Footnotes to Greatness - A review of "Patton: A Soldier's Life", by Stanley P. Hirshson

Claremont Institute ^ | 3-29-04 | By Victor Davis Hanson

[StoneColdGOP]

Bump for General Patton.

Anyone else read this book or any other mentioned here?

[Paulus Invictus]

I own and have read all the Patton books except this one. Patton was a true WW II hero, in spite of his blemishes. The Commies at the State Dept. hated him for his anti- Soviet views and I am certain that they got him down-graded. Mc Carthy was right-- Several influential State Dept. head men were later shown to have been Commies and they transmitted state secrets all the time to the USSR. One of them was always at FDR's elbow and knew all the secrets. The State Dept still appears to be far left in their attitudes.

[El Gran Salseron]

I haven't read this book. However, I have long been an admirer of General Patton. I remember in the early 50s just at the birth of the cold war, as a child, my dad raving such as General Patton might do, about how, "PATTON TRIED TO TELL THEM BUT THEY WOULDN'T LISTEN!".....etc, etc, etc.

It's just a shame that there aren't any more like him.....kick A$$, don't bother to take names and tell the truth.

That attitude of "Hold him by the "cojones" and kick him in the A$$!"

"Grease the tracks of our tanks with his guts."

We need him again in Iraq.....right now!

To HE!! with the politicians and "negotiating."
General, where are you?

[an amused spectator]

Victor Davis Hanson bump.

Anyone else read this book or any other mentioned here?

No, but I've got a really thick Patton bio that I've been meaning to crack into for ages.

Geez, Stone - this forum is getting way too big. I knew you were gone for a while, but didn't know you were back around, because I haven't seen your name in the longest time!

Good to see you.

[StoneColdGOP]

Patton was the guy the Establishment hated, and the people loved.

And yes, State is still rife with problems to this day of the sort that haunted it back in Patton's time.

[StoneColdGOP]

Man, if we had Patton now, not only would Iraq have been conquered, it'd be totally under control, and Iran and Syria would have surrendered out of pure fear.

[StoneColdGOP]

Good to see you too. I came back during the Recall, haven't been as active as I once was, but still alive, much to the chagrin of many. ;-)

[VOA]

Most Americans know more about his two slapping incidents in Sicily than his
famous sprint to Bastogne during the dark days of the Battle of the Bulge.

"Americans" should be replaced by "whiney liberal leftist socialist-Democrats".

[Missouri]

"Give me 10 days and I'll have a war with those son's of bitches, and make it look like their fault!"

[xkaydet65]

I've read Carlo D'Este's bio. An excellent and complete work that puts a lot of emphasis on Patton's time with Pershing in the Villa campaign and his gunfight with two bandidos. A very balanced piece of work, but very ngative toward Bradley who does not come off the saint played by Karl Malden. This perception is butressed by a later work by Martin Blumenson and Russel Weigley's Eisenhower's Lieutenants. In D'Este's view Patton was a great leader and warrior.

[CrazyIvan]

"There is no lower form of human than the politician, and the lowest of these is the liberal Democrat." George S. Patton

[an amused spectator]

From the movie:

Writing credits
Ladislas Farago	 	(book Patton: Ordeal and Triumph)

Omar N. Bradley	 	(book A Soldier's Story)

Francis Ford Coppola	 	(screen story) and
Edmund H. North	 	(screen story)

Francis Ford Coppola	 	(screenplay) and
Edmund H. North	 	(screenplay)

[Taylor42]

At my first job out of college, I had a supervisor who had been a part of the occupation army. He had some very interesting stories to tell. Anyway, he was convinced that Patton was murdered. Unfortunately I don't remember any of his specifics as to why. But he was certain the auto accident was no accident.

[ExSoldier]

I've read "Ordeal and Triumph" by Ladislas Fargo, and "War As I Knew It" by Patton himself which were his battle memoirs. The Fargo book was the basis for the movie with George C. Scott (himself such a liberal that he refused his own Oscar for the role). But the latter was a refreshing stroll through the mind of a professional warrior, without any political crapola.

[darth]

Heard this story at West Point when I was a cadet. During Black Jack Pershing's expedition against Pancho Villa a truck rolled up to Pershing's HQ with two dead bandidos tied over the fenders like a couple of trophy deer. Who was the proud lieutenant driving the truck? You guessed it...George.

[wideminded]

Anyway, he was convinced that Patton was murdered. Unfortunately I don't remember any of his specifics as to why. But he was certain the auto accident was no accident.

I recently saw the film, The Last Days of Patton, in which George C. Scott portrayed Patton during the occupation and (mainly) following the accident. I don't know if the filmmakers got everything right, but the way the accident was depicted in the movie makes it seems very unlikely that this could have been a planned murder. This film, which I had not even heard of previously, was memorable but extremely depressing.

[Taylor42]

Sorry, but that was a MOVIE!!!

[Siamese Princess]

My late father served under Gen. Patton and thought highly of him -- he never missed the movie Patton when it was on TV. He despised Gen. Eisenhower and said that he was George Marshall's boy. As for Gen. Patton's "bigotry," there's no doubt that he was very un-PC -- but that doesn't mean that he wasn't right at least some of the time.

[stanley windrush]

Read "War As I Knew It" years ago. I remember some of his statements were bigoted...but he was a man of his times. He was respectful mostly of talent and guts (no doubt about that) and he didn't care about the race or creed factor regarding integrity. He made an interesting remark about the Muslims of north Africa. Not verbatim mind you but something like this: "They treat their women worse than their mules (after witnessing a poor pack creature with open sores on it's back being beaten by it's master). What they need is a Christian.....on the proper treatment of women and animals... I wish I had the book with me to quote it verbatim. It is arrogant and elitist but truthful about the Muslim custom of having women as their chattel. He was a gruff, garrelous tough old bastard all right. Great book.