This is the way CNN commemorated Memorial Day in 2015, with a story they called, “The General Who Apologized to the Dead Soldiers on Memorial Day.” “At the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery at Nettuno, Italy, Memorial Day 1945 was an elegiac occasion. Lt. Gen. Lucian Truscott Jr., who had led the U. S. Sixth Corps through some of the heaviest fighting in Italy and now commanded the Fifth Army, gave a speech that is particularly relevant for today when the trauma of our long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continues to haunt so many vets.
May 29, 2023·edited May 30, 2023Liked by Lucian K. Truscott IV
Maybe he was a hard man, but he sounds like the BEST. I would feel so honored to be related to him. I'm sure that you are.
side note on Bill Mauldin: I think "Up Front" is a good way to start learning about WWII. I was involved for many years with a WWII veteran (2nd wave D-Day, Battle of the Bulge and I will spend the rest of my life squinting at WWII footage, trying to find him). He was a hard and broken man as well -- I learned not to complain about anything in his hearing. And he was in his teens. I've seen photographs of him in uniform. He looked to be about twelve years old.
At some point during his tour of duty -- it might have been afterward, because he re-enlisted ("I didn't want my parents to see what a mental wreck I was") he took a cartooning class from Bill Mauldin. While telling me this, he paused to say "You probably have no idea who he is". (He thought people my age didn't know anything.) I promptly replied. "Bill Mauldin. Cartoonist, WWII, created Willie and Joe, offended General Patton because Willie and Joe didn't shave often enough, won the Pulitzer price, long career as political cartoonist..." My friend's mouth dropped open about an inch (that was as much astonishment as he would allow himself to display) and asked me "How do YOU know?" "I read 'Up Front' one summer." "WHY????" "Because it was summer, I wanted something to read, the book was in the house and it wasn't nailed shut. Any other questions?"
Always a tiny victory when I surprised him.
As always, thank you for your patience. I always seem to run on.
My father was a secular Jewish infantry captain at the Battle of the Bulge. He had had orders cut for overseas when his Colonel at Ft. Benning didn’t accept Jewish officers. He respected Patton for saving his butt and those of his boys. On behalf of him, his battle buddy in OSS (another Jewish lawyer and a native German speaker), thank you for this story. God bless GEN Truscott for his treatment of Survivors and that Haggadah. What he did for some, he did for all of us. I know it must have been hard to write. I have been a subscriber, but if I hadn’t, this would have convinced me to sign up. Again, thank you. Our flag is up.
Lucian, like most of us, we have family who throughout US history served. Our great uncle was Brigadier General James Rodwell who served under Teddy Jr., then took command of the 4th when T. Roosevelt died. He was also a veteran of WWI in France. He had Teddy's cane used on the Utah Beach passed on to us which we donated to the museum there. 21 x-great-grandfathers in the Revolution, one fought for the Tories. I had eight uncles in WWII from the Marines to the Air Corp. I mention that because those wars made some sense. Not since then- to my way of thinking! I lost my best friend in Vietnam. He died for nothing. Those boys who died also in Afghanistan and Iraq, gave their lives for what? I feel an anger when someone says to me, those young men in those wars died for our freedom. WTF?!? Somehow we need to change the thinking in this country, not only with our government but with our people. Your story brought tears to my eyes but also a great sadness of what we have become as a nation.
There is an obscure World War Two memoir by a battalion combat surgeon in the Twelfth Armored Division. It's one of the best I've ever read, written by Brendan Phibbs (later a distinguished surgeon in Phoenix) and published under two titles: "Our War for the World" and "The Other Side of Time." He devotes a large part of one chapter to General Truscott. It's too long to set out here, but some juicy quotes: "It was the first time I heard the usage, common in the Third Division, of the word Truscott as an adjective with one set of connotations, and the name Patton as an adjectival noun on the other side of meaning. 'That was a Truscott operation all the way' or 'That son of a bitch pulled a real Patton.' At a later point in the chapter, he quotes a Third Infantry soldier talking about Truscott: "That's when they gave him the Third to command. Old stone face we called him, Injun Joe. He came from Oklahoma and the story was that he was anyway part Indian. He certainly looked like it: hawk nose, long jaw, face that was carved solid. He could move thousands of men around and sent people galloping to bust their ass without changing his face any more than you would if you coughed a little." And finally, comparing Patton and Truscott: "Everything Georgie screamed about, Truscott had already done, only better."
