80 Service Quotes About Country and Community

These quotes about service to the country and community show how vital service is to our nation (and the world).

Without our armed forces, police, firefighters, and other first responders, this country would not be what it is.

Tell us a story about service that matters to you in the comment section below.

What are the benefits of reading these service quotes?

There is no way to communicate properly the impact of having people commit their time and dedicate their lives to serving their country and community.

Our country would not be where we are today without those brave and selfless individuals and the families that are at home waiting for them. 

The following service quotes show:

• why it’s so important to serve
• the impact that it makes on everyone
• the appreciation that the country feels for them

Also, check out our list of Lieutenant General Chesty Puller quotes that will motivate you to push it to the limits.

Check out our most popular quote article, a list of short inspirational quotes for daily inspiration.

Our inspirational quote category page has even more inspirational and educational quotes.

Quotes about service and why it matters

1.) “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” – Elmer Davis

2.) “No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.” – Gen. Douglas MacArthur

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3.) “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” – Cynthia Ozick

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4.) “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!” – Maya Angelou

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5.) “A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.” – Joseph Campbell

Quotes about service to country

6.) “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

7.) “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” – Winston Churchill

8.) “The U.S. Armed Forces are the best trained, best equipped fighting forces in the world.” – Jim Walsh

9.) “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” – Muhammad Ali

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10.) “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” ― Carl Gustav Jung

11.) “We will receive not what we idly wish for but what we justly earn. Our rewards will always be in exact proportion to our service.” – Earl Nightingale

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Appreciation quotes about service to country and community

12.) “Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

13.) “History has taught us over and over again that freedom is not free. When push comes to shove, the ultimate protectors of freedom and liberty are the brave men and women in our armed forces. Throughout our history, they’ve answered the call in bravery and sacrifice.” – Tim Pawlenty

14.) “Those who serve in our Armed Forces do so from a profound sense of duty to secure liberty for their fellow Americans. They enlist to serve their fellow citizens who express their will through elected representatives, not an unaccountable defense establishment.” – Joe Lonsdale

15.) “Contrary to what most of Hollywood will tell you, the men and women of our armed forces are the best among us. Not only because of how they serve but because they are able to find the best in each other… And they are able to encapsulate the best in all of us.” – Steven Crowder

16.) “My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place – police, firefighters and members of our armed forces.” – Sidney Sheldon

17.) “On the battlefield, the military pledges to leave no soldier behind. As a nation, let it be our pledge that when they return home, we leave no veteran behind.” – Dan Lipinski

18.) “Do some selfless service for people who are in need. Consider the whole picture, not just our little selves.” – Nina Hagen

19.) “I cannot believe that the purpose of life is to be ‘happy’. I think the purpose of life is to be useful, to be responsible, to be honorable, to be compassionate. It is above all, to matter, to count, to stand for something to have made some difference that you lived at all.” – Leo Rosten

20.) “America’s Armed Forces are an essential background to much of what the U.S. accomplishes internationally.” – Richard N. Haass

21.) “The veterans of our military services have put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms that we enjoy. They have dedicated their lives to their country and deserve to be recognized for their commitment.” – Judd Gregg

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More service quotes to appreciate those who serve

22.) “The best of our nation is exemplified by our nation’s veterans who embody what it means to put service above self. Who have sacrificed their own personal interests out of a greater love for our people and our country.” – Tulsi Gabbard

23.) “I do not care whether you’re a democrat or you’re a republican or an independent. We must pull for the people who are wearing the uniform of the armed forces. These people weren’t drafted. They enlisted because they believe.” – Tommy Lasorda

24.) “Freedom does not come without a price. We may sometimes take for granted the many liberties we enjoy in America, but they have all been earned through the ultimate sacrifice paid by so many of the members of our armed forces.” – Charlie Dent

25.) “The freedoms and prosperity we enjoy in America are thanks to the brave men and women who have served in our armed forces.” – Bill Foster

26.) “To be sure, the United States will be eternally proud of our civilian leaders and the men and women of our armed forces who served in World War II for their sacrifice at a time of maximum peril to our country and our world.” – Ben Rhodes

27.) “I extend my deepest gratitude to our Armed Forces and first responders serving both at home and abroad in the war against terrorism.” – John Doolittle

28.) “Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness – great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy.” – Jim Rohn

29.) “I have many friends and family members who have served (or are currently serving) in our nation’s Armed Forces. I have such a profound respect for what they do day in and day out.” – Karl Malone

30.) “As the daughter of a 25-year veteran of the Armed Forces, I am incredibly thankful for the sacrifices our women and men have made in Iraq, and continue to make in Afghanistan.” – Barbara Lee

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Service quotes about taking care of those that serve

31.) “We must never forget why we have, and why we need our military. Our armed forces exist solely to ensure our nation is safe, so that each and ever one of us can sleep soundly at night, knowing we have ‘guardians at the gate.’” – Allen West

32.) “During their service, men and women in our Armed Forces live by a common creed, promising never to leave a soldier behind. We should live by the same principle. When our veterans are asked to travel hundreds of miles for care that’s offered right next door, we simply aren’t living up to that standard, and something has to change.” – John Delaney

