I agree with others as far as what they said about Gen. Patton and I think that the men who served with him like myself,if they are honest,will admit to the fact that there was a huge Love/Hate relationship with Gen Patton. Partially because he went where the men went without a sign of fear but also because of what he demanded they accomplish.(His Guts/Our Blood). Here is a true anecdote in which I was personally involved and one which should show just how much he was concerned for his men. Sometime late in early Oct. there was to be a conference between Gen. Bradley;Gen.Patton and Gen. Hodges. We were asked to provide an escort for Gen. Patton to and from the conference. A Staff Car was provided for the Gen. and it was to be sandwiched in between an armored jeep,a half track in front and a half track and a jeep following. Being one of the lucky ones, I won the job of manning the .50cal MG on the trailing jeep which meant that I had to stand with both hands on the weapon grips,thumbs on the butterfly. It was a cold,rainy miserable day and although the ride wasn't all that long,we became cold and wet to the skin before we arrived at the conference site. As they entered the building,we were told by a Staff Sgt.,there that we could go around back and get some coffee if we wanted. Gen. Patton overheard this and bellowed(as only he could)-where is the ^%$%^%^^* )Mess Officer for this group. Reluctantly,the MO appeared and the Gen. told him that we were his escort and he(the MO)was to provide a HOT meal ASAP NOT just coffee. After that, he(the MO) was to arrange that we all get a clean dry set of uniforms for the trip back because his escort was to be able to function 100%. I never knew that canned hot beef stew,with white bread and hot coffee would make a meal fit for a king. My hands were so cold I couldn't even open the buckle on my cartridge belt without help also would have had trouble with those thumbs on the .50cal. I have to admit that by being a little sneaky I even got an extra set of new,dry socks to stuff inside my shirt. Up until this point we had called him(Very,Very quietly--God Help Us if HE Ever Heard!!) every name in the book for riding in an enclosed Staff car while we had no cover at all except our "pots". Sgtleo
Excellent story. Thank you very much for sharing. I think it's cold and unbearable when I walk outside in the winter months when its 45 degrees with a chilly wind blowing, then I read stories like yours and think to myself "why are you whining?" Thanks for everything.
What a great story, Cheers cd13, I was thinking exactly the same reading that, In fact this morning I put a bloody big glove on to scrape some ice off the car
Mine has been on off and on for about a week now. I've had to scrape my windshield every morning for the same. It's just frost, but it has been getting to around 35-40 F where I live. Tonights low is expected at 37F
