quote:
He was a great thundering paradox of a man, noble and ignoble, inspiring and outrageous, arrogant and shy, the best of men and the worst of men, the most protean, most ridiculous, and most sublime. No more baffling, exasperating soldier ever wore a uniform. Flam- boyant, imperious, and apocalyptic, he carried the plumage of a flamingo, could not acknowledge errors, and tried to cover up his mistakes with sly, childish tricks. Yet he was also endowed with great personal charm, a will of iron, and a soaring intellect. Unquestionably he was the most gifted man- at- arms this nation has produced.

The opening of Manchester's biography of MacArthur.

This post sums up MacArthur better than this entire thread. Although I would argue that Grant, Washington, Eisenhower, and Patton are better "men-at-arms" Unfortunately the OT likely has no idea how to read a paragraph like that with any comprehension

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Posted by Ace Midnight

Between sanity and madness

Member since Dec 2006

89777 posts

Posted on 6/16/15 at 11:29 am to LR2RedStick

quote:
I would argue that Grant, Washington, Eisenhower, and Patton are better "men-at-arms"

Let's not confuse the generals (who are important, no question) and the real men doing the real fighting.

Audie Murphy is probably the greatest "man-at-arms" we've ever produced - because he so routinely demonstrated courage under fire, I believe his awards are actually understated (despite being the most decorated U.S. soldier of WWII) - he should have received 2 CMH, 1 DSC and 1 SS, as opposed to 1 CMH, 1 DSC and 2 SS - but when we're making that distinction, it's hard to argue against his courage and capability under fire.

Anyone can be brave (and get killed quickly) - anyone can develop some proficiency at arms - very few develop both to the level of success achieved by Murphy, be so effective on the battlefield and live to tell the tale.

Just my $0.02.

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