[Ads-l] Quote: Out of every 100 soldiers, 10 should not even be here, eighty are just targets . .. only one is a warrior (Probably not Heraclitus)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

Great! Many thanks to James Landau and Jonathan Lighter for their
valuable feedback. I have updated the QI article and added you both to
the acknowledgment section. Changes should be visible within 24 hours.

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2024/08/27/one-warrior/

[Begin excerpt from updated QI article]
The notion that a large fraction of soldiers function solely as
targets is thematically related to a controversial thesis propounded
by military historian S. L. A. Marshall. He contended in the 1947 book
"Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command in Future War" that
only one quarter of a group of soldiers will attack an adversary.
Three quarters of the group will hesitate:

[ref] 1951 (1947 Copyright), Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle
Command in Future War by S. L. A. Marshall, Chapter 5: Ratio of Fire,
Quote Page 50, William Morrow & Company, New York. (Internet Archive;
Verified with scans) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
The 25 per cent estimate stands even for well-trained and
campaign-seasoned troops. I mean that 75 per cent will not fire or
will not persist in firing against the enemy and his works. These men
may face the danger but they will not fight.
[End excerpt]

The idea that only a small fraction of recruits will become warriors
is reflected in the lyrics of the 1966 patriotic song "The Ballad of
the Green Berets" with lyrics by Barry Sadler and Robin Moore. Green
Berets are members of the United States Army Special Forces:

[ref] 1966 February 7, Berkeley Daily Gazette, The 'Green Beret' Cuts
a Hit Record by Joan Crosby, The Ballad of the Green Berets lyrics,
Quote Page 20, Column 5, Berkeley, California. (Newspapers_com) [/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
One hundred men we'll test today;
But only three win the Green Beret.
[End excerpt]
[End excerpt from updated QI article]

Further feedback welcome,
Garson


On Wed, Aug 28, 2024 at 7:13 AM Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Nice work. And remember the 1966 hit:
>
> "One hundred men we'll test today.
> Only three win the green beret."
>
> JL
>
> On Tue, Aug 27, 2024 at 11:49 PM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > The following statement has been attributed to the ancient Greek
> > philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus:
> >
> > "Of every 100 men, 10 should not even be here, 80 are nothing more
> > than targets. Nine of them are the real fighters. We are lucky to have
> > them, they the battle make. Ah, but the one. One of them is a warrior
> > and he will bring the others back."
> >
> > An email correspondent asked me to explore the provenance of the
> > statement. I found no substantive evidence that Heraclitus was the
> > creator. Instead, I hypothesize that the statement evolved from a
> > monologue in the play "Tracers" which was performed Off Broadway in
> > New York in 1984. During one scene the character Sgt. Williams, who
> > was training U.S. soldiers for deployment in Vietnam, turned to the
> > audience and described the dangerous situation on the battlefield, and
> > his quest to find a warrior.
> >
> > [ref] 1985, The Burns Mantle Theater Yearbook: The Best Plays of
> > 1984-1985, Edited by Otis L. Guernsey Jr., Section: The Ten Best
> > Plays, Play Title: Tracers, Start Page 165, Quote Page 171, Dodd, Mead
> > & Company, New York. (Verified with scans) [/ref]
> >
> > [Begin excerpt]
> > They are now eighteen and nineteen years old. Before they are
> > twenty-one, nearly half of them will be killed or wounded. With a
> > two-year draft, we send out amateurs to play against pros in a game
> > for keeps.
> >
> > Ten per cent should not even be here. Eighty per cent are targets; we
> > have no time to train them to be more. Ten per cent are fighters. One
> > in a hundred may become a warrior. I must seek him out. I must come
> > down heavy on him. Upon him the success or failure of our present
> > conflict lies…..
> > [End excerpt]
> >
> > More details are available in the Quote Investigator article here:
> > https://quoteinvestigator.com/2024/08/27/one-warrior/
> >
> > Feedback welcome
> > Garson O’Toole
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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