"Humility must be the measure of a man whose success was bought with the blood of his subordinates, and paid for with the lives of his friends."

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe

These were General Eisenhower's first words when introduced on the floor of British Parliament following the Allied Victory in Europe. But he first had to wait for a 5 minute standing ovation to end. After this first sentence, Parliament then gave a second standing ovation, which lasted 15 minutes before they again took their seats.

My rendering of this quote is as best I can remember, and though not exact, the spirit is the same.

For your first post, that was spectacular. Look foward to more of the same. Welcome aboard, WayneScottUSN.

Originally Posted by WayneScottUSN

My rendering of this quote is as best I can remember, and though not exact, the spirit is the same.

You were close. Here's what I found:

June 12, 1945, a little more than one month after the end of the hostilities, Dwight Eisenhower stood on the balcony of London's Guildhall and accepted the freedom of the city and the London Sword. The killing had stopped, but the cost of the conflict had only begun to be measured.

Europe lay in utter ruins. Cities had been crushed, economies had collapsed and the carnage was beyond our comprehension. In the European theater, including Russia, 11 ½ million allied soldiers were killed in action and more than 7 million allied civilians perished from starvation, bombing or butchery, and that is not counting those who were victims of the Holocaust.

Eisenhower had led a great military crusade to defeat Nazism and had decisively prevailed. Standing before the teaming London crowd that day Eisenhower began his acceptance speech solemnly, without a written text:

"The high sense of distinction I feel in receiving this great honor from the city of London is inescapably mingled with feelings of profound sadness," he said "… Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in blood of his followers and sacrifices of his friends."

In this speech -- which he had written himself and memorized for the occasion -- he accepted the tribute, acknowledging that he was but a symbol of great human forces that had "labored arduously and successfully for a righteous cause…"

He continued: "If all Allied men and women that have served with me in this war can only know that it is they whom this august body is really honoring today, then indeed I will be content."

http://www.eisenhowerinstitute.org/e...n-speeches.htm -- it's about halfway down, where his granddaughter is making comments. Everything I've read about him makes me wish I had had the chance to meet the guy.