On November 15th, Breitbart News was honored to speak with Helen Patton, granddaughter of General George S. Patton, Jr.
Our conversation began with a reference George C. Scott’s portrayal of the general in the movie Patton. For many people, that movie represents their greatest exposure to General Patton. Because of this, we asked Helen how well Scott captured her grandpa–specifically when he mustered his troops and told them what he expected of them. She said, “My aunt, who knew my grandfather probably better than anyone, said, ‘He didn’t look like my father, he didn’t act like my father, but he was my father. He captured the essence of my father.'”
Helen did note that her grandpa differed from Scott in that “he spoke with a very thick kind of Bostonian accent, that was very high pitched.”
We talked to Helen about the frequent textbook assertions that her grandpa was “one of the greatest military figures in history.” We asked her what she thought when she heard that:
Hearing that description makes me wish that I wasn’t his granddaughter so people could believe I’m not being bias when I say General Patton deserves to be remembered that way: he knew exactly what he was doing. He did his homework, he was prepared. His middle name was ‘Readiness.’
It started when Pershing said, “Look fella, you’re going to be too late. We’re heading down to Mexico,” and my grandpa responded, “I’m already packed.”
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