It was while watching the film "Patton" that I first learned of your grandfather. I didn't realize the extent his history and the important role he played during and after the war until your commentary. You have much to be proud of as a member of the Truscott family and I thank you for sharing this history with your community.
As a baby boomer I remember marching in Memorial Day parades and attending the wreath laying at our local war memorial. I always remember this day as one of solemn respect for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. I honestly do not understand why people say "have a happy Memorial Day" nor do I understand why this day is used to promote the sale of cars, mattresses and hot dog.
And at the other end of the spectrum, we have TFG who called those who went in the military “suckers” and “losers”, disparaged a POW, and couldn’t be bothered to attend a memorial service in Normandy because he didn’t want to get his coiffure and makeup wet…
Thank you for the moving account and respect for your grandpa “The General.” I’m re-reading Command Missions (highly recommended) and the insights into the realities of WW2 are second to none - no glory but only the grim getting the job done against a ruthless evil (I use that word sparingly, but Nazis fit the bill) opponent. To hear about how he was a broken man after the experience is not surprising, the weight of sending soldiers to their deaths and hell of combat comes through in the account of his Memorial Day speech to the graves. The Haggadah story is particularly moving to this (largely secular) Jew, thinking how 80 years ago I could have been shipped off to a concentration camp (like I’m sure happened to my unknown relatives who did not emigrate from the Baltic States). Now the visible resurgence of antisemitism and fascism (I don’t think it ever goes away) makes it more profound.
If Grandpa was a broken man, his splintered parts were solid gold. To have led, and understood the cost, marks him as a man who gave his soul, if not his life, for his country. How meaningful this day is for you and yours. A heartfelt salute to General Truscott’s humanity.
So proud that I have known you and that you have shared this report on your Grandfather. I remembered the black body bags. After over 100 combat insertions and extractions I lost only two men. The two men that went home in a body bag haunt me to this day, I have tears in my eyes.
Your grandfather was a true hero and your memories of him are a beautiful tribute to his compassion. He served his country with honor and we all owe him a debt. Thank you for your inspiring words.
Maybe he was a hard man, but he sounds like the BEST. I would feel so honored to be related to him. I'm sure that you are.
side note on Bill Mauldin: I think "Up Front" is a good way to start learning about WWII. I was involved for many years with a WWII veteran (2nd wave D-Day, Battle of the Bulge and I will spend the rest of my life squinting at WWII footage, trying to find him). He was a hard and broken man as well -- I learned not to complain about anything in his hearing. And he was in his teens. I've seen photographs of him in uniform. He looked to be about twelve years old.
At some point during his tour of duty -- it might have been afterward, because he re-enlisted ("I didn't want my parents to see what a mental wreck I was") he took a cartooning class from Bill Mauldin. While telling me this, he paused to say "You probably have no idea who he is". (He thought people my age didn't know anything.) I promptly replied. "Bill Mauldin. Cartoonist, WWII, created Willie and Joe, offended General Patton because Willie and Joe didn't shave often enough, won the Pulitzer price, long career as political cartoonist..." My friend's mouth dropped open about an inch (that was as much astonishment as he would allow himself to display) and asked me "How do YOU know?" "I read 'Up Front' one summer." "WHY????" "Because it was summer, I wanted something to read, the book was in the house and it wasn't nailed shut. Any other questions?"
Always a tiny victory when I surprised him.
As always, thank you for your patience. I always seem to run on.
My father was a secular Jewish infantry captain at the Battle of the Bulge. He had had orders cut for overseas when his Colonel at Ft. Benning didn’t accept Jewish officers. He respected Patton for saving his butt and those of his boys. On behalf of him, his battle buddy in OSS (another Jewish lawyer and a native German speaker), thank you for this story. God bless GEN Truscott for his treatment of Survivors and that Haggadah. What he did for some, he did for all of us. I know it must have been hard to write. I have been a subscriber, but if I hadn’t, this would have convinced me to sign up. Again, thank you. Our flag is up.
