JOURNAL - OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP73B00296R000100110032-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 17, 2001
• Sequence Number: 32
• Publication Date: September 2, 1971
• Content Type: NOTES

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1 INTERNAL USE ONLY
JOURNAL
OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL
Thursday - 2 September 1971
STATINTL
1. (Internal Use Only - JGO) Met with Miss Doris Scott, Secretary to
Mr. John R. Blandford, Chief Counsel, House Armed Services Committee, and
delivered to her in response to Mr. Blandford's request a blind memorandum
of 31 August concerning "The Decree of 29 December 1971--The Abolition of Ranks
in the Bolshevik Revolutionary Army. " Miss Scott told me that Mr. Blandford.is
not feeling too well this week and may not return to the office before next week.
I will meet with them tomorrow morning.
2. (Unclassified - GLC) Received a call from Dorothy Fosdick, on the
staff of Senate Subcommittee on National Security and International Operations.
She said Senator Jackson (D. , Wash.) was anxious for Richard Perle of their
staff and herself to be brought up-to-date on the situation in the Middle East
especially the status of military hardware there. of OSR, an8TATINTL
(Unclassified - GLC) Talked with Miss Betty Garcia, on the staff of
Senator Barry Goldwater (R. , Ariz. ), about a letter from
iss Larcia
Administrative Assistant, when he returns from vacation. If anything further is
required, they will merely advise Copes that his letter was forwarded to the
addressee that there is no need for assistance at this time.
that the letter itself would not require an answer (it was a general offer to be
of assistance to the Agency) and asked if their office had informed Copes that
they were transmitting the letter to us. She felt that nothing further was
required on their part but she will check with Leonard Killgore, the Senator's
STATINTL
4. (Unclassified - RJK) Delivered to the offices of Representatives
Patsy Mink (D., Hawaii), Lloyd Meeds (D., Wash.), Ogden Reid (R., N.Y.),
STATSPEC William L. Dickinson (R., Ala.), Del Clawson (R., Calif.), Jack Kemp (R., N.Y.),
Burt Talcott (R., Calif.), John Brademas (D., Ind.) and Charles Diggs (D., Mich.)
_i.tems in which their names were mentioned,
I ,I'11NTER N?AL USE ONLY
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31 August 1971
SUBJECT The Decree of 29 December 1917--The
Abolition of Ranks in the Bolshevik
Revolutionary Army
1. In the wake of the Bolshevik Party's sei-
zure of power in Petrograd and Moscow in October
1917, Lenin and Trotskiy set about the formation
of a government pledged to pull Russia out of the
war with Germany. As part of their efforts to do
this, the Bolsheviks adopted a decree in late
December 1917 abolishing military.ranks and titles.*
2. The 29 December 1917 decree reflected
three considerations:
.., 4VVyl#LG+4?-t 41#4 L.ll ly 114 V1
Russian forces on the Western Front, such
as the collapse of morale after three years
of trench warfare, and the break-up of disci-
pline which accompanied an increasing
desertion rate;
--two, it dovetailed with other Bolshevik
decrees which abolished all ranks, titles,
and class distinctions within the civilian
sector; and
--three, it reflected the new regime's
fear that aristocratic officers might attempt
to turn the army against them.
3. Faced with civil war and the need to
defend themselves against the Allied effort to
open a second front in the east the Bolsheviks
soon began to move away from the provisions of
the 29 December 1917 decree. In fact, on 4 March
1918, just one day after signing the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk with the Germans, the Bolsheviks
*For-fuZZ text, see page 3.
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established a Supreme Military Council, a military
and political body for control at the upper level
of the army. On 4 April, a decree provided for
the creation of a corps of political commissars
"to represent" the Bolshevik Party and its doctrine
in the new army. In addition, the new secret
police organization, the Cheka, established on
7 December 1917 for the civilian sector, soon
began to function in the army.
4. Finally the blithe spirit of the December
decree completely evaporated between 21 April
and 29 July 1918 with new announcements and decrees
eliminating both the voluntary recruiting basis
for the army and its elective system for commanders.
Henceforth, commanders were to be appointed by
organs of the Bolsheviks' Ministry of War, and
former Czarist officers were to be coopted into
the Red Army for use not as "leaders" but as
"military specialists."
