I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen 200 limping, exhausted men come out of line — the survivors of a regiment of 1,000 that went forward 48 hours before. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war. I have passed unnumbered hours, I shall pass unnumbered hours thinking and planning how war may be kept from this nation.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882-1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman, US President (1933-1945)

Speech, Chautauqua, New York (1936)

Full text. FDR, as Assistant Secretary of the Navy, visited the front lines of WWI in France after American troops were in service.