Historical Speech Critique: Duty, Honor, Country

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Historical Speech Critique: Duty, Honor, Country The speech, Duty, Honor, Country was given by General Douglas MacArthur at West Point on May 12th 1962 at the age of 82 in acceptance of the Sylvanus Thayer Award. The very fact that he was receiving this award speaks volumes of his character. The criteria for receiving the award is this: The Award is given to a citizen of the United States …whose outstanding character, accomplishments, and stature in the civilian community draw wholesome comparison to the qualities for which West Point strives, in keeping with its motto: “Duty, Honor, Country.” The individual selected for the Thayer Award must agree to accept the Award at West Point and the recipient is approved by the Board of Directors. (westpointaog.org) …show more content…

You can feel his sense of pride and yet humility when he says, “Unhappily, I possess neither that eloquence of diction, that poetry of imagination, nor that brilliance of metaphor to tell you all that they [Duty, Honor, Country] mean.” (americanrhetoric.com) At 82 years old MacArthur still had a strong calm voice, when you hear him speak it’s as though you can hear the wisdom in the tone and cadence of his delivery and yet it’s a commanding voice, a voice that when heard you say to yourself I want to follow him. “His speech …made patriotic believers and remarkable achievers out of some of the young Cadets who were in attendance that memorable day. One such Cadet was a teenager named Eric (Ric) Shinseki, a 1965 graduate of West Point who credits General MacArthur’s “Duty, Honor, Country” speech as being a guiding force during his nearly four decades of distinguished Military service that ultimately led him to become a four-star General and the 34th Chief of Staff of our U.S. Army.” (veteranstoday.com) MacArthur successfully uses imagery in his speech, while recalling his time at war, painting a picture for his audience with his words. “I could see those staggering columns of the First World War, bending under soggy packs, on many a weary march from dripping dusk to drizzling dawn…” (americanrhetoric.com) It is really hard to find something to improve upon in this speech. However if there were one thing

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