Patton Prayer.

[Cato]

I don't know where else to put this. A memorable scene from a memorable movie.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_YMKpScUe8[/youtube]

[Cato]

This kind of prayer cuts across religious boundaries. People tend to forget that Jehovah is also a war God: the Lord of Hosts, which is how one of Odin's titles (Heerfather) is sometimes translated. Patton is addressing his God not as a supplicant but as, you might say, a war-chieftan seeking victory over the enemy.

[Piparskeggr]

Salute, General George S Patton Jr.

Great General, talented man, fierce warrior and a good father.

My great uncle, John "Jackie" Ryan, was a sergeant in an engineering battalion that supported Patton's 3rd Army.

I had gone to the VFW club with him to apply for entry into a speech competition (I was in 10th grade). Afterward, he treated me to dinner in the barroom. He over heard a fellow WW II vet at the next table talk in a disparaging manner about General Patton. Knowing the fellow had served in a unit outside of the 3rd army, Uncle Jackie cold-cocked him. "The general may have been a son of a bitch Sam, but he was our son of a bitch." I knew my Great Uncle had a temper, but had not seen it on display before.

On the ride home, I asked Uncle Jackie what serving in the war was like. This is the only answer I ever got from him, "Stevie, we were all of us, sons of bitches. Some was worse than others, but we were all of us, whatever country, sons of bitches. I pray to God you never have to know what it's like."

I later in life found out (when reading his obituary) that Uncle Jackie had been awarded the Silver Star (twice, 3rd highest US Military Honor for Valor), Bronze Star with V (twice, 4th highest US Military Honor for Valor) and Purple Heart (thrice, combat wound), among other decorations, while supporting the 3rd Army, in combat, as an engineer. Hell, I also didn't know he had a Master's in metallurgy and was considered one of the top 5 tool and die designers in the northeastern US.

He was always just Uncle Jackie, a lovable tough, who always smelled faintly of whiskey, especially after Aunt Elsie died, but put all 6 kids through college.

When I was a military cadet in college, George S. Patton III was a trustee of the school.

He was up one day to visit his old friend, our Commandant of Cadets, who was a retired USMC Colonel. I was brought before Colonel La Fond to answer his questions about why I had 27 specifications against me before a cadet court martial. Gen Patton was sitting in on the interview because I held the school record for charges, was fuming and threatening to see that I was brought on to active duty under the terms of my ROTC contract so I could be brought before a regular military court martial. The Colonel got him calmed down; "Georgie, this is one of my boys, I'll handle it, like I did in Korea when one my boys acted up." (Which is where they met and warred together.)

I answered the charges, which were all dropped and some senior class officers lost their rank over it. General Patton took me to the senior class club for dinner that night in apology.

Two of my brushes with noble men over the course of my life thus far, one a hard-drinking Irish-American Sergeant, the other an aristocratic Virginian and flag rank officer.

[Thorum]

I remember, as a soldier, when the "bug" was praying.....we would laugh. We all knew it was an empty promise. It was a joke. Praying before combat showed you were were a pussy. None of my comrades were religious anyway. Then, again, the Triple Nickle of Fort Hood was ready to kick ass anyway...

[White Swan]

I remember, as a soldier, when the "bug" was praying.....we would laugh. We all knew it was an empty promise. It was a joke. Praying before combat showed you were were a pussy. None of my comrades were religious anyway. Then, again, the Triple Nickle of Fort Hood was ready to kick ass anyway...

Then the ones who didn't pray were also cowards because they were afraid to look like cowards by praying and/or had no plan past the life they were about to lose?