[Ads-l] Battle of the Bulge Quote

[Jonathan Lighter]

Reconstructed from two GB snippets. The reference appears to be to an issue
of _Stars and Stripes_, the Army newspaper.

1945   _Atlantic Mo._ CLXXVI [month unknown] 71: The sergeant folded the
Stars and Stripes. "Did you read this about 'the heroes of Bastogne'?" he
asked, accenting the phrase. "Somebody says we said, 'They got us
surrounded — the poor bastards.' "

"Did you say that?" asked the officer.

"No."

"Neither did I," he said. "Especially not when they bombed."

JL

On Sun, May 1, 2016 at 10:06 AM, Shapiro, Fred <fred.shapiro at yale.edu>
wrote:

> Here's one for the military historians.  The Battle of the Bulge quote,
> "They've got us surrounded again, the poor bastards," is often attributed
> to Creighton Abrams.  Is it likely that Abrams did originate this, or was
> it an anonymous saying that later got attached to Abrams' name?  Is there
> any evidence of the quote's usage before 1961, which is the earliest I can
> readily find?
>
> Fred Shapiro (whose father was awarded a Bronze Star for the Battle of the
> Bulge)
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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