General George S. Patton was born 120 years ago today

[DTogo]

Thanks for posting that. Boy do we need more men like him these days!

[Cathy]

Thanks - I actually have been looking at a good read on Patton. Looked at a couple on Amazon but nothing struck my fancy.

[MrLee]

Is the sequal to "Patton", "The Last Days Of..." any good. I see it's on DVD now.

[burzum]

Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bulls***. Americans love to fight, traditionally. All real Americans love the sting and clash of battle.

We don't want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Godd***ed cowards and we will have a nation of brave men.

While Gen. Patton may have been able to kill off the cowards in the Third Army, he obviously wasn't able to stop the ones at home. And boy was he right that they breed to make more cowards. Of course they're not called 'cowards' now, they're called 'liberals.'

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

[Cathy]

Haven't seen it. DVD's of old movies are cheap at Target - sometimes under 10$.

[Southack]

"He was a firm believer in Reincarnation. I wonder who he was reborn as?"

Well, he picked quite a birthday. His 33rd birthday present was the German surrender in WW1 (Armistice Day).

If you believe in that sort of thing, then simply match another famous surrender at the hands of overwhelming firepower to a current ass-kicking general's birthday.

[Donald Rumsfeld Fan]

And boy was he right that they breed to make more cowards. Of course they're not called 'cowards' now, they're called 'liberals.'

...General Kerry reporting for duty..

[Redleg Duke]

My little sister and I visited the original Patton Museum at Ft. Knox in 1959. I was 12 and she was 7. It was in a series of old vehicle sheds and run by a couple of Sergeants. I politely asked if I could climb on the vehicles and they said "Sure, just don't hurt yourself."

My sister and I were in and on and around every vehicle, tank and gun in the place. Came out filthy, tired and happy.

About three or four years ago, I was down at Knox on business and went through the place. You can't hardly touch anything, let alone get on it. I was looking at one Panzer Mark Iv and laughing when a museum employee came up and asked me what was so funny as it had a sign that said, "Do Not Climb On Tank!". I told him that I had a picture at home of my little sister in the loader's hatch and me in the commander's hatch, taken in 1959. He just stared at me.

[Terpfen]

If you want a Patton print bio, A Genius For War is about as good as they get, though I didn't like some of the assertions its author made regarding the Metz campaign and Patton's military governorship of Bavaria. The page I linked to is probably the most analytical of all Patton biographies, though: most of the print bios try not to rock the historical boat (Eisenhower was the best general ever promoted, Patton slapping the soldiers was wrong, Patton really did compare the Dems and GOP to Nazis, etc.) The Unknown Patton does a decent job of shooting those ideas down.

[TexasTransplant]

This Man understood Liberty, it's cost and the cost of maintaining it.

Elected Officials today(the great majority of them) don't have a clue, Reid or Rockefeller would be laying in a puddle of their own making if they ever had to face a reality where they had to be accountable for the consequences of their actions.

TT

[yarddog]

I have read four different Patton biographies and the one they made the movie from was probably the best. I think it was Ladislas Farago (unsure of the spelling).

Another good one was by a guy who was a friend and also liked shooting. I can't recall his name off hand.

[dfwgator]

Is the sequal to "Patton", "The Last Days Of..." any good. I see it's on DVD now.

It's ok, it's mostly flashbacks to his West Point days, and scenes in the hospital with his wife.

[Terpfen]

Ladislas Farago was the only Patton biographer at the time of the movie, I believe; they used his biography as the basis of the script, with GotA Bradley consulting. Bradley's consultation is the main reason why the Patton movie is... well, wrong, especially with regards to the man's personality. Bradley hated Patton, and it was stupid for him to be consulting on that movie.

The Patton Papers made up for the problems of the movie.

[yarddog]

I lost a lot of respect for Bradley after reading a book about Chesty Puller. I guess Chesty didn't care for the army anyway but he detested Bradley.

[Marine_Uncle]

"Thanks - I actually have been looking at a good read on Patton. Looked at a couple on Amazon but nothing struck my fancy."

PATTON: Ordeal and Triumph. Author: Ladislas Farago,
Publisher: DELL Publishing Co, Inc. Fifteen Printing: 1976
ISBN: 440-06853-195

Amazon.com has various printings available for under $5. used. For instance a 1970 printing ISBN: 0440168538

The book covers his early years through his final days. If you seek a book that goes into his actions during WWII, with much after action battle reports, what campaigns he generaled etc.. You may find this book quite valuable. It is a long read due to the many details inclosed. I tend to read it once a year, at least in part.

[Terpfen]

Unfortunately, I think the establishment of the US Army today is more like Bradley and Eisenhower than Patton, even though they use Patton's tactics of mobile warfare.

[Moonman62]

Bradley hated Patton, and it was stupid for him to be consulting on that movie.

From what I've read just about everybody associated with the movie didn't like Patton and wanted portray him as a kook, especially George C. Scott.

[GB]

Carlo D'Este, who wrote "A Genius for War," is a former Army lieutenant colonel and an excellent author, IMHO. His book on Eisenhower is about as good as it gets as well, I've always thought Stephen Ambrose's books on Ike, which are highly regarded, were a little too "worshipful," not that I think Ike isn't deserving of respect. Far from it, although Ike's strength was more as the CEO of a whole bunch of disparate elements ... can you imagine the headaches of having to deal with George Patton and Bernard Law Montgomery in the same war ... than as a military strategist.

[Marine_Uncle]

I read Chesty. His biography. Great book on a great Marine! And a carefull read of PATTON: Ordeal and Triumph also make some clear distinctions as to how Bradely was simply not the general he was made up to be. I'll Leave it go at that.