At Odessa We Became Texans,

Extending The Ground War Into An Occupation Of Iraq, Would Have Incurred Incalculable Human And Political Costs. Had We Gone The Invasion Route, The U.s. Could Conceivably Still Be An Occupying Power In A Bitterly Hostile Land. It Would Have Been A Dramatically Different - And Perhaps Barren - Outcome.

I Remember When I Was Shot Down In That War. I Remember How Terrified I Was. And It Made Me Feel Close To My Family, And To God, And To Life, And I Was Scared.

Courage Is A Terribly Important Value. It Means You Don’t Run Away When Things Are Tough. It Means You Don’t Turn Away From A Friend When He Or She Is In Trouble. It Means Standing Up Against The Majority Opinion... There’s A Lot Of People Who Won’t Wear It On Their Sleeve, Or Display It Through Some Heroic Act. But Courage Is Having The Strength To Do What’s Honorable And Decent.

Our Stewardship Of The Earth Is Brief. We Owe It To Those Who Follow To Keep That In Perspective, To Be Responsible Passengers Along The Way.

I Think The Major Event That Shaped My Life Was Being A Naval Aviator. I Got My Commission And Wings At 18 Years Old, And Then I Went Into Combat At 19. And I Think, As I Look Back On It, That Whole Experience Probably Shaped My Life More Than Any Incident, Or Any Event.