the ground . Then , in Nancy , France , he slept on a barn roof . I remember because they were bombing the place and he said , “ Damn , the son of a bitch found where I ’ m at .”
He was a comedian , but another aspect of his character that stood out to me was Gen . Patton ’ s reflective nature . He hated the radio . He ’ d turn the radio off and say he didn ’ t want to hear it . He always knew exactly what he had to do and didn ’ t want to hear that squeaking noise all the time . Of course , when he had to get a hold of Gen . Bradley , or thought there might be a message for him , he would turn it on .
He was also always thinking , and was deeply affected by what was going on in Europe . When the Russians took over in Berlin and he got the call that he couldn ’ t go into the city , I could see the drop in him . We were in the jeep and made radio contact with Gen . Bradley who relayed the orders . I looked up and could see tears coming down from his eyes . This was all he wanted and what he had fought for . He wanted to get to Berlin , but he never got there .
There were two notable articles that Gen . Patton always carried with him that people often ask about . Those were his shiny , heavily lacquered helmet and the pearl handled pistol he kept ready at his side .
He had asked us to take care of his helmet . He didn ’ t care what we did with it , but his one request was that we got
it good and shiny . So our commanding officer fled over to a nearby town and picked up some lacquer . There were eight coats of lacquer in total on that helmet and if you tried to put anything on it , it was sure to slide right off .
THE VICTOR RETURNS . JUNE 9 , 1945 , GENERAL PATTON IS HONORED WITH A PARADE THROUGH THE STREETS OF LOS ANGELES , WITH A RECEPTION AT THE MEMORIAL COLISEUM IN FRONT OF A CROWD OF MORE THAN 100,000 .
Gen . Patton loved it . Every time he got somewhere , he ’ d take the helmet off in his hands , rub it off nicely , and put it neatly away in his truck . After that , it became the responsibility of his dog robber , an officer by the name of Major Stiller , who would take care of all of Gen . Patton ’ s clothing and uniform articles , polish his boots , and make sure the general had everything he needed when he needed it .
In addition to the heavily lacquered helmet , Gen . Patton also asked for a pearl handled pistol . He sent me up to Belgium for some materials needed for a new dome on the jeep , and while I was there , I talked to a kid who was working there and asked , “ Hey , can you do this ? I need to get a pearl handle made for this pistol .”
Well , pearl wasn ’ t exactly an easy commodity to come across in the middle of war time , so he said , “ Are you crazy ?”
I told him that ’ s what we needed so he said he could make him one , but out of plastic .
I figured that would have to be alright , so one day I came back and gave him the gun . I had taken all the bullets out of it . He took the handles off on both sides . It was pretty thick plastic and he carved away at it . He did a hell of a job and cleaned it all out . After he cleaned it out , he had it sanded down and made sure there were no marks . Then he painted it with white paint and put some lacquer on top .
Gen . Patton had to have known it was plastic . Where the hell are you going to get pearl handles during the war ? But he never said anything . He was so grateful for the pearl handles . He ’ d walk around and show it off every chance he got . It was another small part of his larger than life persona .
They might have called him “ Blood and Guts ” Patton , but he was one of us and it was an honor to serve at his side .
AVQ
22 AMERICAN VALOR QUARTERLY