US Presidency
1943

I think that the personal convenience of the individual, or the individual family back home here in the United States will appear somewhat less important when I tell you that the initial assault force on Sicily involved 3,000 ships which carried 160,000 men Americans, British, Canadians and French together with 14,000 vehicles, 600 tanks, and 1,800 guns. And this initial force was followed every day and every night by thousands of reinforcements. The meticulous care with which the operation in Sicily was planned has paid dividends. ( For ) Our casualties in men, in ships and material have been low in fact, far below our estimate. And all of us are proud of the superb skill and courage of the officers and men who have conducted and are conducting those ( this ) operations. The toughest resistance developed on the front of the British Eighth Army, which included the Canadians. But that is no new experience for that magnificent fighting force which has made the Germans pay a heavy price for each hour of delay in the final victory.