These naval quotes will inspire you. Naval, of or relating to ships or shipping or of, in, or relating to a navy or navies.
Below you will find a collection of motivating, happy, and encouraging naval quotes, naval sayings, and naval proverbs.
Best Naval Quotes
- “It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, and with it, everything honorable and glorious.” ~ George Washington
- “Don’t talk to me about naval tradition. It’s nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.” ~ Winston Churchil
- “A good Navy is not a provocation to war. It is the surest guaranty of peace.” ~ Theodore Roosevelt
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“Without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive.” ~ George Washington
- “I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: ‘I served in the United States Navy.” ~ John F. Kennedy
- “The battle of Iwo Island has been won. The United States Marines by their individual and collective courage have conquered a base which is as necessary to us in our continuing forward movement toward final victory as it was vital to the enemy in staving off ultimate defeat.” ~ Chester W. Nimitz
- “Events of October 1962 indicated, as they had all through history, that control of the sea means security. Control of the seas can mean peace. Control of the seas can mean victory. The United States must control the seas if it is to protect your security.” ~ John F. Kennedy
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“**** the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” ~ David Farragut
- “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 a date which will live in infamy the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan… We will gain the inevitable triumph so help us God.” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy.” ~ John Adams
- “I never made a career decision based solely on my desire to be an astronaut. I attended the Naval Academy because I wanted to be a Navy pilot. I majored in math because math had always come pretty easily to me and I liked it.” ~ John L. Phillips
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“There is no such thing as a naval dictatorship.” ~ George Orwell
- “I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast; for I intend to go in harm’s way.” ~ John Paul Jones
- “The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.” ~ Ulysses S. Grant
- “Of all the branches of men in the forces there is none which shows more devotion and faces grimmer perils than the submariners.” ~ Winston Churchill
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“Sailors have the cleanest bodies and the filthiest minds.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Competition in armament, both land and naval, is not only a terrible burden upon the people, but I believe it to be one of the greatest menaces to the peace of the world.” ~ Frank B. Kellogg
- “France and Italy have not yet signed this treaty or agreed to naval limitation as between those nations, but I have confidence that in time they will do so.” ~ Frank B. Kellogg
- “I know of no more important subject to the peace of Europe and the world than the reasonable reduction of armaments, especially in Europe, and of naval armaments throughout the world.” ~ Frank B. Kellogg
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“We have met the enemy and they are ours.” ~ Oliver Hazard Perry
- “But Canada remains a crucial partner in this global war on terrorism, and we are grateful for that. Canadian naval vessels, aircraft and military personnel continue anti-terrorist operations in the Persian Gulf.” ~ Paul Cellucci
- “Ironically, the Canadian naval vessels, aircraft and personnel in the Persian Gulf I mentioned earlier who are fighting terrorism will provide more support indirectly to this war in Iraq than most of the 46 countries that are fully supporting our efforts there.” ~ Paul Cellucci
- “Except for naval and air exercises, our military should be stationed on American soil, where service men and women can lead normal lives in close proximity to family and friends.” ~ Camille Paglia
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“There are in most states one or two ministers of war, one of whom is the minister of naval affairs.” ~ Fredrik Bajer
- “The main American naval forces were shifted to the Pacific region and an American admiral made a strong declaration to the effect that if war were to break out between Japan and the United States, the Japanese navy could be sunk in a matter of weeks.” ~ Hideki Tojo
- “I do not hesitate to say that the limitation on naval craft between the great naval powers was too high.” ~ Frank B. Kellogg
- “Because my father was often absent on naval duty, my mother suffered me to do much as I pleased” ~ John James Audubon
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“When I lost my rifle, the Army charged me 85 dollars. That is why in the Navy the Captain goes down with the ship.” ~ Dick Gregory
- “My observations of Japanese naval fighting men, their abilities and equipment led me to believe that they gave a better account of themselves than we did.” ~ Jack Adams
