flash'd as they turn'd in air,

Sabring the gunners there,

Charging an army, while

All the world wonder'd:

Plunged in the battery-smoke

Right thro' the line they broke;

Cossack and Russian

Reel'd from the sabre stroke

Shatter'd and sunder'd.

Then they rode back, but not

Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon behind them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

While horse and hero fell,

They that had fought so well

Came thro' the jaws of Death

Back from the mouth of Hell,

All that was left of them,

Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wondered.

Honor the charge they made,

Honor the Light Brigade,

Noble six hundred.

Yes, I had to post the whole poem because the entire statement only works that way :)

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Apr 10 at 2014 1:30 PM

2014-04-10T13:30:33-04:00

You already took my favorite one! Who doesn't love the beginning of Patton.

Response by SPC Charles Brown made Apr 22 at 2014 8:48 PM

2014-04-22T20:48:23-04:00

I have always been fond of the opening speech in the Movie Patton. A bit graphic, but it speaks the truth.

Response by CPT Zachary Brooks made Apr 23 at 2014 9:17 AM

2014-04-23T09:17:45-04:00

I've always loved Coach Boone's speech from Remember the Titans about Gettysburg. Its kind of a military speech:

Anybody know what this place is? This is Gettysburg. This is where they fought the battle of Gettysburg. Fifty thousand men died right here on this field, fighting the same fight that we're still fighting amongst ourselves.....today. This green field right here was painted red, bubbling with the blood of young boys. Smoke and hot lead pouring right through their bodies. Listen to their souls, man. 'I killed my brother with malice in my heart. Hatred destroyed my family.' You listen and take a lesson from the dead. If we don't come together right now, on this hallowed ground, we too will be destroyed just like they were. I don't care if you don't like each other, but you will respect each other. I don't know, maybe we'll learn to play this game like men.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 28 at 2014 5:37 PM

2014-04-28T17:37:48-04:00

Braveheart.....

"Fight and you may die. Run and you will live at least while. And dying in your bed many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance, to come back here as young men and tell our enemies that they may take our lives but they will never take our freedom!"

Response by LTC Paul Labrador made Jun 5 at 2014 12:43 PM

2014-06-05T12:43:45-04:00

"St Crispin's Day" (AKA "Band of Brothers") speech from Henry the V. The Kenneth Branagh version of course!

Response by SSG Maurice P. made Sep 11 at 2014 5:06 PM

2014-09-11T17:06:04-04:00

IT WASNT REALLY A SPEECH BUT IT SHOULD HAVE WON CHARLES WHITMORE AN OSCAR FOR HIS 1958 PORTRAYAL OF AN 101ST AIRBORNE SOLDIER OF BASTOGNE WHO MARCHES HIS DECIMATED PLATOON PAST A FRESHLY GREEN UNIT AS HE LIMPS ALONG CALLING CADENCE(BATTLEGROUND)HE CHARLES WHITMORE WAS A WORLD WAR 2 MARINE SEMPER FI MY BROTHER...
PATTONS SPEECH WOULD BE NUMBER 2
MEL GIBSON IN WE WERE SOLDIERS WHEN HE SAID HE WILL BE THE FIRST ON THE BATTLE FIELD AND THE LAST MAN OFF HOOAH...

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Feb 18 at 2015 10:52 AM

2015-02-18T10:52:34-05:00

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Feb 18 at 2015 11:02 AM

2015-02-18T11:02:53-05:00

"Well, Air Cav."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k26hmRbDQFw

The Smell of Napalm In the Morning - Apocalypse Now (4/8) Movie CLIP (1979) HD

Apocalypse Now movie clips: http://j.mp/1Ja5wpg BUY THE MOVIE: http://j.mp/x4JXiS Don't miss the HOTTEST NEW TRAILERS: http://bit.ly/1u2y6pr CLIP DESCRIPTION...

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Feb 18 at 2015 11:09 AM

2015-02-18T11:09:51-05:00

Lunch with COL Jessup

http://youtu.be/YacNxNWDZPk

A Few Good Men Lunch With Jessup

Response by COL Charles Williams made Feb 18 at 2015 11:15 AM

2015-02-18T11:15:18-05:00

Not a real quote, but I love the PSG's (SFC Horvath) words from Saving Private Ryan, when they finally breech the wire obstacle on Omaha Beach... "We're in Business, defilade, other side of the hole... Let's go!" Makes you appreciate "Follow Me" and US Army Infantry!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-b7K4UEUds

Bangalore Torpedo

Invasion of Normandy

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 18 at 2015 11:22 AM

2015-02-18T11:22:29-05:00

LTC Hal Moore speech in We Were Soldiers.

The last line: "I can't promise you that I will bring you all home alive. But this I swear, before you and before Almighty God, that when we go into battle, I will be the first to set foot on the field, and I will be the last to step off, and I will leave no one behind. Dead or alive, we will all come home together. So help me, God."

Also Joe Galloway at the end of the movie.

"Some had families waiting. For others, their only family would be the men they bled beside. There were no bands, no flags, no Honor Guards to welcome them home. They went to war because their country ordered them to. But in the end, they fought not for their country or their flag, they fought for each other."

