There are some generals, coaches, presidents, etc, who just sit back in their leadership roles and give out commands. However General Patton was not one of those men; he led his men by words and actions. George Patton was inspiring, innovative, and courageous Growing up, his main goal in life was to be a combat general. He grew up with his father reading him stories about the Civil War and Homer's Illiad. He was fascinated with leading men into battle. He did not care about the rewards of being a hero; he cared about being a hero for the sake of being a hero. From the Virginia Military Institute and West Point, to the Olympics in Stockholm, to the French Calvary school, Patton gained more and more leadership skills which he would use during the World Wars. "Thirty years from now when you're sitting around your fireside with your grandson on your knee, and he asks you, What did you do in the great World War Two? You won't have to say, Well, I shoveled shit in Louisiana. Alright now, you sons of bitches, you know how I feel. Oh! . . . I will be proud to lead you wonderful guys into battle anytime, anywhere. That's all." These are the closing lines from General Patton's 3rd army speech to the 6th Armored Division. (2) (1).
General George Smith Patton, Jr. was born November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California. General Patton's ancestors fought in the Revolutionary War, Mexican War, and Civil War. He felt he was destined to be in the military. He was a tough person growing up, feeling he had to work hard for anything he wanted to achieve. General Patton did not learn to read until he was twelve years old, which gave him problems with punctuation and pronunciation throughout his life. This helped him relate to some of the men he led into war because many of the soldiers did not have long, educational backgrounds. However, he did well in one year at the Virginia Military Institute and at West Point.