5. The Spring 1918 declarations were admissions
of the detrimental effect the abolition of ranks
had on military skill and recruitment, and a prag-
matic admission of the need for a disciplined
.military force to support and expand the Bolshevik
political control beyond Petrograd and Moscow. The
harsh disciplinary regulations adopted for the new
Red Army placed both the soldiers and (at first)
their "military specialists" and (later) "Red
Commanders" under the control of the Cheka and
the commissars.
6. Following the Allied Intervention (1918-
20) and an internal Kremlin debate (1920-24) on
the proper organization and role of the military
in the new Soviet state, military reforms in 1924-
25 formally established a command personnel hier-
archy by function. Designated, for example, were
deputy company commander, company commander,
battalion commander, all with corresponding collar
insignia. The pay for command personnel was only
slightly differentiated by position, an apparent
vestige of the egalitarian beginning of the Red
-2-
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Army. The command personnel's standard of living
was low but better than in civilian life, and in
the regular units of the Red Army morale, discipline
and training were reasonably good.
7. Finally, a decree on 22 September 1935
established a hierarchy by rank which restored most
of the Czarist officer titles and pay status.
Abolition of Military Ranks and Titles
Decree on the Equalization of Rights of All Serving in the Army
2. All preference, connected with the former titles and
stations as well as outward distinctions are annulled.
3. All titles are annulled.
4. All orders and other marks. of. distinction are abolished.
- 5. With the abolishing of the officers rank there are abol-
ished all separate officers organizations.
6. The institution of orderlies, now existing in the active
army, is abolished. -
Note. Orderlies remain only in regimental offices, com-
mittees and other army organizations.
President of the Soviet of People's Commissaries
V. tllianov (Lenin)
S.U.R., 1917, No. 9, pp. 137-38.
Soldiers of the Revolutionary Army.
December 29, 1917
In realization of the will of a revolutionary people, for the
quickest and most decisive destruction of all-remnants of the for-
mer inequality in the army, the Soviet of People's Commissaries
ordains:
1. All titles and stations in the army, starting with that of
corporal and ending with that of general, are abolished. The
army of the Russian Reniihlir from new nn cnnsicf' rf free and
equal-to-one-another citizens, holding the honorable stations of
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?1A11NTh
FORM NO. REPLACES FORM 10.101
1 AUG 54 to I WHICH MAY BE USED.
MEMORANDUM
OF CALL
TO-
PLEASE CALL -~-.~3- PHONE NO.
CODE/EXT.
o WILL CALL AGAIN
o RETURNED YOUR CALL
o IS WAITING TO SEE YOU
0 WISHES AN APPOINTMENT
STANDARD FORM 63
REVISED AUGUST 1967
GSA FPM R (41 CFR) 101-11.6
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ell
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Bill Mauldin Was ttie best-/noil'T1 q ad ;World h'at' 11 eartooiiists.
Mostly he drew infantrymen in their dirty, muddy but unto ed nat-
ural state. His draii,ings appeared in Stars and Stripes firers 1943 Ic;
the end of the war. His political cartoons are now published in .275
newspapers. The following article is an excerptfoni his latest book,
The Brass Ring, to be published soon by It'. W. Norton & Co.,
y home base during World War II was the Rome cdi-
tion of Stars and Stripes and the Mediterranean the-
jf
t ~ ater of operations, but my editors decided in Dccem-
ber 1944 that they wanted me to sketch the Battle of
. the Bulge. By the time I got my jeep and myself tts far
as Lyon, France, however, I learned that the Bulge was.broken.
So I headed for Paris. This was a 1800 violation of my travel or-
ders and made me technically AWOL.
I was in trouble from the moment I entered Paris. The MPs
were skeptical about my trip tickets and outraged by my clothing.
Thinking I was going straight to the war. I had worn my usual Ital-
ian getup: a Russian-style fut cap from the 10th Mountain Di-
vision, an armored-force tanker's jacket with knit collar and
sleeves, and fatigue trousers for carrying pencils and papcr. In Par-
is apparently this did not add up to a legitimate uniform.
I was taken into custody almost immediately, and when I in-
sisted that I belonged to Stars and Stripes, I was delivered into the
hands of Lt. Bob Moora, the Paris editor. "Mauldin, you have a
great sense of timing, you know we print your stuff here."
"Yes, sir."
