A Word Or Two From General George S. Patton . . . .The Real One - 1945
(Gen. George S. Patton - bore no resemblance to George C. Scott)
With many pundits invoking the spirit of General George S. Patton lately, it would seem they are actually invoking the spirit of George C. Scott, who played the legendary World War 2 General in the movie "Patton" rather than the actual real-life General. And so I ran across a series of broadcasts on the occasion of VE Day from May 8,1945 where General Patton addressed the listening audience to the work his 3rd Army had achieved in declaring victory over Germany.
Gen.George S.Patton: “Now that victory in Europe has been achieved, let us review the Third Army’s part in this epic struggle.”
Not the hellfire and out-of-control zealot as portrayed in fiction, but rather the cool and level-headed professional soldier.
Don't forget that reality and fiction are rarely on speaking terms.
http://www.lexrex.com/enlightened/articles/wa...
but do you have something more that ONE line? As in an entire speech? Seriously.
...is in audio form, on the media player, which you can find between the byline and the picture of Patton.
Seriously.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
Oh. You got me there. Happy Holidays!
in my defense, usually C&L posts a large part of the transcript.... Not used to the graphic at the top. Plus, I'm drinking Schlitz. Hey, we're in a recession!
Most of the transcripts come from websites that transcribe current news programming. The bloggers don't do the transcription themselves. This speech is probably pretty hard to find on-line, in print form.
But if you want the lyrics to damned near any song written in the second half of the 20th Century and later, you can find 'em via Google in about ten seconds flat.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
If cold Schlitz isn't bad. But it must be ice cold or it is poison.
ICE cold.... $12 a case, can't beat it though.
American beer is like making love in a canoe - it's fucking close to water!
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
The Real Voice of Gen. Patton
Seriously
very cool. Thanks!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBrtpwIr9W0
Video not available in the USA due to copyright restrictions...
And they also portrayed Ronald Reagan as the savior of this country. Talk about a disconnect.
is intended to be a factual statement
"24" is real isn't it? But not "Law & Order" of course...they just slander and LIEEEEEEE!!!!!!
;)
He's a real American hero. Treats terrorist like they should be. A quick bloodless death with no collateral damage. I miss my Texas Walker.
is intended to be a factual statement
The best Bugs Bunny cartoon ever made about terrorism.
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
!
Barack Obama: Change we can only imagine
But he was every bit as abrasive as portrayed in the film. He did slap two soldiers being treated for battle fatigue/PTSD. He did publicly advocate fighting the Russians- not the Soviets, but the Russians- while the war was still going on. And he was a dick about uniform regulations, regularly fining or demoting soldiers for the offenses of not wearing neckties and not shaving, even if they were in the midst of battle.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
to be a great general you can't be a nice guy. He slapped a few guys, if he were a German or Russian, or Japanese general he would have had them shot. He made some of the most incredible advances in the history of warfare and by so doing ended up saving thousands of lives.
about suffering not from visible wounds & other barbarities toward his troops.
Slapping ill soldiers, and publicly humiliating them, is just unacceptable, as is his widely reported anti-Jewish sentiments.
here's just one report.
http://www.wymaninstitute.org/letters/2005-08...
For this reason, and other instances that show his anti-semitism, he seems to be a favorite of Stormfront and other "neo"nazi sites.
I just hate people. How could he?
me-oww!
Patton would spend large amounts of his very valuable time touring the hospitals and comforting the wounded. He would often break down during those tours. Most of his biographers agree that the slapping incidents were because he was so emotional after such visits and then outraged at men with battle fatigue sharing the hospital with men who were wounded.
As for this quote, it seems suspicious to me. I've read a lot of Patton's biographies and never seen this. I'm not denying he was anti-semitic and a racist though. However, he never let that interfere with command. You should read the book "Patton's Panthers". Patton was a leader in taking an all black armored battalion and letting them fight as they wanted to. Once he did he was clear to all his men that soldiers were all the same color.
Not sure if Patton would fight in these oil wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but I tend to think he would not. Patton might have slapped around a few of his soldiers, but he would have taken a bullet for them as well.
He really did believe in that reincarnation stuff portrayed in the film, and he was very aggressive. He would have reveled in fighting over all of the old battlefields where Alexander, as well as Ottoman, Sumerian, Assyrian, Hittite, Mongol and Persian generals, had fought before. Patton was actively trying to make his mark on history, unlike Eisenhower, who was a reluctant warrior.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
Wasn't George C. Scott himself an avowed social activist... what the conservatards like to call "Libruls" when they're feeling especially nasty... and didn't he refuse an Oscar I believe for this very role in order to make a point about... among other things... the treatment of Native Americans?