- “I have already transmitted to Congress the report of the naval court of inquiry on the destruction of the battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana during the night of the fifteenth of February. The destruction of that noble vessel has filled the national heart with inexpressible horror. Two hundred and fifty-eight brave sailors and marines and two officers of our Navy, reposing in the fancied security of a friendly harbor, have been hurled to death, grief and want brought to their homes and sorrow to the nation.” ~ William McKinley
- “I-uh-have the utmost respect for Yamamoto-san. If it had not been for him, there would be no naval aviation. However-the most brilliant man can occasionally make a mistake.” ~ Chuichi Nagumo
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“There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than the life at sea.” ~ Joseph Conrad
- “I-uh-have the utmost respect for Yamamoto-san. If it had not been for him, there would be no naval aviation. However-the most brilliant man can occasionally make a mistake.” ~ Chuichi Nagumo
- “Israel uses sophisticated attack jets and naval vessels to bomb densely-crowded refugee camps, schools, apartment blocks, mosques, and slums to attack a population that has no air force, no air defense, no navy, no heavy weapons, no artillery units, no mechanized armor, no command in control, no army and calls it a war.” ~ Noam Chomsky
- “Tariffs, government contracts, naval and military spending, nationalized industries, tax policy, social welfare, the legal privileging of labor unions were among the means at the disposal of the governing class to exploit the public at large for the benefits of its various clienteles.” ~ Ralph Raico
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“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” ~ Jacques Yves Cousteau
- “And by virtue of the power, and for the purpose aforesaid, I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons.” ~ Abraham Lincoln
- “I had always wanted to go to the Navy. As a young kid, I was intrigued by a Naval Officer with the beautiful brown shoes and sharp gold wings.” ~ Wally Schirra
- “Every Naval vessel has a contingent of Marines aboard. After all, the Sailors have to have someone to dance with.” ~ Bob Hope
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“Close with a Frenchman, but out-maneuver a Russian.” ~ Horatio Nelson
- “The thing is, Guantánamo is also a naval base, and they’re under the delusion – especially the people on the naval side who are not dealing with the prison – that they can just pretend this is an ordinary Caribbean naval base. For them, it’s: “Why are you making such a big deal out of the most notorious prison in the world?” It’s like if people living near Buchenwald said they wanted to talk about the other lovely things in the region besides the camp.” ~ Molly Crabapple
- “Focus your attention around the naval area, feel that spot. Visualize it. Do whatever it takes. When thoughts come in and out of your mind, pay no attention. You just stay right on that spot!” ~ Frederick Lenz
- “My grandfather told me that I should have a series of headshots, one with a tennis racket, one dressed as a naval officer, and one dressed as a cheeky chappie. He said, “If you have those headshots, the world is your oyster.”” ~ Henry Lloyd-Hughes
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“A few years later the Naval Academy was founded at Annapolis, and a similar course was pursued to provide it with a corps of instructors.” ~ Simon Newcomb
- “We know that russians are deeply engaged in supporting Assad because they want to have a place in the Middle East. They have a naval base, they have an air base in Syria.” ~ Hillary Clinton
- “Take a look at the Supreme Court decision that just authorized an effort by U.S. claimants against Iran for terrorist acts. What are the terrorist acts? The terrorist acts are bombings of U.S. military installations in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, which Iran is claimed to have something to do with. Well suppose they did. That’s not terrorism. I mean if we have a military base in Lebanon that while we’re shelling Lebanese naval ships, the Navy is shelling Lebanese installations and somebody attacks [that’s not terrorism].” ~ Noam Chomsky
- “Matt Lauer asked her [Hillary Clinton] tough questions, in fact, questions that should have been asked and followed up on by the FBI in their investigation where they came to a rosy conclusion. So to me, this was actually very helpful. And I think obviously it was big moment there, right out of the bat when we had the naval officer who really put it to Hillary and said listen .” ~ Kimberly Guilfoyle
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“Focus your attention on the center of your stomach, in the area of your naval. Feel that this is an area of tremendous strength.” ~ Frederick Lenz
- “The best that science can devise and that naval organization can provide must be regarded only as an aid, and never as a substitute for good seamanship.” ~ Chester W. Nimitz