"Well, the day you pick to arrive in Paris is the same day we get
a message from Gen. George Patton about you. He was already
sore at us for running photographs of some unshaven soldiers, but
now you're the target."
"Forget it," I grinned. "This sort of thing happens all the time."
"Forget it?" Moora cried. "He threatened to ban the paper
from the whole Third Army."
Moora went on to say that the general was a fanatic about troop
tidiness, and that my cartoon infantry dogfaces, Willie and Joe,
were the antithesi.s of everything Patton thought soldiers should
be. Willie's and Joe's beards and ragged uniforms had developed
during the miserable, vicious, muddy mountain war in Italy. As I
admitted to Moora and other concerned officers with whom I talked
during the next few hours, I had kept drawing my characters that
way because their appearance had become a sort of trade ,.;ark o
the infantry in battle. Even though I realized that not all iiifan-
trymc,i appeared that bad all the time, after a week or so at the
front, most of them still looked more like Willie and Joe than like
Patton's ideal soldiers.
The authorities in Paris conceded all this, then pointed out to
me that what really infuriated Patton was that he felt Willie and
Joe had indeed become trademarks---to the extent that thousands
of noncombatants were trying to emulate them. After all, I was re-
minded, nine American soldiers out of ten never got near the front
but hated to admit the fact,
I thought it was pretty damned silly to think I was inspiring
hordes of quartermaster troops and Pit clerks to cast aside their
neckties, dent their helmet-liners. smudge their faces a nd scuff their
shoes, but l was assured that it was accepted doCnia up'.tair and
.T ird .4ony's General Patton
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01M
oldloefs
had triggered the wrath of the Third Army's celebrated leader.
Something had to give. It was Patton's three stars versus my
three stripes. Couldn't I clean up my little two-nian cartoon army,
just a bit? Shave them or press their pants or make some,other
minor concession: "So that Old Blood and Guts can get his at-
tention back to fighting the Germans," as they smilingly put it to
me. Personally, I felt that if the old man was that easily diverted,
there wasn't much I could really do to help him.
Finally, I was directed to the Paris office of Capt. Harry Butch-
er, Eisenhower's naval aide. Butcher put a proposition to me blunt-
ly and briefly: "We've all decided the best solution is for you to go
have a talk with the general himself."
"You want rage to go see Patton?"
"Certainly. Why not? Talk it out. Tell him why you draw these
things. He'll tell you what he doesn't like about them. Maybe he'll
change some of your ideas. Maybe-" Butcher chuckled slightly
,at the thought--"maybe you'll change his. Tell you what: I'll call
him right now, and if he won't agree to see you and talk this thing
over privately-man-to-man, no rank-then I won't ask you to
go. How's that?"
"Yes, sir." I was scared.
Butcher placed the call to Third Army headquarters in Lux-
enmbourg. "Hello, hello. Thank you. Morning, general. Fine. Your-
self, sir? How's Willie?"
Willie was Patton's pet bull terrier. Obviously, the conversation
was going well. The aide pointed to an extension phone, so I could
hear for myself how easy this was going to be.
"General, I won't take much of your time," Butcher said.
"You'll remember you had a few criticisms about the Paris Stars
and Stripes which goes out to Third Army ... yes, yes, sir ..."
(There were squeaking noises which at first I ascribed to the French
telephone system.) "General. it was the cartoons I was calling
about. and the fellow who draws them. Oh, no. No, we haven't
done anything like that-in fact, I've got him right here in my of-
,ice. Just been talking with him, and general, it seems to me that a
great deal of good would come of it if he heard your viewpoints
on ... yes. sir, I'm sure he's already heard them, but I meant in
person . . . came and talked to you ..."
Now the shrill voice at the other end took form:
"if that little son of a bitch sets foot in Third Army, I'll throw
his ass in jail."
Now I was on familiar ground, and it was the captain's turn to
look distraught. He recovered fast, though, and it was my priv-
ilege to watch a real pro at work. His tone was still jovial and per-
sonal, but whereas he'd said "I" before, the perpendicular pro-
noun now gave way to "we," and there was little doubt about
who Ike's aide meant -by "we."
