"H" is for Honor

Thirty-five years ago, a former Chief of Staff of the Army talked to a group of West Point cadets at a lunch-time gathering. The speaker wore a dark suit. He was a small man; he looked a bit elderly and somewhat frail. He was highly decorated. He had earned the Medal of Honor, two Distinguished Service Crosses, seven Silver Stars, and two Purple Hearts. He had led soldiers in three different wars.

The man before them was General Douglas MacArthur.

And all the cadets were eager to hear what he had to say. So they leaned forward in their chairs. It was so quiet in that hall you could have heard a pin drop.

He talked about the profession of arms. He said: "Yours is the profession of arms – the will to win, the sure knowledge that in war there is no substitute for victory; that if you lose, the nation will be destroyed."

And he concluded by reminding his young listeners that "the very obsession of your public service must be DUTY - HONOR - COUNTRY."

What does honor mean? The signers of the Declaration of Independence said, "we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred HONOR."

Officially, in today’s military, honor is described as: "The complex or set of all values that make up the public code for the Army."

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD "HONOR"? AND WHAT ROLE DO YOU THINK IT SHOULD PLAY IN THE LIFE OF A QUARTERMASTER SOLDIER?