Captain John Paul Jones

During the Revolutionary War, his USS Bonhomme Richard engaged HMS Serapis.

When the British commander demanded his surrender, Jones responded "I have

not yet begun to fight!" The British eventually surrendered to the Americans.

In a letter to Jacques-Donatien Le Ray de Chaumont, a French supporter of

the American Revolution, Jones wrote "I wish to have no Connection with

any Ship that does not Sail fast for I intend to go in harm's way."

Captain James Lawrence

Lawrence commanded the USS Chesapeake in the War of 1812. Mortally wounded

in battle, he gave a final order: “Don't give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks."

But the Americans were overwhelmed by the British and surrendered.

Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry

During the Battle of Lake Erie, the British destroyed Perry’s flagship, the USS Lawrence,

named for his friend James Lawrence. Perry was rowed through heavy gunfire to the

USS Niagara, taking with him a battle flag that bore Lawrence’s dying words.

Perry’s after-action report was brief: "We have met the enemy and

they are ours; two ships, two brigs, one schooner and one sloop."

Commodore Stephen Decatur

In 1816 Decatur delivered an after-dinner toast: “Our Country - in her intercourse with

foreign nations, may she always be in the right, and always successful, right or wrong."

Admiral Glasgow Farragut

Farragut is known for the apocryphal order “Damn the torpedoes,

full steam ahead!” at the Battle of Mobile Bay during the Civil War. 

The torpedoes were what would now be called tethered mines.

Admiral George Dewey

During the Spanish-American War’s Battle of Manila Bay, Dewey said

“You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.” Charles Vernon Gridley had

previously distinguished himself with Farragut at the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Lieutenant R. Buckminster Fuller

The famous futurist served in the USN during WWI. His gravestone bears the inscription

“CALL ME TRIMTAB” in reference to a small control surface mounted on a larger control

surface as such a ship’s rudder. Minor adjustments to this device can significantly alter

the vessel’s operation, just as an individual can significantly affect society.

Ensign Donald Francis Mason

A WWII enlisted pilot who thought that he had destroyed German submarine U-85,

Mason reported “Sighted sub, sank same.” He was wrong about that sub but later

sank the U-503 and was promoted to ensign.

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz

Referring to the U.S. Marines, Nimitz said “Among the Americans

who served on Iwo Jima, uncommon valor was a common virtue."

And one for the Army:

General Anthony McAuliffe

During the Battle of Bastogne (part of the Battle of the Bulge) in 1944,

McCauliffe, commander of the 101st Airborne Division, responded to a

German demand for surrender with the single word “NUTS!”

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