Patton
The Pursuit of Destiny
By
Agostino Von Hassell and Ed Breslin
A man who for so many was larger than life is the subject of Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny which is a chronologically arranged biography about four star General George S. Patton Jr., the World War II leader who has so closely been tied to mechanized armored vehicles – tanks.
He was born in California to a prominent family from Virginia, with a long history of heroes, who had distinguished themselves, on the battlefields, of American history. He was raised in privilege, with a clear understanding that he too would be expected to go forward and leave his mark on history. The West Point graduate married Beatrice Banning Ayer, an affluent Bostonian, with whom he had three children. He was an Olympian in 1912, an expert marksman and was the army’s youngest “Master of the Sword.” Throughout his life, Patton, a life-long career Army officer, studied and pursued excellence, always interested in new technology and advancements.
The General was in fact part of the first armored vehicle attack in American history, when he trailed and trapped Mexican General Julio Cárdenas, using three Dodge cars, while serving under General John J. Pershing, during the Punitive Expedition of 1916.
While stationed in Hawaii, his foresight inspired him to write a plan to defend Pearl Harbor, against a Japanese attack, ten years before the attack occurred. At fifty-five, Patton took flying lessons, and bought a small plane in order to survey battlefields, establishing the notion of spotter planes doing reconnaissance.
His interest in tanks was shared by General Dwight David Eisenhower, who both understood the role such mechanized armored vehicles could and would play in war. There fascination with tanks almost cost them their lives, long before becoming the victors of World War II. While taking apart and putting a tank back together, to fully understand its function, they were nearly decapitated, by a flying belt, and almost shot by a jammed gun that was mounted on tank.
He distinguished himself throughout his career, though there were certainly moments which he would have rather not been a party to, as with being called to remove the Bonus Marchers from tent cities in Washington D.C., in 1932. The Bonus Marchers were veterans from World War I, including Joe Angelo, who had saved Patton’s life, during the war. At the height of the Great Depression, the men were seeking bonuses promised to them by Congress, for their service in the war. Along with General Douglas MacArthur, Patton had the job of dispersing these men, much to his horror.
General George S. Patton is an American hero, who like the rest of us, had his flaws; but he is someone we should know of and not forget, which is why I would recommend Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny
I enjoyed this book, in the same fashion as I would a piece of fiction. The narrative flows easily and the subject matter is certainly interesting. If your knowledge of Patton is limited, this is a nice way to get an overview of a fascinating man, who truly felt destine to achieve greatness.
The problem with the book is that it reads like a book report of the often mentioned Stanley P. Hirshson biography of Patton: General Patton: A Soldier’s Life. It is a historical biography without footnotes or quotes. Patton’s words are missing from this book, as are his own insights, with the rare exception where a letter home or journal entry is referred to, though not actually quoted. Unfortunately, the book does not delve deeply enough into its subject, I was left wishing there was more detail; but it certainly does wet ones appetite and gives you a nice overview of a man who left his mark, as expected. That is all for now.
I received a copy of the this book for free from Book Sneeze. Photograph from The Second World War, by John Keegan.
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