Day after day we must remember we can take freedom for granted. Day after day we must keep the bond between freedom and other values in mind.

Freedom is a universal value.

Bitter experience has taught us how fundamental our values are and how great the mission they represent.

Our society is the product of several great religious and philosophical traditions. The ideas of the Greeks and Romans, Christianity, Judaism, humanism and the Enlightenment have made us who we are.

There are one or two very good women military historians who use imagination, great study and research; they can put themselves in the boots of the soldier.

In a war, you must hate somebody or love somebody; you must have a position or you cannot stand what goes on.

One interesting thing about jazz, or art in general, but jazz especially is such an individual art form in the sense that improvisation is such a big part of it, so it feels like it should be less soldiers in an army and more like free spirits melding. And yet, big band jazz has a real military side to it.

The great thing about being a print journalist is that you are permitted to duck. Cameramen get killed while the writers are flat on the floor. A war correspondent for the BBC dedicated his memoir to 50 fallen colleagues, and I guarantee you they were all taking pictures. I am only alive because I am such a chicken.