"The Value Of Useless Knowledge" - Erwin Panofsky (1892-1968)
Saturday, March 23, 2024
This Ship Is England
I'd follow this guy anywhere. Wouldn't you? Russell Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey, commander of HMS Surprise in Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World.
Your movie clip reminded me of two additional inspiring "real life" speeches, one quite famous, the other known to a lesser number of readers. The first is Churchill's speech of June 4, 1940, "We will fight on the beaches...," which is but one among many notable Churchill speeches.
The other is the short quote of Capt. Robt. Copeland, as described in Hornfischer's "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" (a wonderful book.) ******************** Captain Copeland picked up the intercom mike and addressed the Roberts’s crew. That he was speaking for himself struck Ens. Jack Moore as unusual and urgent. Normally seaman Jack Roberts was the public address voice of his namesake warship. His southern drawl was all but unintelligible to anyone not acquainted with Dixie’s rhythms and diphthongs. But the skipper’s diction was as crisp as a litigator’s. He was talking fast and sounding more than a little nervous. “A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. “This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.” ― James D. Hornfischer, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
Your movie clip reminded me of two additional inspiring "real life" speeches, one quite famous, the other known to a lesser number of readers.
ReplyDeleteThe first is Churchill's speech of June 4, 1940, "We will fight on the beaches...," which is but one among many notable Churchill speeches.
The other is the short quote of Capt. Robt. Copeland, as described in Hornfischer's "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" (a wonderful book.)
********************
Captain Copeland picked up the intercom mike and addressed the Roberts’s crew. That he was speaking for himself struck Ens. Jack Moore as unusual and urgent. Normally seaman Jack Roberts was the public address voice of his namesake warship. His southern drawl was all but unintelligible to anyone not acquainted with Dixie’s rhythms and diphthongs. But the skipper’s diction was as crisp as a litigator’s. He was talking fast and sounding more than a little nervous. “A large Japanese fleet has been contacted. They are fifteen miles away and headed in our direction. They are believed to have four battleships, eight cruisers, and a number of destroyers. “This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can.”
― James D. Hornfischer, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
I read the Tin Can Sailors book several years ago. That is a wonderful quote. Mark
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