Did General George S. Patton describe himself as "an utter, craven coward"?

Thu Jun 13 23:44:02 UTC 2013

Thanks for your response, Brenda. The quotation does appear on a large
number of websites, e.g., see the website domains given below.
Typically, it is used as part of a sermon. None of the websites I
examined provided a citation. Often the surrounding text was similar
to the text in the 1962 citation that was included in my original
message.

www.sermoncentral.com
www.biblestudytools.com
lavistachurchofchrist.org
enslowparkpresbyterianchurch.org
www.crosswalk.com
classic.net.bible.org
www.bibleteacher.org

It is possible that these instances of the quotation have all been
derived directly or indirectly from the newspaper column by the
religious writer Harold Blake Walker that was printed in the Chicago
Tribune in 1962. Sermon writers often share material.

Determining where Blake obtained the quotation is now an active
sub-goal of this exploration. He may have heard it directly from T. V.
Smith or he may have read something written by T. V. Smith.

There are also multiple matches in the Google Books database. The
matches are in religious texts and self-help books. All the matches
that I can see are in books from the 1990s and 2000s. None of the
books I probed via GB provided a citation for the quote.

In 1993 a variant phrasing for the quotation was presented in the
following book:

[ref] 1993, Everything Worth Knowing I Learned Growing Up in Florida
by Jay Strack, Quote Page 122, Word Publishing, Dallas, Texas.
(Verified with scans)[/ref]

[Begin excerpt]
During World War II, a military governor profusely praised George
Patton for his gallant and courageous acts. The general replied with a
swallow. "Sir, I am not a brave man. The truth of the matter is I am
usually a coward at heart. I have never been in the sound of gunshot
or sight of battle in my whole life that I was not afraid. I
constantly have sweat on my palms and a lump in my throat."

In later years, Patton penned these words:
I learned very early in life not to take counsel of my fears.
[End excerpt]

Here is an example from GB dated 1996. The quote closely matches the
1962 version. This cite is unverified:

Title: Proverbs: God's Guide for Life's Choices
Author: Woodrow Michael Kroll
Year: 1996
Page 48 (according to GB; also, number is visible in snippet)
(Google Books snippet view; data may be inaccurate)
books.google.com/books?isbn=0847414671

[Begin excerpt]
During World War II, a military governor met with General George
Patton in Sicily. When he praised Patton highly for his courage and
bravery, the general replied, "Sir, I am not a brave man - the truth
is, I am an utter craven coward. I have never been within the sound of
gunshot or in sight of battle in my whole life that I wasn't so scared
that I had sweat in the palms of my hands." Years later, when Patton's
autobiography was published, it contained this significant statement
by the general: "I learned very early in my life never to take counsel
of my fears."
[End excerpt]

Garson
QuoteInvestigator.com

On Thu, Jun 13, 2013 at 5:12 PM, Brenda Lester <alphatwin2002 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Brenda Lester <alphatwin2002 at YAHOO.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Did General George S. Patton describe himself as "an utter,
>               craven coward"?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I googled the quote and found this,=0A=0A=0A=0APatton replied, "Sir, I am n=
> ot a brave man....The truth is, I am an =0Autter craven coward. I have neve=
> r been within the sound of gunshot or in=0A sight of battle in my whole lif=
> e that I wasn't so scared that I had =0Asweat in the palms of my hands."=0A=
> =0Ahttp://www.dailyintheword.org/content/lord-my-helper=0A=0Abest,=0Abrenda=
> =0A=0A=0A=0A________________________________=0A From: ADSGarson O'Toole <ad=
> sgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>=0ATo: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU =0ASent: Thursday, Ju=
> ne 13, 2013 4:55 PM=0ASubject: Re: Did General George S. Patton describe hi=
> mself as "an utter, craven coward"?=0A =0A=0A---------------------- Informa=
> tion from the mail header -----------------------=0ASender:=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =
> =C2=A0  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>=0APoster:=C2=A0 =
> =C2=A0 =C2=A0  ADSGarson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>=0ASubject:=C2=
> =A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Re: Did General George S. Patton describe himself as "an =
> utter,=0A=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 craven coward"?=
> =0A------------------------------------------------------------------------=
> -------=0A=0AHathiTrust has "A non-existent man, an autobiography" (1962) b=
> y Thomas=0AVernor Smith.=0AThe book is in full view. Unfortunately, there a=
> re no matches for=0A"Patton" or "coward".=0AGarson=0A=0A> Stephen Goranson =
> wrote:=0A>> Maybe Thomas Vernor Smith 1890-1964?=0A=0AGarson O'Toole=0A> Th=
> anks for your response, Stephen. I think that you are right that "T.=0A> V.=
>  Smith" probably refers to Thomas Vernor Smith. Amazon has a listing=0A> fo=
> r the following autobiography:=0A>=0A> A non-existent man, an autobiography=
>  by Thomas Vernor Smith.=0A>=0A> The description mentions service in Sicily=
> :=0A> [Begin excerpt]=0A> He served as private ("no class") in World War I;=
>  he held the rank of=0A> colonel in World War II and was a military governo=
> r with the Allied=0A> Control Commission in Sicily and Italy, =E2=80=A6=0A>=
>  [End excerpt]=0A>=0A> The book was published with editions in 1961 and 196=
> 2 apparently.=0A> Based on the timing perhaps this book contains the quotat=
> ion. The=0A> Google Books database includes some instances of the book but =
> they=0A> seem to be in "No Preview" mode.=0A>=0A> Garson=0A>=0A> ----------=
> --------------------------------------------------=0A> The American Dialect=
>  Society - http://www.americandialect.org=0A=0A----------------------------=
> --------------------------------=0AThe American Dialect Society - http://ww=
> w.americandialect.org
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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