"General," he said, "we feel around here that it might be a
good thing to do. We're convinced Mauldin means well. He's as in-
(crested in getting the war over as the rest of us. Ile has assured
nme he'd be happy to talk with you. Fine, sir, fine. Oh, yes, by the
way, general, we've assured him that the conversation will be pri-
vate,just the two of you, no rank ... sir? Well, I'm afraid we've al-
ready assured him of it that way, too. Good-bye, sir, thanks again,
and we're sure this will be most constructive all around ... good-
bye, sir."
We cradled our phones and he looked at his for a nmonment, grin-
CONTINUED
by BILL MA JLDIN
In 1944, S,, ; .
drawling his c
i3y oizt -F-
o1_BL ~>\ C j
"Radio th" of man we'll be late on account oJ'a thousand-t,
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t an enthusiastic welcome!
upward in a flood over his chest to the very top cf his shoulder, as
if preparing to start down hi:; back, too. His face was rugged, with
an odd, strangely shapeless outline; his eyes were pale, almost col-
orless, with a choleric bulge; his small, compressed mouth was
sharply downturned at the corners, with a lower lip which sug-
gested a pouting child as much as a no-nonsense martinet. It N vas a
welcome, rather human touch. Beside him, lying in a big chair,
was Willie, the bull terrier. If ever dog was suited to master, this
one was. Willie had his beloved boss's expression and lacked only
the ribbons and stars, I stood in that door staring into the four
meanest eyes I'd ever seen.
"Conic in, major," Patton said. Somehow, it broke the spell.
There was that shrill voice again. Like the lower lip it brought him
down to human proportions. Major Quirk and I made the long
trek across the room and came to a parade-ground halt before the
desk, where I snapped out the kind of salute I used to make in
high school ROTC. Whatever of the parade-ground soldier was
still left in me, Patton brought it out.
"Hello, sergeant." The general smiled---an impressive muscular
feat, considering the distance the corners of his mouth had to travel
-and came around the desk to offer his hand. I don't know who
was more astonished, Willie or me. The dog, rising with his mas-
ter. literally fell out of the chair. As we shook hands, I stole a
glance at the general's famous gun belt. fie was wearing only one
of his pearl-handled six-shooters. Undergunncd, shaking hands,
smiling ---hopeful signs. Patton told inc to sit. I appropriated Wil-
lie's chair. The dog not only looked shocked but offended. To hell
with Willie. Butcher had been right. This was going to be okay.
"Well, sir, I'll be going," the major said.
"Going where?" Patten snapped. "Stick around. I want you to
hear this"
The major hesitated for the barest instant, glanced at me-he
was aware of the agrecment_for privacy-and took the adjacent
chair. The old chill started back up my spine.
"Now then, sergeant, about those pictures you draw of those
God-awful things you call soldiers. Where did you ever see sol-
~oranNuED diers like that? You know goddamn well you're not drawing an ac-
-;ing,beforeturningtome. "Now,Mauldin,Ihear youhave apret curate representation of the American soldier. You make them
y fancy jeep. I have a few suggestions for your trip to Luxeni- look like goddamn bums. No respect for the army, their officers
Dourg. Unfancy it. Make sure your Vehicle is regulation, wind- or themselves. You know as well as I do that you can't bare an
shield folded and covered and so on. and For crying out loud get army without respect for off-Icers. What are you trying to do, in-
jourself regulation, too, from head to foot. You have a helmet? cite a goddamn mutiny? You listen to me, sergeant, the Russians
Necktie? Sidearms?" tried. running an army without rank once. Shot all their leaders,
I assured him that f had been in Patton's army in Sicily and all their brains, all their generals. The Bolsheviks made their of-
-:ould still. recite all the fines, right down to untied shoelaces. ficers dress like soldiers, eat with soldiers, no saluting, everybody
"Of course. I forgot," he smiled. "You're always drawing pie- calling everybody comrade--and where did it get 'em? ti\hiie they
Lures about it. Well, good luck." ran an army like that, they couldn't fight their way out of a piss-
1 1 t l e l e s s o n They, put uni-
pr
,
soaked paper bag. iNow they VC ear e a t
few days later I drove to Third Army headquarters in l forms back on their officers. Some men are born to lead and don't
Luxembourg where Patton had taken over the royal pal- need those little metal dinguses on their shoulders. Hell, I could
ace. I was scrutinized and passed by a small task force command troops in a G-string. But in wartime you're bound to
of vitamin-packed 'YIPS with mirror-toed shoes and Si- get some officers who don't know how to act without being dressed
monized headgear, then directed to the office k.f Major for it. The Russians learned you have to :rave rank, and if sornecom-
s teeth kicked
1 1, ~Pt his teeth kicked
Quirk, Third Army's I'R man, in a downstairs wing of the mag-
nificent building,. The major turned out to be a nice man, and al-
tlxough he, too, inspected me carefully From head to toe, I could
~,ee that l.e was doing it for my own good. He led nae th roug r ul e, sto-
r 'book palace, full of huge, ornate, high-ceilinged rooms. Pattcn's
off`ice must have been the throne room, the grandest of tfrern all. It
had great double doors. One was ajar; standing behind the major
he discreetly' rapped, I could see the general's desk at the far
end of the room. across an acre of carpet.
