I am sure you included the excerpt that goes something like "Your job is not to die for your country, but to make the other poor bastard die for his country!" Great movie. "Twelve O'clock High" goes well with it.
On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 10:06 AM, WILTON via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com > wrote: > Well, I think it's non-political, anyway. (YMMV) > > THE PATTON TAPE > By Wilton Strickland > > During the entire time that I was flying B-52 bombing missions from > Guam and Thailand to Vietnam in '72, the movie "Patton" was still fresh in > people's minds. I was on a mission over Vietnam one day in late summer > when suddenly, George C. Scott's voice as General Patton came on the > inter-plane radio with a short excerpt from Patton's speech to the troops > just before the invasion of Normandy. I don't remember the exact excerpt, > but I thought it was appropriate for the moment. Several days later, I > mentioned the "Patton" comment during a pre-mission briefing; another > crewman in the briefing claimed to be the "culprit" and offered me a copy > of the tape. I borrowed a friend's recorder and, using his recorder and > mine, I was able index the tape so that I could readily select and play > short excerpts as desired. > The crew electronic warfare officer (EW) carried an official recorder > on each flight. This recorder was issued to EW before each mission and > returned by him at the end of each mission; it was rigged so that nobody > could access or alter the tape, and recorded everything said on the > aircraft intercom and received by the aircraft radios. Wanting to keep a > record for myself in case anything more interesting happened, I had a > technician in the aircraft electronics shop make a short cord for me that > allowed me to plug my personal recorder into the aircraft radio system. I > carried this recorder on every mission except the last two to Hanoi in > December. (A friend on another crew borrowed my special cord the night of > Dec. 26th and was shot down over Hanoi.) On the last two missions, I was > able to transmit from my recorder, though, by playing it and holding a > radio headset microphone against the speaker shielded by my hand and a > handkerchief. > Occasionally during a mission, I would select a "Patton" excerpt > appropriate for the moment. Sometimes, just before takeoff, for example, > "I'd be proud to lead you wonderful guys into battle anytime, anywhere." > En route to the target, I sometimes transmitted, "You know, I actually > pity those poor bastards we're going up against, by God, I do." > For three months or so, I played several "Patton" excerpts on each > mission. B-52 crewmen began to expect to hear something from Patton each > time out. The talk around base was, "Who's playing "Patton" - who's doing > that?" I never said a word, but several knew who was doing it. > I continued transmitting the "Patton" excerpts at appropriate times, > even during the Linebacker II missions to Hanoi. En route on those > missions, I would play, for example, "Some of you boys I know are wondering > whether or not you'll chicken out under fire. Don't worry about it. I can > assure you that you will all do your duty." (Several crewmen who heard > these transmissions have told me during the last few years that their fear > and anxiety were greatly relieved by them.) > Returning to U-Tapao, Thailand, after a surprisingly quiet mission to a > target, Thai Nguyen Steel Mills and Rail Yards 35 nautical miles north of > Hanoi on the night of December 29th, I was confident that it was the last > night of the campaign. I had seen photos of the complete destruction in > the areas struck by B-52's since the 18th and did not think there was > another target left in North Vietnam worthy of a B-52 strike. They were > out of missiles and ammo, and we were out of targets. Mine was the > next-to-last B-52 of the nearly 100 to visit Hanoi that night. I was > confident that we had won the war and that it would soon end as we departed > the Hanoi area for the last time. > Forty five minutes or so before landing back in Thailand, I > transmitted a "Patton" excerpt that I thought was appropriate for a such a > finale: "For over a thousand years, the Roman conquerors, returning from > the wars, enjoyed the honor of the triumph - a tumultuous parade. In the > procession came trumpeters, musicians and strange animals from the > conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured > armaments. The conqueror rode in a triumphant chariot, the day's prisoners > walking in chains before him. Sometimes, his children, robed in white, > stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood > behind the conqueror, holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a > warning that all glory is fleeting." > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those > individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner > has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. > -- ------------- Max Charleston SC _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
