I’m best known however for my accomplishments in World War II. As a Major General, I lead the 1st Infantry Division (known as the “Big Red Oneâ€) in North Africa and Sicily. My second in command was Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (President Teddy’s boy).
Everything was going fine till Patton complained. He wanted everything “spit-shined†and proper. For me, I just let my boys dress down as well as myself. And if they’re willing to put their lives on the line, so what if I let them have a drink when they wanted?! Heck I was a heavy drinker myself. All but six in that division were volunteers! So what if my men swore, they drank, and they dressed down!? But they fought hard!
Back then I wrote: “The Division has been fighting hard and has done well, I am happy to say. They fought through the gloomy, defensive days in the Ousseltia Valley, led the American counterattack in the Kasserine Pass, started the American offensive with the seizure of Gafsa, fought through 21 days at the grueling battle of El Guettar, and closed in for the 'kill' at the final drive on Tunis. Particularly in their last drive, they managed to knock the hell out of the best units the Germans put against them.â€
So after Sicily, me and my buddy Roosevelt were re-assigned. I went on to command the 104th Infantry Division (known as the “Timberwolvesâ€) in Europe. We landed in France on September 7th 1944, and saw 195 consecutive days of fighting. We were the unit to link up with the Soviet Red Army.
Back home, I lived in El Paso Texas, where I was stationed at Ft. Bliss. Sometimes my men got put in jail and I’d have to get up in the middle of the night to bail them out. But it was worth it. My men didn’t keep me waiting, so I didn’t keep them waiting.
My home was at 21 Cumberland Circle, not to far from the fort. My wife hid the spirits in the closets and put locks on them. I hear the locks are still there to this day. Nowadays the house is home of the guy in charge of "Towne Films". And wouldn’t you know, they did a WW2 video set in Kasserine Pass called "Wounds of Sand."
After the war, my only son was a Lieutenant Colonel in Vietnam serving in, you guessed it, the 1st Infantry Division. But apparently some goofball convinced my daughter-in-law that my son was a “baby killer,†and she started having an affair with some damn TV clown named “Bozoâ€. So my boy came back from Vietnam to try and win her back, but to no gain. That must have bothered his mind a lot, and probably caused his defeat when he returned to 'Nam and was leading his battalion in the Battle of Ong Thanh in October 1967. The whole battalion was ambushed, and my son was killed.
I died not long after him on December 12th 1969. You can find me at the National Cemetery at Fort Bliss.
If you want to read more about me, here's a website that some guys made.
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