Posted on 12/05/2002 7:37:12 PM PST by CreekerFreeper
GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON, JR.'S PRAYER Below is the famous "Patton Prayer" and Christmas greeting sent to the men of the Third Army December 8, 1944:
"Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies, and establish Thy justice among men and nations. Amen."
LOL!
I've guess I've watched too many M*A*S*H reruns and became depressed.
You've cheered me right up! :o)
And far, far beyond. More men (and women, it must be said) of Honor, Courage, and Commitment exist today, and freely offer themselves up to the cause of freedom and liberty, than the media will EVER deign to report OR venerate.
Far more profitable, for those who shape the thoughts of the masses, to extol such luminaries as Britney Spears and Eminem.
Of course, Patton almost WAS thrown out on his ear for being un-PC after slapping some battle-fatigue casualties in Sicily. He took the heat when called for.
Incidentally, December 8 is my birthday, and Patton's famous words of that day help make it a fine, righteous day.
See Tom Clancy's non fiction "INTO THE STORM (A Study in Command)".
A cadet. You must remember that the Air Force evolved out of the Army, although not a few Navy flyers made the move too, and so they generally use Army terms and traditions. Enlisted rank titles are of course different, but even today, the uniforms are very similar, except in color and the Air Force doesn't wear unit shoulder patches or quite as many devices, although they do wear command and/or unit badges on utilities and flight suits.
"Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate election results and Fox News with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as the one true faith, Liberal Democrats, who call Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our Godless Republican enemies, and establish our Left leaning justice among men and nations. Amen."
Hear it the other night on Larry King.
I have been given command of Third Army for reasons which will become clear to you later on. ... I am here because of the confidence of two men: The President of the United States and the theater commander. They have confidence in me because they don't believe a lot of goddamned lies that have been printed about me and also because they know I mean business when I fight. I don't fight for fun and I won't tolerate anyone on my staff who does. You are here to fight. This is an active theater of war. Ahead of you lies battle. That means just one thing. You can't afford to be a goddamned fool, because, in battle, fools mean dead men. It is inevitable for men to be killed and wounded in battle. But there is no reason why such losses should be increased because of the incompetence and carelessness of some stupid son-of-a-bitch. I don't tolerate such men on my staff.
There are three reasons why we are fighting this war. The first is because we are determined to preserve our traditional liberties. Some crazy German bastards decided they were supermen and that it was their holy mission to rule the world. They've been pushing people around all over the world, looting, killing, and abusing millions of innocent men, women, and children. They were getting set to do the same thing to us. We had to fight to prevent being subjugated.
The second reason we are fighting is to defeat and wipe out the Nazis who started all this goddamned son-of-bitchery. They didn't think we could or would fight, and they weren't the only ones who thought that, either. There are certain people back home who had the same idea. Both were wrong.
The third reason we are fighting is because men like to fight. They always have and they always will. Some sophists and other crackpots deny that. They don't know what they're talking about. They are either goddamned fools or cowards, or both. Men like to fight, and if they don't they're not real men.
If you don't like to fight, I don't want you around. You'd better get out before I kick you out. But there is one thing to remember. In war, it takes more than the desire to fight to win. You've got to have more than guts to lick the enemy. You must also have brains. It takes brains and guts to win wars. A man with guts but no brains is only half a soldier. We licked the Germans in Africa and Sicily because we had brains as well as guts. We're going to lick them in Europe for the same reason.
That's all and good luck.
Patton Quotes:
• The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his.
• If I do my full duty, the rest will take care of itself
•A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later.
•Do more than is required of you.
•Do not fear failure.
•Do not take counsel of your fears.
•Give credit where it’s due.
•In case of doubt, attack.
•It's the unconquerable soul of man, and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that ensures victory.
•Make your plans to fit the circumstances.
•Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men.
•Say what you mean and mean what you say.
•Take calculated risks.
•There is only one type of discipline, perfect discipline.
Anyone in any walk of life who is content with mediocrity is untrue to himself and the American way.
•There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates.
•You're never beaten until you admit it.
•It is only by doing things others have not that one can advance.
•God deliver us from our friends, we can handle the enemy.
•As I walk through the valley of death I fear no one, for I am the meanest mother fucker in the valley!
•A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood.
•All glory is fleeting.
•A leader is a man who can adapt principles to circumstances.
•Success demands a high level of logistical and organizational competence.
•Perpetual peace is a futile dream.
•It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
•The test of success is not what you do when your on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.
•If I win I can't be stopped! If I lose I shall be dead.
•Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity
That scene is one of the most moving and powerful juxtapositions of dialogue and visuals ever put into a movie. The only other one that even comes close (and its a distant second) is the "It's a Wonderful World" scene from Good Morning, Vietnam."
Although Rumsfeld comes close!
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