There he sat, big as To even at that distance. His hair was sil-
ve;, his face was pink, its collar and shoulders glittered with more
stars than I could count. his fingers sparkled with rings., and an in-
c:eKlibfe mass of ribbons started around desk-top level and spread
made looks cross-eyed at a Superor toU ay, .. ,.
in. When somebody says frog he jumps. Flow long do you think
you'd last drawing those pictures in the Russian army?"
The question turned out to be rhetorical. I opened my mouth to
say that I realized the necessity of discipline and had never thought
officers should be called comrade, chosen by popular elections
among their troops or deprived of the dinguses on their shoulders.
But [ quickly shut it again, and kept it shut for the next 20 minutes
or so as the general reeled oil examples of the necessity for rank
through four thousand years of military history.
For a while it was fascinating. Patton was are-rt master of his sub-
ject. I have an affinity For enthusiasts, anyway, in any field of en-
deavor. As T sat there listening to the general talk war, [ felt truly
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privilegcd, as if 1were hearing Michelangelo on painting. I had
been too long enchanted by the army myself-as a child listening
to my father's stories, as a high school boy dreaming of West Point
-to be anything but impressed by this magnificent old performer.
Just as when I had first saluted him, I felt whatever martial spirit
was left in inc being lifted out and fanned into flame.
At one point, somewhere around the Hellenic Wars, when once
again the value of stern leadership was being extolled, I absently
reached out to see if Willie's ear needed scratching. I was stopped
by a dog-owner's reflex which. reminded me never to handle an-
other man's pet uninvited. A glance at Willie confirmed this. Had
I touched his ear it would have been with my left, or working
hand, ar'd he would have put me out of business, accomplishing in
one snap what his master was trying to do the hard way.
When Pattonhad worked hiswayback through the Russian Rev-
olution to the present again, he got around to my cartoons.
"Sergeant," he said, "I don't know what you think you're try-
ing to do, but the Krauts ought to pin a medal on you for helping
them mess up discipline for us. I'm going to show you what I con-
sider some prime goddamn examples of what I mean by creating
disrespect."
He opened a drawer and came up with a small batch of cutouts
from Stars and Stripes. On top was a street scene I had drawn of a
French town being liberated. A convoy of motorized infantry was
being deluged by flowers, fruit and wine, handed up from the street
and dropped out of windows by hysterically happy citizens. Some
of the soldiers were taking advantage of the general confusion and
pelting the convoy commander, in an open command car in front,
with riper samples of the fruit.
"My, sir," says a junior officer, "what an enthusiastic welcome."
The general held the next one up by the tips of his thumb and fore-
finger as if it were contaminated. It was a night scene of a war-bat-
tered opera house with a USO show advertised on the marquee:
"GIRLS. GIRLS. GIRLS. Fresh from the States!" Queued up in
the snow at the front door was a long line of weary-looking sol-
diers of various nationalities, mostly British and American, with
their coat collars turned up against the raw weather and their sad
faces filled with anticipation of the charms within. It was one of
my better drawings: loaded with poignancy, I thought. Queued
up at the stage door were the officers, of course, all spruced
CONTINUED
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YOU'VE
HEARD lr,
ALL
THOSE
PANTYHOSE
WORDS
LIKE
CONTROL
i:.
SHAPE
STRETCH
CLING
COLOR;
i
FEEL 'v
FIT
NOW HERE'S THE LAST WORD
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CONTINUED
up and waiting to take the girls out. Some even had bouquets.
