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Patton Believed Gl-Slapping Justified, War Book Shows(Edward D. Ball, writer of tlie following report.on (ientral Patton,'! war book, waa Associated Press War rorrespondent asalvned to Patton'a Third Army form Its entry Into the battle of France In July, 1044, until Ion# after the Ucrman surrender.!By EDWARD D. BALLNASHVILLE, Ten n„ Nov. 3— (AP) For slapping a battle-shocked soldier in Sicily General George S. Patton, Jr., apologized—under -orders—to a whole army but In his own mind there never was any doubt about the Justification of this act which kicked up a storm back home.The Impetuous Patton lived down that Incident of 1943, as he did others In his stormy career, and went on from Sicily to lead this Third arjny to undeniably brilliant victory In Europe two years later.But he did not Uve down the feeling that battle fatigue was in reality cowardice and he often expressed his contempt for It in off-the-cuff conversation during his European campaign.Tills feeling, and his account of the soldier slapping, are put Into writing In hi# book, “War ss I Knew It,” which he wrote in 1945 after the war's end and which was published posthumously this week by Houghton Mifflin company.Book is Pure Patton”War as I knew It is pure Patton In the language as he spoke It—crisply and colorfully—except that In print he all but closed the spigot on his usual fountain of cavalryman’s profanity.His book makes good and Interesting reading but doesn’t add much to whnt a lot of people already knew; It does bring into sharper focus some of the Patton temperament and characteristics:(A) That while doing a spectacularly successful Job of fighting Germans he was at the same time almost continually feuding and fussing with SHAEF, the headquarters of General Dwight D. Elsenhower's allied high command which Patton accuses of having kept him under wraps'' all the way; and(B) That Patton, a man of great military talent, chafed under the notion that his superiors failed to appreciate hia talent to the fullest and that he In turn held a low opinion of the way SHAEF ran the war In general and hla Third army In particular.a cussing out with about three choice lines of profanity to the GIs. For the officer he reserved special treatment.He failed to elaborate on the special treatment in this particular case but it brings to mind others, one In particular not mentioned in “War as I Knew It.Another Gl IncidentWhile fighting was going on for the French cathedral city of Chartres three GI's were squatting In a roadside ditch passing the bottle. Just then Patton passed by. He leaped from his jeep and the toe of his highly polished cavaliy boot made swift contact with the posterior of the nearest soldier. On this occasion the treatment produced prompt results; the GIs went into action on the double.But befuddled GIs were not the only targets of Patton’s eruptions. He was particularly critical of British Field Marshal Bernard L Montgomery. Generals Elsenhower and Bradley, the latter his Immediate superior In France and Germany as commander off Twelfth Army group, likewise came In lt;for Patton salvos.His criticism of these 4op allied commanders in War as I Knew It Is substantially the same as that made in an arbrldgment of hia War Journal, published only last week In the Saturday Evening Post. Rebuttals to these barbs have followed.PATROLMAN GIVEN60-DAY SENTENCENORWICH, Nov. 3—(AP) Radio Patrolman Calrencc A. Starr was sentenced to 60 days In Jail today In police court when he was found guilty of administering a heating to Joseph Seretny, 30, of this city. A few minutes after the court verdict, Police Chief Thomas P. Murphy announced that Starr has been suspended from the police force, pending a hearing by the Board of Police Commissioners.Starr appealed the jail sentence to the Court of Common Pleas and posted a $500 bond.CANCER EXAMS SLATED
Newspaper Details
Bridgeport Telegram
Bridgeport, Connecticut, US
Tue, Nov 04, 1947
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Canton S.
OK, USA 11 Jan 2018
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