General George Smith Patton Jr.: A True Hero

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General George Smith Patton Jr. was not your typical military leader. He led his troops from the front and inspired his men with his words and actions. Patton did not want to become a regular soldier; his heart was set on becoming a combat general. He was fascinated with leading men into battle. He did not care about the rewards of being a hero; he cared about being a hero for the sake of being a hero. He was feared by the Germans and revered by those he commanded. Known as the hard-nosed armored general who could have taken Germany by himself. Patton who was often described as “having a tongue as sharp as the cavalry saber he once wielded, and his fury as explosive as the shells he would order launched from his tank division. He had a sheer …show more content…
Military Academy at West Point, New York, as “that holy place.” Fearing he would fail the admissions test, but still badly wanting to attend, Patton found away around the test. He came up with the a plan to attend Virginia Military Institute for a year and it would do away with the prerequisite of having to take the admission test to West Point. After one year at Virginia Military Institute he transferred to West Point, where he failed math and had to repeat a whole year of classes. Even though he was ashamed, this didn’t phase young Patton, he was determined to succeed and taking part in war. His grades started to climb his second year and even made the football team. He even acceded to the rank of Cadet Sergeant Major, which was the highest position for a second year cadet. Although he had a great deal of success his second year, he suffered from performance anxiety dreams. He wrote to his father: “I had a dream I was the adjutant and I was having a fine time, then next night I dreamed I was found and I was having a hell of a time. Everybody was pointing their fingers at me and calling me stupid.” (Showalter, 2005, p.17) Patton had to work harder to over come his learning disabilities and anxiety. “It shows the unusual effort he devoted to developing his ideas of what made a successful soldier and great a captain.” (Showalter,
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