"Now this," shrilled the general,. "is the kind of goddamn ...
where are the words under this one? Somebody cut off the god-
damn words."
"Sir, there wasn't any caption under that one." Willie, the ma-
jor and i all jumped at the sound of my voice.
"No words!"
"No, sir.I didn't think it needed any."
"All right. You've got a bunch of messy goddamn soldiers in
one line are a bunch of oflic~.rs in another. What's it mean"
He was going to let me speak again. It was really too much for
Willie, who got up and stiffly walked to his master's side, ready
for anything.
"Sir, it means the soldiers want to look at the girls and the of-
ficers want to take them out."
"Well, what the hell's wrong with that?"
"Nothing, sir," I weaseled. "i didn't imply anything was wrong.
I just thought it was a humorous situation." No ordeal is worse
than that of a cartoonist who has to explain his creation.
"You think the soldiers ought to get laid instead of the officers,
don't you?" Patton growled.
In spite of himself he couldn't help grinning slightly at this. In
spite of myself I couldn't help liking him a little for it.
"Sir, it has been my experience that when USO or Red Cross
girls are to be had, the officers usually get them."
"And what business is that of yours, sergeant?"
"None, sir. I just thought it was an amusing situation and f
drew it as I saw it."
"it doesn't amuse me."
"To tell you the truth, sir, it doesn't seem very funny to me, ei-
ther, anymore," i said. truthfully.
"Well, by God, now we're getting somewhere.' Now why did
you draw this picture if it wasn't to create disrespect for officers?"
He sat back in his chair, put his fingertips together in a listening
attitude, and I got my chance at my only speech of the day.
"General," I said, "suppose a soldier's been overseas for a cou-
ple of years and in the line for a couple of months without a break,
then he gets a few days in a rest area and goes to a USO show. He
knows there's not much chance of getting next to one of the girls,
but it would mean a lot to him if she'd circulate among the boys
for a while after the show and at least give them the pleasure of talk-
ing to a girl from the States. Usually, there's not a chance. She ar-
rives in a colonel's jeep two seconds before show time and leaves
in a gen-- some other colonel's staff car before the curtain's down."
Patton's eye glittered menacingly, but lie did not interrupt.
"All right, sir, the soldier goes back to his foxhole," I said,
and lie's thinking about it. He doesn't blame the girl---after all,
lie figures. she's a free agent, she did her bit by entertaining him
and it's her own business how she entertains herself. Nobody in
her right mind would go out with soldiers when officers have bet-
ter facilities. The soldier knows all this. And he doesn't blame the of-
ficer for going after the girl, either. That's only Kumar.... "
"Jesus Christ major, does this make sc:n_? to you?" th-, general
growled. "Well, I told _Butcher I'd let this man speak his piece."
",I'm almost finished, sir. My point is, the soldier is back in his
foxhole stewing about officers and thinking lie's got the short end
of the stick in everything, even women. Whether it makes sense or
not, the fact is that he feels there's been an injustice, and if he
stews long enough about this, or about any of the other hundreds
of things soldiers stew about, he's not going to be thinking about
his job. Ile picks up his paper and lie reads a letter or sees a car-
toon by sonic other soldier who feels the same way and he says,
`Hell, somebody else said it for me,' and he gees back to his job."
"Ali I've got to say to you, sergeant," Patton said, "is that if
this soldier you're talking about is stewing. it's because he hasn't
got enough to do, lie wasn't put in that hole to stew, or to think
or to have somebody else do his thinking for him in a
newspaper.
"I don't know where you got these stripes on your
you'd.put 'em to a lot better use getting out and teachic
to soldiers instead of encouraging them to bitch and beef
and run around with beards on their faces and holes it
bows. Now I've just got one last thing to say to you." F.
at his watch. Forty-five minutes had gone by. "You can
army like a mob."
"Sir," I protested, "I never thought you could."
"Think over what I've said. All right, sergeant, I gues
derstand each other now."
"Yes, sir."
We did not shake good-bye. My parting salute was at
good as the first one, but I don't think anyone noticed. Ti
and I started the long hike across the carpet, and I heard
chair creak as he climbed back on his perch.
