I remember him mentioning one daughter , Anne , and his wife , but he never talked about his family much . He was a quiet man , but when he had something to say it was usually about the military , or he ’ d look around when we were driving and tell me to “ slow down ” or “ turn here ;” this and that . But truly , he didn ’ t say much . Still , the soldiers liked him . Even though they gave him that General “ Blood and Guts ” Patton nickname , they liked and respected him .
When he talked to the guys , the title of “ General ” didn ’ t seem to mean a whole lot to Patton . The three stars didn ’ t seem to mean much either . If you had an idea to share , he ’ d go for it . Man to man , soldier to soldier , that ’ s the way he was .
Sometimes we ’ d be going around in the jeep and the soldiers would be doing something , and Gen . Patton was always quick to jump out and offer a helping hand .
One time , in particular , we were stuck in the mud and Gen . Patton got out and started directing traffic ; waving folks along . Gen . Omar Bradley was with us , and he was quick to say , “ Oh , you know Patton , he ’ d make one hell of a cop the way he directs traffic .”
Of course , Gen . Patton was also fiercely disciplined . He would wake us up prior to our alarm . I know for myself , if we had to get up at four o ’ clock , he ’ d be after me by 3:45 .
He also got hot sometimes . “ Hell ” was his word of choice . “ To hell with this ,” “ to hell with that ,” and “ to hell with this person .” But despite the fact that he was always thinking and could be quite serious , he also had a comical side
Towards the end of the war , Gen . Patton made the decision to burn up all the money the soldiers had gathered from a canteen near Bastogne . I told him , “ Sir , what are we doing ? You should give me that money .”
Then he told me , “ If you want a check , I ’ ll make you out a check right now .” And he probably would have .
There was a van that provided Gen . Patton ’ s living quarters when we were out in the field , but he never slept in it . He always slept on the ground . He kept all his clothes and the maps on the table in there and he had a sleeping bag , but he never used it . He ’ d always sleep on
A YOUNG FRANCIS “ JEEP ” SANZA IN LUXEMBOURG , LATE 1944 / EARLY 1945 .
Francis Sanza
FALL 2015 21