For a long time before joining the Patriot Guard Riders, using a stupid but personal reason, I kept my military service on the down low. Being "just a reservist" that served one enlistment in peace time, and never overseas, I thought was inconsequential and never worth mentioning. Boy did I hear about that... from a combat wounded Viet Nam vet no less. He scolded me good and hard, because according to him being sent to combat is the luck of the draw. Support units and personnel are just as important as Special Forces or Rangers in the giant scheme of things. Plus, he reminded me that I signed the same blank check he did payable to Uncle Sam up to and including my life, whether a commo guy in a reserve unit, the 123rd Mess Kit Repair Depot, or Green Berets. Anyone at anytime can find themselves in the shit fighting for their lives.
So this exerpt of Patton's speech from just before D-Day smacked me in the face when I read it, and it felt like it was directed at me. I give the H/T to The Tactical Hermit for posting about this and giving me another gentle reminder.
“All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters, either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don’t ever let up. Don’t ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain. What if every truck driver suddenly decided that he didn’t like the whine of those shells overhead, turned yellow, and jumped headlong into a ditch? The cowardly bastard could say, ‘Hell, they won’t miss me, just one man in thousands.’ But, what if every man thought that way? Where in the hell would we be now? What would our country, our loved ones, our homes, even the world, be like? No, Goddamnit, Americans don’t think like that. Every man does his job. Every man serves the whole. Every department, every unit, is important in the vast scheme of this war. The ordnance men are needed to supply the guns and machinery of war to keep us rolling. The Quartermaster is needed to bring up food and clothes because where we are going there isn’t a hell of a lot to steal. Every last man on K.P. has a job to do, even the one who heats our water to keep us from getting the G.I. shits'"
Hey Mysterious Blogger;
ReplyDeleteGeneral Patton as foul mouthed as he can can be, spoke truth as he usually did, he was a straight shooter, and he was correct. You signed the same blank check like every one else did, your service didn't mean anything less than anybody else, be proud of your service.