Vietnam was what we had instead of happy childhoods.

How many times did someone have to run in front of a machine gun before it became an act of cowardice?

All the wrong people remember Vietnam. I think all the people who remember it should forget it, and all the people who forgot it should remember it.

Talk about impersonating an identity, about locking into a role, about irony; I went to cover the war and the war covered me; an old story, unless of course you've never heard it.

What is the difference between the Marine Corps and the Boy Scouts? The Boy Scouts have adult leadership.

If war was hell and only hell and there were no other colors in the palate I don't think people would continue to make war.

You can still see the shadow from when the Zeppelin floated over America; it took like Islam in the desert . . .

Every time I had a vision of myself lying dead somewhere, it was up there, in the Highlands.

Maybe nothing's so unfunny as an omen read wrong.

We took space back quickly, expensively, with total panic and close to maximum brutality. Our machine was devastating. And versatile. It could do everything but stop.

for years now there had been no country here but the war.

regrets are stepping stone towards improvement

I don't think I have an unkind word for any.Except Muslims. I've been cross with them since 9/11 2001. I can't remember why but it was something bad.

Where we're standing right now, in the ruins in the dark, what we build could be anything.

I like paper statements rather than relying on computers. I feel more in control if my account details and transactions are broken down on paper.

If you are anxious, you can't learn. It's like dropping seeds on concrete. With a quiet mind, people take things in.

What is love at first sight but a proof of the powerful but silent language of physiognomy?

If you move between battalions, you are still within the same tribe.

There's a place in Paris where I'd like to work one day. It's called the Slow Club.

I've played almost every lead character from Henry VI to Othello. I'm dying to tackle Richard III sometime.