To you we owe the suggestion of writing this book. Its purpose, as you
know better than any one else, is to tell in simple fashion the story of
some Americans who showed that they knew how to live and how to die; who
proved their truth by their endeavor; and who joined to the stern and
manly qualities which are essential to the well-being of a masterful
race the virtues of gentleness, of patriotism, and of lofty adherence to
an ideal.
It is a good thing for all Americans, and it is an especially good thing
for young Americans, to remember the men who have given their lives in
war and peace to the service of their fellow-countrymen, and to keep in
mind the feats of daring and personal prowess done in time past by
some of the many champions of the nation in the various crises of her
history. Thrift, industry, obedience to law, and intellectual cultivation
are essential qualities in the makeup of any successful people; but no
people can be really great unless they possess also the heroic virtues
which are as needful in time of peace as in time of war, and as
important in civil as in military life. As a civilized people we desire
peace, but the only peace worth having is obtained by instant readiness
to fight when wronged--not by unwillingness or inability to fight at
all. Intelligent foresight in preparation and known capacity to stand
well in battle are the surest safeguards against war. America will cease
to be a great nation whenever her young men cease to possess energy,
daring, and endurance, as well as the wish and the power to fight the
nation's foes. No citizen of a free state should wrong any man; but it
is not enough merely to refrain from infringing on the rights of others;
he must also be able and willing to stand up for his own rights and
those of his country against all comers, and he must be ready at any
time to do his full share in resisting either malice domestic or foreign
levy.