Alternate Generals II

From The New York Times,August 6, 1943:

Patton Strikes Blow for Morale

Says "No Cowards" in American Army

Cheered at Press Conference in Palermo

Letter to Beatrice Patton, August 7, 1943:

Don't worry about the old "death wish" coming back, but right now I would rather lead the first wave of Operation Decatur ashore than give another speech or answer another question from a reporter. Anyone would think I was ru

Of course, neither am I, in public. You are the only one I'm going to tell about the whole thing. I was all ready to chew Private Shriver's ass up one side and down the other, and maybe kick him right out of the tent. But I had a tickle in my throat, and I knew that if I started shouting I would cough myself silly.

So I put on my fighting face, which looked as if it was going to scare the poor little SOB right off his cot. I started to raise my riding crop, and I could see people flinching.

Then something grabbed my wrist. It was as solid a grab as I ever felt from you. It pulled my wrist back to my side and then I heard a voice whisper, "Wait." It was the same voice I heard when I was wounded in the Argo

I looked over Pvt. Shreever's head, and saw Papa standing there. He was about the age you remember him when we met, but he was wearing his VMI [Virginia Military Institute] cadet's uniform.

"Look at me, son," he said. I hoped nobody else could hear him, and that I could reply without anybody else hearing me. Right then, I didn't want anybody thinking I was crazy.

"I wore this uniform a lot longer than that young man has worn his," Papa went on. "But I never set foot on a battle field. I never smelled powder smoke. I never had a single man die beside me. You honor my name, but let me tell you that Private Shrieber is braver than I ever was."

"But Papa-your own father died because his brigade-" I didn't really care if the living heard me.

"Was ru

I didn't know what to say. My grandfather gri

"I did just that. This boy hasn't even run away. Nobody's died because he was sick, and nobody will.If you send him back to his regiment with his pride intact. And if you go back to your post so as to make us prouder still. You've already done honor to the Patton name, grandson. Go and do more."

He saluted. So did Papa. Then they were both gone.

That is exactly what I remember, no more and no less. It must have happened in some way outside of time, because it was only a few seconds according to my watch.

Thank God nobody else heard or saw anything. Or maybe they did, and they are too afraid of everybody thinking their crazy to say anything.

Anyway, that's Grandpa, Papa, and you who all think I'm a pretty good soldier. We shall see what happens with Operation Decatur.

Your George

PS-The British seem to be reading the papers.

All of a sudden, Monty wants a meeting tomorrow, to coordinate Operation Decatur with a landing on the east coast of Sicily. I hope there's enough air cover for two, and that the Limeys move out of the beachhead fast. They will be closer to Messina than we will be, and they might get there first, but that does not bother me as much as a lot of British soldiers getting killed because they squatted long enough for the Germans to bring up artillery or even counterattack. Oh well, if nothing else moves them, the Royal Navy will give them a kick in the ass. They've been trying to get Monty to try an end-run for weeks.

PPS-Don't show this to anybody else.

From The New York Times, August 11, 1943:

A Pincer for the Panzers

Double Allied Landings Cut Off

Germans in Northern Sicily

Ferocious Luftwaffe Counterattacks

So far, so good. Lucian has gone ashore at Brolo to personally supervise the three-ring circus they have there. If the Germans weren't so convinced that we still have a second wave or a whole second landing force in Palermo and weren't trying to bomb the city flat, we might be in trouble.

It did help that the first companies ashore moved right out and up on to the high ground around the beaches. Right away they had good observation for the Navy and the mortars, and good fields of fire for everything else.

Between the AA [antiaircraft] we've landed and the fighter cover the Air Force is actually providing, not just promesing, the boys ashore don't have to look up too often. They have one road blocked and the other under fire, and German prisoners say the 29thPanzer Grenadiers is redeploying to clear their rear. They think we've landed an armored division.

The Navy hasn't been so lucky. They've lost two transports, the light cruiserSava