Lucian, like most of us, we have family who throughout US history served. Our great uncle was Brigadier General James Rodwell who served under Teddy Jr., then took command of the 4th when T. Roosevelt died. He was also a veteran of WWI in France. He had Teddy's cane used on the Utah Beach passed on to us which we donated to the museum there. 21 x-great-grandfathers in the Revolution, one fought for the Tories. I had eight uncles in WWII from the Marines to the Air Corp. I mention that because those wars made some sense. Not since then- to my way of thinking! I lost my best friend in Vietnam. He died for nothing. Those boys who died also in Afghanistan and Iraq, gave their lives for what? I feel an anger when someone says to me, those young men in those wars died for our freedom. WTF?!? Somehow we need to change the thinking in this country, not only with our government but with our people. Your story brought tears to my eyes but also a great sadness of what we have become as a nation.
There is an obscure World War Two memoir by a battalion combat surgeon in the Twelfth Armored Division. It's one of the best I've ever read, written by Brendan Phibbs (later a distinguished surgeon in Phoenix) and published under two titles: "Our War for the World" and "The Other Side of Time." He devotes a large part of one chapter to General Truscott. It's too long to set out here, but some juicy quotes: "It was the first time I heard the usage, common in the Third Division, of the word Truscott as an adjective with one set of connotations, and the name Patton as an adjectival noun on the other side of meaning. 'That was a Truscott operation all the way' or 'That son of a bitch pulled a real Patton.' At a later point in the chapter, he quotes a Third Infantry soldier talking about Truscott: "That's when they gave him the Third to command. Old stone face we called him, Injun Joe. He came from Oklahoma and the story was that he was anyway part Indian. He certainly looked like it: hawk nose, long jaw, face that was carved solid. He could move thousands of men around and sent people galloping to bust their ass without changing his face any more than you would if you coughed a little." And finally, comparing Patton and Truscott: "Everything Georgie screamed about, Truscott had already done, only better."
It was while watching the film "Patton" that I first learned of your grandfather. I didn't realize the extent his history and the important role he played during and after the war until your commentary. You have much to be proud of as a member of the Truscott family and I thank you for sharing this history with your community.
As a baby boomer I remember marching in Memorial Day parades and attending the wreath laying at our local war memorial. I always remember this day as one of solemn respect for those who made the ultimate sacrifice. I honestly do not understand why people say "have a happy Memorial Day" nor do I understand why this day is used to promote the sale of cars, mattresses and hot dog.
This made me cry. Thank you for writing it.
When words fail, our tears speak volumes. Toda raba, Hebrew for Thanks!
The only way out of this mess is be paying attention. Arthur Miller said that in “Death of a Salesman”.
Share the wealth of knowledge we possess and hope that someone is paying attention!
And at the other end of the spectrum, we have TFG who called those who went in the military “suckers” and “losers”, disparaged a POW, and couldn’t be bothered to attend a memorial service in Normandy because he didn’t want to get his coiffure and makeup wet…
Thank you for the moving account and respect for your grandpa “The General.” I’m re-reading Command Missions (highly recommended) and the insights into the realities of WW2 are second to none - no glory but only the grim getting the job done against a ruthless evil (I use that word sparingly, but Nazis fit the bill) opponent. To hear about how he was a broken man after the experience is not surprising, the weight of sending soldiers to their deaths and hell of combat comes through in the account of his Memorial Day speech to the graves. The Haggadah story is particularly moving to this (largely secular) Jew, thinking how 80 years ago I could have been shipped off to a concentration camp (like I’m sure happened to my unknown relatives who did not emigrate from the Baltic States). Now the visible resurgence of antisemitism and fascism (I don’t think it ever goes away) makes it more profound.
If Grandpa was a broken man, his splintered parts were solid gold. To have led, and understood the cost, marks him as a man who gave his soul, if not his life, for his country. How meaningful this day is for you and yours. A heartfelt salute to General Truscott’s humanity.
So proud that I have known you and that you have shared this report on your Grandfather. I remembered the black body bags. After over 100 combat insertions and extractions I lost only two men. The two men that went home in a body bag haunt me to this day, I have tears in my eyes.
And a difficult piece to read.
Joining you in remembering your Grandpa today with great respect and appreciation.
Thank you, Lucian.
Your grandfather was a true hero and your memories of him are a beautiful tribute to his compassion. He served his country with honor and we all owe him a debt. Thank you for your inspiring words.
My uncle was killed in Belgium in 1945. My dad never spoke about the war. I was shocked to read about Patton’s sad treatment of the Jewish people.
Your story made my cry, too, LTKIV.
(no words) ~fluency of silence~
Thank you for this column. Each war leaves a unique scar on those who serve, even on its heroes.