A World at War

Five lines from five leaders, set over a patrol on a ridge. Three were spoken during the Second World War. Two were not, and a few are worded differently from the record.

Roosevelt's fear line is from his first inaugural, March 4, 1933, in the depths of the Depression: “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Eisenhower's “The eyes of the world are upon you” is from his order to the Allied force on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Admiral Nimitz wrote on March 16, 1945, as Iwo Jima was declared won: “Among the Americans serving on Iwo island, uncommon valor was a common virtue.”

MacArthur's “Old soldiers never die” is from his farewell to Congress on April 19, 1951, after Korea, and he was quoting a barracks ballad. Patton's blunt line about winning wars came in speeches to his troops in 1943 and 1944 in varying words; the wording shown here resembles the one in the 1970 film.

A lone soldier, rifle in hand, stands in silhouette on a rise, comrades smaller on the slope below and three planes crossing the sky at top right. A faded flag fills the background, stars at the left, stripes in red and cream, and the quotes run down the page in cream type above the title.