"We who have seen war, will never stop seeing it. In the silence of the night, we will always hear the screams. So this is our story, for we were soldiers once, and young."

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 18 at 2015 11:22 AM

2015-02-18T11:22:35-05:00

Rise up, Virginia! Rise up! Up, men! Up, Virginians! Hold your fire until they are within fifty yards, and then give them the bayonet! And when you charge, yell like furies! - Gen. Stonewall Jackson, Gods and Generals (2003).

Response by MAJ(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 18 at 2015 11:26 AM

2015-02-18T11:26:29-05:00

Not quite a military speech, but a great one nonetheless:

Al Pacino's "Inch By Inch" speech from Any Given Sunday

I don't know what to say really.
Three minutes
to the biggest battle of our professional lives
all comes down to today.
Either
we heal
as a team
or we are going to crumble.
Inch by inch
play by play
till we're finished.
We are in hell right now, gentlemen
believe me
and
we can stay here
and get the shit kicked out of us
or
we can fight our way
back into the light.
We can climb out of hell.
One inch, at a time.

Now I can't do it for you.
I'm too old.
I look around and I see these young faces
and I think
I mean
I made every wrong choice a middle age man could make.
I uh....
I pissed away all my money
believe it or not.
I chased off
anyone who has ever loved me.
And lately,
I can't even stand the face I see in the mirror.

You know when you get old in life
things get taken from you.
That's, that's part of life.
But,
you only learn that when you start losing stuff.
You find out that life is just a game of inches.
So is football.
Because in either game
life or football
the margin for error is so small.
I mean
one half step too late or to early
you don't quite make it.
One half second too slow or too fast
and you don't quite catch it.
The inches we need are everywhere around us.
They are in ever break of the game
every minute, every second.

On this team, we fight for that inch
On this team, we tear ourselves, and everyone around us
to pieces for that inch.
We CLAW with our finger nails for that inch.
Cause we know
when we add up all those inches
that's going to make the fucking difference
between WINNING and LOSING
between LIVING and DYING.

I'll tell you this
in any fight
it is the guy who is willing to die
who is going to win that inch.
And I know
if I am going to have any life anymore
it is because, I am still willing to fight, and die for that inch
because that is what LIVING is.
The six inches in front of your face.

Now I can't make you do it.
You gotta look at the guy next to you.
Look into his eyes.
Now I think you are going to see a guy who will go that inch with you.
You are going to see a guy
who will sacrifice himself for this team
because he knows when it comes down to it,
you are gonna do the same thing for him.

That's a team, gentlemen
and either we heal now, as a team,
or we will die as individuals.
That's football guys.
That's all it is.
Now, whattaya gonna do?

http://youtu.be/_b7bgtu2O4E

Al Pacino "Inches" Speech, Any Given Sunday (1999)

Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino) delivers his inspirational "Inches" speech in the 1999 film Any Given Sunday. Music: Paul Kelly - Peace (from the album 'Soundings i...

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 18 at 2015 11:27 AM

2015-02-18T11:27:11-05:00

The German General's speech from "Band of Brothers". It showed that we are not always that different from "enemy".

Response by CMSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 18 at 2015 2:29 PM

2015-02-18T14:29:08-05:00

"Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"
:)

Response by CW2 Geoff Lachance made Feb 25 at 2015 4:59 PM

2015-02-25T16:59:18-05:00

There are many good ones. The first that comes to mind is Joshua Chamberlain (Jeff Daniels, Gettysburg) speaking to the men from Maine who were arrested for mutiny.

Response by SSG Mark DeTillion made Feb 27 at 2015 4:29 PM

2015-02-27T16:29:57-05:00

I'll bet the best part of you dripped down the crack of your mothers ass and ended up a brown stain on the mattresss....Full Metal Jacket

Response by SSG Adam Reed made Mar 6 at 2015 9:53 AM

2015-03-06T09:53:45-05:00

When Forrest Gump gets on stage in DC.

Response by SFC Walt Littleton made Mar 6 at 2015 1:56 PM

2015-03-06T13:56:54-05:00

I have to go with Patton's first because he said it and it was his speech word for word. He didn't sugar coat it. He laid it out and lead his troops as best the politicians would let him do it.

Second would our Pal Gunny Ermy in Full Medal Jackit! He preached it just like my DI did in 74. Well except he put it in Army terms. My Drill Sergeant Andies was a soldier to the end. We were his last cycle before he retired and even though he could have skated a little if he wanted to he didn't. From day one until I packed and left for AIT he soldiered.

Response by SGT Christopher Churilla made Aug 16 at 2015 6:00 PM

2015-08-16T18:00:58-04:00

My favorite wasn't a line, it was an action: in "Pearl Harbor", when FDR demands a retaliatory strike, a military advisor says it can't be done, so FDR gets out of his wheelchair, stands up on his own and says, "Do not tell me it can't be done."

A close second is Bill Pullman's speech from "Independence Day". It still gives me goosebumps.