- “Over the years, I’ve had a lot of different jobs – newspaper boy, dish washer, naval flight officer, Amtrak board member, Governor and chairman of the National Governors Association – just to name a few. But my most cherished job – and frankly my most important job for that matter – is being a father.” ~ Thomas Carper
- “I wanted to do a naval film and I flirted with different ideas, most of which ended up being too intense. So when the idea of ‘Battleship’ was first suggested, I was instantly drawn to the challenge – could I invent a movie around the idea of five ships fighting five ships?” ~ Peter Berg
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“I was suppose to be a Jesuit priest or a naval academy graduate.” ~ Jimmy Buffett
- “Oh, I’m nerdy about science fiction and fantasy and graphic novels and reading, and I’m nerdy about board games. My favorite board game is a board game I’m working on right now. It’s a game of Napoleonic era naval warfare, and it’s going to be fun.” ~ Billy Campbell
- “What if there’s another terrorist attack? I cringe at the ideas of our enemies watching this, knowing much like the president we have now. You can do anything you want, you can jerk us around, you can harass our naval ships the way Iran is doing right now, and we’re not going to do anything. We’re not going to react.” ~ John McCain
- “I wanted to do a naval film and I flirted with different ideas, most of which ended up being too intense. So when the idea of ‘Battleship’ was first suggested, I was instantly drawn to the challenge – could I invent a movie around the idea of five ships fighting five ships?” ~ Peter Berg
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“The third eye is located between the eyebrows and a little above. The heart center is located directly in the center of the chest. The naval center is about two inches below the navel.” ~ Frederick Lenz
- “Oh, I’m nerdy about science fiction and fantasy and graphic novels and reading, and I’m nerdy about board games. My favorite board game is a board game I’m working on right now. It’s a game of Napoleonic era naval warfare, and it’s going to be fun.” ~ Billy Campbell
- “What if there’s another terrorist attack? I cringe at the ideas of our enemies watching this, knowing much like the president we have now. You can do anything you want, you can jerk us around, you can harass our naval ships the way Iran is doing right now, and we’re not going to do anything. We’re not going to react.” ~ John McCain
- “With Leighton Smith in charge, we’ve got a Navy admiral running a predominantly land campaign – the first ever in NATO’s 47-year history. … As the U.S. continues to withdraw from overseas bases, Naval Forces will become even more relevant in meeting American forward presence requirements.” ~ Sam Smith
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“I was suppose to be a Jesuit priest or a naval academy graduate.” ~ Jimmy Buffett
- “Medieval England was a great military power with a sophisticated machinery of government, but her naval administration, at best improvised and for long periods missing altogether, pointed to a grave weakness: the lack of any reliable means of putting a force of warships at the disposal of the crown. Only Richard I and Henry V of all the kings of England can be said to have understood the problem and attempted to remedy it. It is no coincidence that they wer by far the most successful in war.” ~ Nicholas Rodger
- “In every age states of varying size and constitution and at every level of development have found naval warfare to be one of their most formidable and expensive tasks. Ships have always been large, costly and complicated, and warships much more complicated and costly than any others. Scholars are nowadays inclined to emphasize the power, wealth and sophistication of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and there is not more striking illustration of this than the advanced and elaborate administrative structures of the early English navy.” ~ Nicholas Rodger
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“To become powerful, to develop will, meditate on the naval center.” ~ Frederick Lenz
- “Whether in peaceful trade or warlike attack, the sea unites more than it divides. Even if it were possible to treat England, or the British Isles, as a single, homogenous, united nation, it would still be impossible to write its naval history without reference to the histories of the other nations, near and far, with which the sea has connected it.” ~ Nicholas Rodger
- “‘A Naval History of Britain’ which begins in the 7th century has to explain what it means by Britain. My meaning is simply the British Isles as a whole, but not any particular nation or state or our own day… ‘Britain’ is not a perfect word for this purpose, but ‘Britain and Ireland’ would be both cumbersome and misleading, implying an equality of treatment which is not possible. Ireland and the Irish figure often in this book, but Irish naval history, in the sense of the history of Irish fleets, is largely a history of what might have been rather than what actually happened.” ~ Nicholas Rodger
