Quotations
Quotations by Carl Vinson
"We must buy the defense regardless of cost. I say that enemy capabilities - not dollars - determine our defense needs."
"I am a hater of war and a lover of peace...but I call God to witness that peace to be had must sometimes be battled for."
"Quite literally, my service started with the Springfield Rifle and is ending with the Polaris Submarine and the intercontinental ballistic missile."
On advising a younger congressman on legislative maneuvering...
"Never let them all get mad at once-you lose control. It's all right if they get mad one at a time."
"No country has a moral right to demand that her sailors go into battle with strength and equipment inferior to an opponent's."
"Now general, don't take off your shoes 'till you get to the creek."
Vinson on the Telephone: "All right, Vinson, of Georgia. Here's the thing le's do. I'll he'p you."
Quotations about Carl Vinson:
Admiral Nimitz: "Mr. Vinson has forgotten more about the Navy than most Admirals will ever know."
A Colleague in Congress: "The Old Operator can get more results by raising his eyebrows than most men do by two hours of desk pounding."
Admiral Leahy: "Vinson contributed more to the national defense (from 1935-1945) than any other single person in the country except the president himself."
A Political Opponent: "He (Vinson) combines statesmanship and cunning to a rare degree."
A Friend Explaining Vinson's Campaign Style: " He would spend 20 straight hours ranging the towns and villages, the piney woods, and the creek bottoms, speechifying, talking, shaking hands - and he had to take a fresh chew of tobacco from every farmer who offered one."
Lyndon Johnson: Watch President Johnson discuss Vinson. This clip of Johnson speaking, with an introduction provided by Dr. Larry Elowitz, was provided courtesy of the Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection at the University of Georgia. For more information about that collection please visit them here.
