Από την Κρήτη εθελοντής στον Αμερικανικό Στρατό., item 49

• November 1, 2018 07:46:03 Anastasia Ioannou

  McClellan’s lack of initiative after the battle

  of Antietam helped defeat him for the Presidency. The

  country could not place its trust in an officer who

  failed to live up to their conception of what an offi­-

  cer ought to be.

     And so it is with the private in the ranks. His

  work, his individuality, may not be so dramatic, so

  spectacular as that of the commanding officer, but

  what could the officer do without him? The ques­-

  tion needs no answer.

     Learn to do what is required of you in an orderly,

  efficient manner. Remember always that you are the

  individual upon which the country is leaning. You

  may be at some time among the slender few who

  will stave off defeat. Your training must be perfect.

  You must have before you constantly all the facts

  necessary to the better understanding of your work.

  Learn that obedience means simply a quick way to

  obtain results. Do not consider that you are

  slighted because you are not singled out immediately

  for favor and honor. A day will come when you

  will have a chance to prove to your officers that

  you are trustworthy. They will not be slow in rec-

  ­ognizing this quality in you, either. They are on the

  alert for competent men and will stand behind you

  with all the power at their command.

     Cultivate the spirit of unselfish devotion to your

  officers. They are trying to help you, so do your

  best to help them. Be sure that you have the proper

  morale that will lead you to victory. Often two or

  three hundred men have held an army at bay simply

  because they possessed this morale which made

  them feel that they were invincible.

     This discipline is but a means to an end and it

  depends upon you and your comrades in arms

  whether or not this great army that America is

  forming is to live up to that spirit which dictated

  the peace leading to our independence.

  
  

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