12 Karl Marlantes Quotes for You to Enjoy

Karl Marlantes

American Author

Born: Dec 24, 1944

Me Military Time Try War You

Related authors: F. Scott Fitzgerald Frederick Douglass Helen Keller Henry David Thoreau Joyce Meyer Mark Twain Og Mandino Zig Ziglar

When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So I sat down and wrote 1,700 pages of sheer psychotherapy drivel. It was first person, and there would be pages about wet socks and cold feet. Karl Marlantes

War Great First Down Great American Cold Back Would Would-Be About Write Feet Wrote Sheer First-Person Said Got Wet Person American Psychotherapy Gonna Vietnam Vietnam War Pages Sat Novel Socks

We all want to be special, to stand out; there's nothing wrong with this. The irony is that every human being is special to start with, because we're unique to start with. But we then go through some sort of boot camp from the age of zero to about 18 where we learn everything we can about how not to be unique. Karl Marlantes

Age Human Being Nothing Every Everything Boot Boot Camp Out Some About Through Wrong Learn Sort Because How Go Camp Irony Human Being Where Want Then Stand Special Unique Zero Start

The Marine Corps taught me how to kill, but it didn't teach me how to deal with killing. Karl Marlantes

Me Marine Corps Corps Deal How Taught Teach Marine

I mean... if you're raised as a decent human being, killing somebody is against every moral thing you've ever been taught. And so, generally, in combat it's 'krauts,' the 'gooks,' the 'yanks' - whatever you want to do to try and make it so that it's not a human being. Karl Marlantes

I mean, if you're proud of what you've done when you've served in the military, well then we call that bragging. And if you are unhappy about what happened, we call that complaining. And so what are you going to do? Karl Marlantes

You Unhappy Complaining Military About Well Call Proud Bragging Done Going Happened Mean Then Served

And I think that it's - the military has actually made improvements, so people are considering post-traumatic stress disorder as, at the least, a possible psychological problem. You know, when I was in Vietnam, it was just considered malingering. And we're making progress. Karl Marlantes

You People Problem Progress Stress Made Military Think Considered Considering Possible Know Making Least Just Psychological Vietnam Disorder Actually

In the military I could exercise the power of being automatically respected because of the medals on my chest, not because I had done anything right at the moment to earn that respect. This is pretty nice. It's also a psychological trap that can stop one's growth and allow one to get away with just plain bad behavior. Karl Marlantes

Respect Behavior Power Military Nice Earn Respected Bad Bad Behavior Pretty Could Allow Had Also Because Exercise Chest Get Done Just Stop Being Anything Automatically Psychological Plain Moment Trap Medals Away Growth Right

I don't want any romantics to go into the military. I'm not a pacifist. I think we need a military, and the better one we have, the better off we are. I don't want kids going in there thinking that it's John Wayne on Iwo Jima. That's not healthy. Karl Marlantes

Better Healthy Military Think Thinking Wayne Kids John John Wayne Better Off Go Off Any Going Want Romantics Pacifist Need

For every veteran who goes through a divorce, a wife goes through one, too. For every veteran alone in the basement, there is a wife upstairs, bewildered, isolated and in despair from the dark clouds of war that hangs over family life. Karl Marlantes

'The Odyssey' is the great tale, and I was really taken by 'The Iliad,' so I dig into those things, and when I was a kid I didn't. You've gotta have a certain level of understanding yourself before that stuff really starts to resonate. Karl Marlantes

Vietnam was the first time that Americans of different races had to depend on each other. In the Second World War, they were segregated; it was in Vietnam that American integration happened in the military - and it wasn't easy. Karl Marlantes

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