I watched the movie Patton starring George C. Scott today. George C Scott takes on the role of General George S. Patton and makes it very believable. This is not the first time I have watched the movie which came out in 1970 and I doubt it will be the last time I watch this movie. The movie revolves around General George S Patton and his remarkable achievements during World War II as a predominant commanding general of American allied participation during the war.
Of course most of my uncles were veterans of either World War II or the Korean war and opinion usually flowed freely about WWII field commanders and who was the best. Of course as it turned out, all the men present served under different commanders. Naturally each man thought his commander was the best of the bunch and the others were second rate wanna be’s. This conflict is present in the movie also. The Allied forces had some pretty large ego’s involved in their efforts and those ego’s come through pretty well.
The reason I bring up the movie is because of the feelings that Patton invoked in his time and the feelings the movie invokes. Patton is portrayed as a troubled hero who has no political savvy in a time when the world was changing. Patton is portrayed as a hero and and a man in the the movie. General Patton also lived and breathed war. Per the movie he believes he has lived many life times and fought in most great recorded battles found across Europe.
The movie portrays General George S. Patton as a hero who has his faults. General Patton as the movie portrays him is only a hero in his realm which is war. When General Patton is not in the feild commanding his army, his lack of political skill brings him trouble. He is shown as having problems with everyone from Presidents to fellow generals and enlisted men. General Patton on the field with his army was in his element and his men did not have any love for him, respected him, and did what many considered impossible for him.
Which brings me to the idea of a hero such as General Patton. The man is brilliant, talented, and a master at his craft which was war. What General Patton accomplished was heroism at its finest by America and its allies. General patton did what had to be done, and he did it as well or better than most other men alive. There may be some argument between the men of this caliber who marshaled WWII as to who was the best of the best, but none of them were there for reasons other than they earned the right to be there.
Any job is open to anyone who is willing to do it. For example, everyone has the opportunity to arrive at whatever station their personal drive propels them too. It is all a matter of how hard one is willing to work and how much one is willing to sacrifice for some elusive ever changing goal.
Unfortunately the more prestigious the position, or the more weight it carries, there are fewer possibilities that any one individual will hold such a position. For every one that makes it to that lofty perch, there are hundreds if not thousands who do not. For every General Pattton there are hundreds of thousands of foot soldiers. Individuals such as General Patton did not fall into their positions. They spent their lifetime getting ready for a chance at these positions.
We all have the opportunity to become bigger than life if we want it. For most of us the drive to make the sacrifices needed just for the opportunity are too great and it is a road most of choose not to go down. For those that do, they sacrifice most of everything we consider a normal part of day to day living.
Hi Michael - I’m returning your visit — Gen Patton is one of my husband’s heroes along with Chuck Yeager and Joshua Chamberlain. Too often movies make these people larger than life and we forget that they are only fallible humans like the rest of us. Like your blog. Linda