“Huong, watching the blood of those men seep down the stream, I suddenly thought about their mothers and sisters. I thought about tears and sorrow. I thought about you, Grandma, your mother, and Hahn. I had hated the Americans and their allies so much before that day. I hated them for dropping bombs on our people, killing innocent civilians. But from that day, I hated the war.”
– Q.M.P. Nguyen, “the Mountains Sing”

“For what matters in life is not whether we receive a round of applause; what matters is whether we have the courage to venture forth despite the uncertainty of acclaim.”
– Amor Towles, “A Gentleman in Moscow”

“On a wall of the Wray sitting room are two framed pictures. They are photographs of the young bride’s two uncles, in World War uniforms. One of them never came back from the last war. And before this one is over there will be more pictures of fighters on the wall – husbands, brothers and cousins. For everybody is in it, one way or another.” – Ernie Pyle in England