Patton's "dumb bastard"

[Garson O'Toole]

In 1917 a war poem titled "Dying for Your Country" was published. The
last two lines of the fourth stanza present a version of the primary
concept under discussion I think. There is an echo of this wording in
a World War II joke in 1942. (See the next cite.)

Cite: 1917, War Poems by X [GB gives author name Thomas William
Hodgson Crosland], Poem: Dying for Your Country, Stanza 4, Page 43,
Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, New York, (Google Books full
view)

So, Johnny, keep your barrel bright,
  And go where you are told to go,
And when you meet, by day or night,
  Our friend the enemy, lay him low;
And you must neither boast nor quake,
  Though big guns roar and whizz-bangs whizz-
Don't die for your dear country's sake,
  But let the other chap die for his.

http://books.google.com/books?id=QIA-AAAAYAAJ&q=whizz#v=snippet&


Cite: 1942 August 28, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Hollywood by Hugh
Dixon, GN Page 23, Column 5, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Google News
archive)

Irving Hoffman is telling about the doting dame who stopped an RAF
pilot at the Stage Door Canteen the other night and gushed: "I think
it's perfectly wonderful to think that you go into the air to die for
your country." Shot back the English flier: "Like heck I do, ma'am, I
go up to make some other chap die for his."


In 2004 a book was published by Jack Sacco the son of a soldier named
Joe Sacco. The book ostensibly recounts a speech by Patton that
includes the quotation. The section appears to have the title:
"General Patton Speaks to the Invasion Troops, Near Oxford, England,
June 5, 1944". (Some pages are skipped in the preview so I cannot be
sure of the section title.) YBQ mentions another date: May 31, 1944.
Of course, Patton may have given a similar speech more than once. How
did Jack Sacco reconstruct Patton's speech? I do not know anything
about the accuracy of this text. I am posting this simply as a
possible lead.

Cite: 2004, Where the Birds Never Sing: The True Story of the 92nd
Signal Battalion and the Liberation of Dachau by Jack Sacco, Page 142,
HarperCollins, New York. (Google Books preview)

"I want you to remember that no poor bastard ever won a war by dying
for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb
son-of-a-bitching bastard die for his country. Remember that.

http://books.google.com/books?id=6zD-VUd_N9EC&q=%22die+for%22#v=snippet&

Garson

On Fri, Mar 18, 2011 at 10:14 PM, Sam Clements <SClements at neo.rr.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Sam Clements <SClements at NEO.RR.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Patton's "dumb bastard"
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> In my Ggogle snippet, it shows "Learn to use this thing.  LET THE OTHER
> BASTARD...."
>
> http://books.google.com/books?id=9dBAAAAAIAAJ&q=%22let+the+other+bastard%22&dq=%22let+the+other+bastard%22&hl=en&ei=gxCETbXCF8HF0QGArs3ODA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAg
>
> Sam Clements
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "victor steinbok" <aardvark66 at GMAIL.COM>
> To: <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Sent: Friday, March 18, 2011 22:03
> Subject: Re: Patton's "dumb bastard"
>
>
>> The book is in GB, but the snippet is rather useless--only the header
>> is visible, but it does say "let the other guy die for his country".
>>
>> VS-)
>>
>> On Fri, Mar 18, 2011 at 9:41 PM, Jonathan Lighter
>> <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
>> ...
>>>
>>> 1944 Gilbert Bailey _Boot_ (N.Y.: Macmillan) 31: The idea works. It saves
>>> lives. Like Sergeant Rountree told us when he wound up a lecture on the
>>> M1
>>> rifle: "Learn to use this thing. LET THE OTHER BASTARD DIE FOR HIS
>>> COUNTRY.
>>> YOU LIVE FOR YOURS."
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org