Carolina QuotesBut, what a truly incredible journey this has been for a farm boy from North Carolina. America is truly a great land of opportunity.
Hugh Shelton
Carolinian
Source
Farewell remarks as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Armed Forces Full Honor Tribute, Summerall Field, Fort Myer, Virginia, 1 October 2001; printed in the Congressional Record
- form
- speech
- work
- Farewell remarks, Armed Forces Full Honor Tribute
- year
- 2001
Cite this record
“But, what a truly incredible journey this has been for a far…” Hugh Shelton. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-6DC8DFA131. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/6dc8dfa131
More from Hugh Shelton
Now 38 years may seem like an awfully long time, and it is, but as I near the finish line, it feels like I've been driving a powerful Corvette at high speed with time and distance flying by.
When I reached Fort Jackson, the NVA-Vietcong Tet offensive exploded across South Vietnam, with enemy forces attacking every provincial capital and major population center. There was plenty of grist for the news media to grind, especially when Vietcong sappers blasted a hole in the wall of the American embassy in Saigon and almost fought their way into the chancery building before being repulsed. It seemed that the enemy was everywhere, attacking U.S. and ARVN bases, ambushing relief convoys, overrunning isolated outposts. The remote Marine combat base at Khe Sanh in the misty mountains of northern I Cops was besieged for weeks, and the old citadel of the imperial capital of Hue was captured by NVA regulars. This only added more fuel to the antiwar, antidraft protests on America's campuses and streets. Just back from a fact-finding trip to Vietnam in late February, legendary CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite commented, "WHo won and who lost the great Tet offensive against the cities? I'm not sure. The Vietcong did not win by a knockout, but neither did we. The references of history may make it a draw... It seems now more certain that ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate." When President Lyndon Johnson heard the remarks, he said, "That's it. If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America." Johnson chose not to run for reelection. The national mood was bleak.
Already packed away is a lifetime of memories. I'll remember: Thousands of faces, both in peace and war, comrades who fell beside me giving the ultimate sacrifice and their families whose lives were changed forever, the welcome tug of nylon straps as a parachute snaps open, the pride of grasping a guidon or unit colors on a parade ground and the thrill of seeing our red, white, and blue flag unfurl in the morning breeze, the familiar feel of a uniform carefully laid out each night for 38 years, the call to vigilance as the last haunting note of taps rings out in the night or is played in tribute to a fallen comrade, the extraordinary privilege of leading troops, and finally, my days spent with all of you during these past four years.