THE GENERAL:
THE STORY OF
GEORGE S. PATTON
BY
JEFF BIGGERS
Smashwords Edition
Copyright
2011
William Gladden Foundation
ISBN #1-56456-307-3
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE:
The Victory Parade
CHAPTER TWO:
Lake Vineyard
CHAPTER THREE:
The Struggle to Read
CHAPTER FOUR:
The Military Academy
CHAPTER FIVE:
Failure at West Point
CHAPTER SIX:
Success at Last
CHAPTER SEVEN:
The Military Hero
VOCABULARY
REVIEW QUESTIONS
CHAPTER ONE:
THE VICTORY PARADE
The crowds formed a wall along the road for more than 25 miles. Even though the war went on in many parts of the world, the American people knew a huge victory had been won. It was June 7, 1945, and the United States and its allies finally put a stop to Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany’s war in Europe.
As the parade cut through the streets, people strained to see the man in the lead car. Thousands of men, women and children clapped and cheered as he passed. Dressed in a military uniform and helmet, the four-star general was one of the most famous men in the country – even the world. As leader of the Third Army, with over 500,000 soldiers under his command, General George S. Patton had led his troops in some of the worst fighting of the war.
The general stood up in the car as it moved slowly through the crowd. Cameras flashed from every side. Reporters called for his attention. Children waved small American flags. Roaring out his name, the crowd gave him a triumphant greeting.
The great military leader had both a good and bad reputation. Some people thought of him as the greatest military hero of the century. Others considered him cold-blooded and brutal. Everyone agreed that he had led one of the most important military campaigns in the history of the United States. Nazi Germany had finally given up one month earlier.
It had not been an easy victory. Major battles had raged across Europe for several years, taking the lives of millions of men, women and children. After years of preparation, General George Patton had led battles across the continent. Landing first in the deserts of North Africa, Patton had defeated the best of the German soldiers, only to continue his march through southern Italy. From there, the famous leader took his troops across France, until the final battles in Germany. Europe was finally liberated from the control of Nazi Germany.
After many years of war, the solider was tired. He had gone more than two years without seeing his family, but the excitement of the crowd thrilled him. It made him feel proud of his accomplishment. Everyone in the country was celebrating his military victory, and everyone hoped that the world war soon would end.
As the air force jets cut across the sky, the general looked out into the crowds. He could see rows of people lining the streets for miles. Arriving near the center of Boston, tens of thousands of people crowding the streets, the military hero knew that the price of victory had been a long and hard fought battle.
Almost 60-years-old, the soldier had seen the worst of war over the past 35 years. He had seen many of his friends die, but the military leader had never given into defeat. General George Patton knew, too, ever since he was a young boy, that he had struggled all of his life to gain his final victory.