After our little confrontation, I was quoted accurately by m}
as having said that Patton and I had had a long friendl
esting talk, during which I had been unable to change t
eral's mind and he hadn't changed mine. Later I heard Harry
er's account of Patton's reaction to my version of the jr
Butcher said that the general had chuckled at hearing has
been unable to sway him, but when he heard that I said he
converted me either, there was a high-pitched explosion an,
talk about throwing my ass in jail. He never got the cl u
stayed well clear of the Third Army after that.
"lie's 1'lght, Joe. I'V17011 we aill't flight/n' we 5hou /
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 Approved For Release 2002/01/10 : CIA-RDP73B00296R000100110032-4
take the girls out. Some even had bouquets.
'led the general, "is the kind of goddamn .. .
Is under this one? Somebody cut off the god-
.t any caption under that one." Willie, the ma
I at the sound of my voice.
think it needed any."
.e got a bunch of messy goddamn soldiers in
1i of officers in another. What's it mean?"
loot me speak again. It was really too much for
and stiffly walked to his master's side, ready
soldiers want to look at the girls and the of-
]iem out."
;ell's wrong with that?"
-weaseled. "I didn't imply anything was wrong.
_s a humorous situation." No ordeal is worse
mist who has ti, explain his creation.
3ldiers ought to get laid instead of the officers,
growled.
f he couldn't help grinning slightly at this. In
ildn't help liking him a little for it.
my experience that when USO or Red Cross
he officers usually get them."
css is that of yours, sergeant?"
A thought it was an amusing situation and I
me."
ruth, sir, it doesn't seem very funny to nte, ci-
id, truthfully.
-low we're getting somewhere. Now why did
-e if it wasn't to create disrespect for officers?"
chair, put his fingertips together in a listening
ay chance at my only speech of the day.
"suppose a soldier's been overseas for a cou-
ite line for a couple of months without a break,
ays in a rest area and goes to a USO show. He
uch chance of getting next to one of the girls,
x lot to him if she'd circulate among the boys
-how and at least give them the pleasure of talk-
States. Usually, there's. not a chance. She ar-
-eep two seconds before show time and leaves
-r colonel's staff car before the curtain's down."
red menacingly, but he did not interrupt.
1e soldier goes back to his foxhole," I said,
about it. He doesn't blame the girl-after all,
-ee agent, she did her bit by entertaining him
siness how she entertains herself. Nobody in
d go out with soldiers when officers have bet-
iier knows all this. And he does:-,'t blame the of-
rrne girt, either. Ihat's only m a n . . . . . .
.
jar, does this make sense to you?" the general
Id Butcher I'd let this man speak his piece."
aed, sir. My point is, the soldier is back in his
zit officers and thinking he's got the short end
Bing, even women. Whether it makes sense or
he feels there's been an injustice, and if he
bout this, or about any of the other hundreds
-w about, he's not going to be thinking about
his paper and he react: a letter or sees a car-
soldier who feels the same way and he says,
said it for me,' and h - goes back to his job."
ay to you, sergeant," Patton said, "is that if
ilking about is stewing, it's because he hasn't
le wasn't put in that hole to stew, or to think
or to have somebody else do his thinking for him in a goddamn
newspaper.
"I don't know where you got those stripes on your arm, but
you'd put 'cm to a lot better use getting out and teaching respect
to soldiers instead of encouraging them to bitch and beef and gripe
and run around with beards on their faces and holes in their el-
bows. Now I've just got one last thing to say to you." He looked
at his watch. Forty-five minutes had gone by. "You can't run are
army like a mob."
"Sir," I protested, "I never thought you could."
"Think over what I've said. All right, sergeant, I guess we un-
derstand each other now."
"Yes, sir."
We did not shake good-bye. My parting salute was at least as
good as the first one, but I don't think anyone noticed. The major
and I started the long hike across the carpet, and I heard Willie's
chair creak as he climbed back on his perch,
After our little confrontation, [was quoted accurately by my friends
as having said that Patton and I had had a long friendly inter-
esting talk, during which f had been unable to change the gen-
eral'smind and he hadn't changed mine. Later] heard Harry Butch-
er's account of Patton's reaction to my version of the meeting.
Butcher said that the general had chuckled at hearing how I had
been unable to sway him, but when he heard that f said he hadn't
converted me either, there was a high-pitched explosion and more
talk about throwing my ass in jail. He never got the chance. I
'stayed well clear of the Third Army after that.
"He's right, Joe. Wlrerr we ain't figlrtin' we should act like sojers."
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