I can't speak for Scott's activism, but he refused his Oscar for Patton because he didn't believe that acting is a competition. Brando had a Native American accept his Oscar for The Godfather. Brando boycotted the ceremony as a protest of Hollywood's negative portrayal of Native Americans.
Don't try to confuse the issue with half-truths and gorilla dust.
he refused his Oscar for Patton because he didn't believe that acting is a competition.
That was pretty damn cool of him.
There's always free cheddar in the mousetrap, baby. - Tom Waits
Patton would never have lasted as a general under the command of Bush as (shudder) commander in chief. He was flawed in many ways, a racist, a war monger, but he was also a proud and honerable man. He always spoke his mind and had no interest or ability for politics, which is why people like MaCarther and Eisenhower did so much better even though neither had his genius for war.
didn't he? I don't recall him getting pneumonia in the Ardennes...
Read any biography of Patton, even the most critical, and it will tell you that he always led from the front. He would walk around with his head high in the middle of shelling and sniper fire when everyone else was doing the rational thing and ducking for cover.
!@#$%^)(*&^ % &^%$%^&*(!!!!
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
War As I knew It. Straight from Patton's pen. Yes, it's self serving, but probably less so than an autobiography (which Patton never wrote due to his untimely death). Patton was raised in a privileged class with southern roots. He was a good general. As a human being he was probably deeply flawed by today's standards. It's interesting to study why he succeeded, while others lagged. I think the best comparison is to a manager of a baseball team. If you can recognize talent and put the players in positions where they will succeed, you will be a great manager. Unfortunately his team had the job of killing as many Germans as they possibly could.
Of the military mind is that no one is supposed to think for themselves. Patton's approach to leadership was a model for all leaders, military, business, or government. He never micro-managed, he found smart people that he trusted and let them do the job where as he saw his role as smoothing over problems and making sure his commanders had what they needed.
This guy with all those stars and the shiny helmet screams "Look at ME!"
He made MacArthur look like a shrinking violet.
Goddamn right those stars scream look at me because he earned every damn one of them. The stars are testament to his sacrifice and the men who did not make it out of that hellacious war.
If you read Patton's own words he acknowledges that he deliberately wanted to stand out as tough, in control, etc. That was how he saw the role of a good general, not necessarily to be loved by the troops but to be respected and obeyed. And it worked. The opening parts of the movie Patton are all based on the actual events. Patton inherited an army in the desert that hot murdered by the Afrika Korps and turned them into a model of efficiency.
As for MacArthur, Patton was a self acknowledged prima donna but unlike MacArthur he always followed orders. Also, unlike MacArthur he didn't presume roles that weren't his responsibility. When MacArthur declared "I shall return" and then insisted that the US liberate the Phillipines he essentially challenged the political power of the president and took on the role of secretary of state. MacArthur was a competent general but he never displayed the kind of brilliance that Patton did during things like Operation Cobra and his prescience to realize that the Germans were going to launch an offensive in the Ardennes and to pivot his army to respond.
To be clear I'm sure I would hate Patton's politics and I acknowledge he was a racist. But he was also one of the greatest generals in US history and a man of principle.
Contrast to modern general staff officers (peace time or fake wars) who walk around with the proverbial fruit salads on their chests.
Theres that recent case of a very senior bean counting general who needed a combat medal (for promotion to higher rank), conveniently a mortar round (or C4 charge) exploded several hundred yards away from where his Hummer was traveling, bingo one (needed) combat medal. The two journalists accompanying him, indirectly called BS on the combat incident.
Patton was an aristocratic Californian, Olympic athlete, historian (West Point grad weak in mathematics), professional soldier but, a political dullard, superstitious star gazer and reincarnation believer. Patton's ego, quirks and phobias limited his potential as a leader.
Omar Bradley is a better model for the complete US battlefield commander during WWII
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Bradley
as was Mark Clark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Wayne_Clark
We'll never know what Patton's political future would have brought following the war as his suspicious death ended a warriors life but, one can imagine it being quite colorful.
Frank Zappa - Make A Jazz Noise Here
I agree that Bradley is a better model as a "soldier's soldier". But the US army needed both. I would have rather served under Bradley but if I were a commanding general and needed someone to kick ass and make progress in situations where no one else could I wold turn to Patton.
Guys, I am a Conservative. But I happen to enjoy this little section of Crooks and Liars. I especially enjoyed listening to General Patton. I could hear the southern pride in his voice and yes, his restrained power. He was one of the great ones.
Thank you for sharing that.
-Pat
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