33.) “The brave men and women who have served – and those who continue to serve – our armed forces have selflessly sacrificed for our nation, and we owe it to them to provide the best services and protections available when they’re overseas and after they return home.” – Kirsten Gillibrand

34.) “The young people I work with every day and serve the nation in the armed forces in general, and the Marine Corps in particular, have broken the mold and stepped out as men and women of character who are making their own way in life while protecting ours.” – John F. Kelly

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Quotes about service to country and the families of those that serve

35.) “One thing I just want to say to the military families – while you might not wear a uniform, I know – we all know, teh nation knows – that you serve and sacrifice right alongside of your loved ones. And we are so grateful and proud of all of you for your service to this nation.” – Michelle Obama

36.) “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.” – GK Chesterson

37.) “Behind every strong soldier, there is an even stronger family who stands with them, supports them, and loves them with all their heart.” – Unknown

38.) “The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

39.) “The soldier is the army. No army is better than its soldiers. The soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country.” -Gen. George S. Patton Jr.

40.) “He loves his country best who strives to make it best.” – Robert G. Ingersoll

41.) “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.” – Mark Twain

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Powerful service quotes to inspire you

42.) “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams

43.) “The general who advances without coveting fame and retreats without fearing disgrace, whose only thought is to protect his country and do good service for his sovereign, is the jewel of the kingdom.” – Sun Tzu
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44.) “To give real service you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and that is sincerity and integrity.” – Douglas Adams

45.) “A young man who does not have what it takes to perform military service is not likely to have what it takes to make a living. Today’s military rejects include tomorrow’s hard-core unemployed.” – John F. Kennedy

46.) “Always render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be.” – Og Mandino

47.) “Nothing can be more hurtful to the service than the neglect of discipline; for that discipline, more than numbers, gives one army the superiority over another.” – George Washington

48.) “Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion, but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.” – Adlai Stevenson

49.) “Recruitment and retention are critical to sustain our Armed Forces with the best men and women willing to stand in the gap and make huge sacrifices to ensure our freedom.” – Zach Wamp

50.) “Our military leaders don’t seize power in coups; our soldiers and sailors don’t go on strike for higher pay or benefits; our armed forces don’t weigh in on the political process. In return, Americans have a sacred duty to treat them honorably.” – Kathleen Troia McFarland

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More service quotes and sayings

51. “Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.” – Marian Wright Edelman

52. “Service which is rendered without joy helps neither the servant nor the served. But all other pleasures and possessions pale into nothingness before service which is rendered in a spirit of joy.” – Mahatma Gandhi

53. “A community best serves itself when it truly serves the awakening of the unique story trying to come to life through each person born.” – Michael Meade

54. “Service is the overflow which pours from a life filled with love and devotion.” – Oswald Chambers

55. “The Path is not to be found anywhere except in human service.” – Idries Shah

56. “The key ingredient in engaging the power available from service is motive.” – Richie Norton

57. “No time is better spent than that spent in the service of your fellow man.” – Bryan McGill

58. “Let us choose life and love, and happily use ourselves up in loving service to one another.” – Doris Haddock

59. “He who wishes to serve his country must have not only the power to think, but the will to act.” – Plato

60. “Graciousness in serving and being served marks the lives of leaders who have made the largest impact on my life.” – Sue Mallory

Inspirational Service to Community Quotes

61. “We were born to unite with our fellow men, and to join in community with the human race.” – Cicero

62. “It is not more bigness that should be our goal. We must attempt, rather, to bring people back to the warmth of community, to the worth of individual effort and responsibility, and of individuals working together as a community, to better their lives and their children’s future.” – Robert Kennedy

63. We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community.” – Dorothy Day

64. “Every person is defined by the communities she belongs to.” – Orson Scott Card

65. “There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.” – Margaret Wheatley

66. “We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.” – Herman Melville

67. “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

68. The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members.” – Coretta Scott King

69. “Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.” – Jacqueline Woodson

70. “One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone.” – Shannon Alder

Quotes About Service To Inspire Our Servicemen and Women

71.“Who kept the faith and fought the fight; the glory theirs, the duty ours.” — Wallace Bruc

72.“The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men.” — Minot J. Savage

73. “I have long believed that sacrifice is the pinnacle of patriotism.” — Bob Riley

74. “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” — Tagore

75. “Life is for service.” — Fred Rogers

76. “Well, in the first place, military service, they don’t call it service for nothing. You are actually serving your country. And it is a worthy and valid vocation.”  — Rick Warren

77. “We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us.” — Winston S. Churchill

78. “I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.” — Albert Schweitzer

79.“Service to others in their time of need is a privilege and an honor.” — Harley King

80. “The opportunity to serve is everywhere if the heart is seeking and there is a willingness to take action.” — Henry Hon

Serving the country and community

If you are thinking about putting yourself in a role of service, hopefully, these service quotes helped motivate you and show the importance of your decision.

If you have already served, are serving, or have a family member that served, thank you for your service.

We appreciate that more than we can put words to. 

The country truly wouldn’t be the place of freedom that it is today without protecting our rights from individuals who dedicate their time to protecting them.

Our communities rely heavily on the time and commitment of police, firefighters, and first responders daily.

So, to all that serve—thank you.

Which of these service quotes and sayings resonated with you best?

Do you have any other inspirational quotes to add?

Let us know in the comment section below.

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