Category: This great Nation & Its People
If anyone were asked who they thought the most flamboyant American general of the Second World War was, I would bet, dollars-to-donuts, that most would answer, “George Patton.”
Well, General George S. Patton, who carried his trademark revolvers on his hips during the war, was probably the most easily recognizable general.
Those handguns of his, by the way, had stories to tell. He initially carried twin Colt single-action Army .45 revolvers, but after he gave one of them to a Hollywood star he admired, because of the star’s courage to entertain front-line troops in combat zones, he replaced it with a 3 ½ inch Smith and Wesson .357 magnum. Part his this flamboyance was those ivory-handled revolvers.
The general, however, knew the importance of inspiring his troops, and his flamboyance certainly achieved that goal.
As to the question of why he carried two revolvers, rather than just one, it is well known that as a young man he was part of General Pershing’s “Punitive Expedition” into Mexico to hunt down the infamous Pancho Villa. And, on 14 May, 1914, during one of those expeditionary forays, he came under fire while leading a caravan of three vehicles to obtain food for his troops. The band of “Villistas” attempted to flee on horseback.
Patton was armed with his own Colt SAA .45 revolver. Back then he carried it with the hammer down on an empty chamber, hence only five rounds.
During the firefight he emptied the weapon, some believe three times. In a subsequent letter to his father, Patton wrote, “I fired five times with my new pistol and one of them ducked back into the house. I found out later that this was Cardenes and that I had hit both he and his horse.” Captain Julio Cardenes was a member of the Pancho Villa gang of thugs, and was second in command, when he was shot by then Lieutenant George S. Patton. Patton then carved a notch in his revolver’s handgrips, and removed Cardenes’ spurs as souvenirs.
Those spurs, by the way, are now in the Museum of WWII in Natick, Massachusetts.
The firefight took place at close range, approximately fifty or sixty feet, but a second gang member came much closer, about ten feet, and Patton shot at the horse. The horse and the gangster hit the ground, and when the latter attempted to stand, he was cut down by the American troops.
Like everyone involved in close-in firefights, the very first ones changes one’s outlook, and henceforth Patton would carry a second, or back-up, handgun.
General Joyce would later confirm that it was the experience with the Mexican gangsters that convinced Patton he should carry at least two handguns. Some newspapers at the time described the revolvers as having pearl handles, but when asked about those handles by a reporter in WWII, Patton angrily responded that they were in fact ivory, and that, “only a New Orleans pimp would carry a pearl-handled gun!”
As a young man, Patton competed in pentathlon events, which included pistol shooting, and he would practice for hours on end on his trigger pull techniques with his strong hand and off-hand positions. Patton’s obvious preference was for revolvers, but during WWII he did also carry a Colt Pocket Model hammerless, as well as a Remington Model 51 .380.
It was with the Remington that he shot at a Luftwaffe airplane, as it was attempting to strafe his encampment. He was also known to carry a Colt Detective Special .38 revolver.
All of his handguns, with the possible exception of the Remington, had the ivory grips, and some were inlaid with the initials “GSP” and had the stars of a U.S. Army general. Many American soldiers and officers, including General Omar Bradley, carried the Colt M1911 semi-automatic pistol, But General Patton only carried the 1911 on rare occasions.
During the North African campaigns, Major General Walter Bedell Smith, a close colleague of Patton, carried a Colt Model 03 in a shoulder holster. But Patton was never known to have carried the 03.
In the final analysis, whatever one’s opinions may be of the general, whether one viewed him as being flamboyant or otherwise, some things are certain, he inspired his troops to the point of fanaticism, and he did so by fearlessly leading the way. His persona, that of a hugely colorful, and larger-than-life military genius, exemplified by those ivory handgrips, made him an unforgettable and heroic American.
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James E. Williams
James Elliott Williams, a Native American Cherokee from South Carolina, entered the Navy in July 1947 and before retiring in April 1967 gained the distinction of becoming the most decorated enlisted man in Navy history.
When he retired from active service he was employed with the Wackenhut Corporation and in 1969 was appointed to the U.S. Marshal Service in South Carolina. He also became an instructor at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Glynco, Georgia, and also served at the U.S. Marshal Service Headquarters in Washington, D.C., until his retirement from Federal Government Service.
Williams died on October 13, 1999, and was buried at Florence National Cemetery in Florence, South Carolina. The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy, speaking at the funeral said, “We will forever be grateful for the leadership and commitment he showed his sailors. Petty Officer Williams was an amazing sailor.”
Following his death a retired Rear Admiral who commanded Williams in Vietnam remarked, “Willie did not seek awards. He did not covet getting them. We did not seek to make him a hero.
The circumstances of time and place, and the enemy’s presence did that. I know through personal investigation of each incident that he never placed his crew nor his patrol boats in danger without first ensuring the risk was calculated and that surprise was on his side. He always had the presence of mind not to endanger friendly villages. He inspired us all, junior and senior alike. It was my greatest honor to have served with the man who truly led us all with his example of unselfish devotion to duty.” In December 2004 the USS JAMES E. WILLIAMS (DDG-95) was commissioned in his honor.
ALL HANDS MAGAZINE – JULY 1998
Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class James Elliott Williams never intended to be a hero — he just wanted to be a Sailor. “When I was 16, I convinced the county clerk to alter my birth certificate so I could come into the Navy. I thought there was nothing better than servin’ my country and gettin’ paid for it.” But, Williams first experience at sea was less than glorious. In fact, it was downright boring. “The first ship I drew, I was the most disappointed man in the world. I’d joined the Navy to see the world — and doggonit, I wasn’t moving. I’d got orders to an LST that just sat around a buoy in San Diego harbor.” But, from that experience, Williams learned a valuable lesson about discipline and leadership. “An old chief told me, ‘Son, you got to learn to take orders, even if you disagree with them. That’s the first step to being a good sailor and a good leader. If you can’t take orders now, you certainly won’t be respected when you give them later.’
Well, I got the message. Learning discipline was the springboard that helped my Navy career. From then on I had the sharpest damn knife and the shiniest shoes in the Navy. That’s what I was taught. That’s what I believed in, being a good Sailor. The proudest day of my life had nothing to do with medals, ribbons, citations.
It was when they made me a patrol officer. That position was held only by chiefs and officers. It showed the trust the Navy had placed in me. I always wanted the opportunity to show what I could do. This Vietnam thing was it for me. The Navy gave me the chance to do my job.”
On his first day out, Williams didn’t disappoint. “October 31, 1966, was supposed to be a restful day in the steamy, heartland of the Viet Cong. But it’s one of those times I won’t never forget, no matter how hard I try. We were on a day patrol, kind of like the ‘relax and recreation’ patrol — nothin’ too heavy. We were only gonna check a few boats coming down the Mekong River for contraband. We were just moseying on down the river minding our own business when our forward gunner hollered, ‘There’s two fast-speed boats crossing ahead of us.’ We had learned if you saw one of these sampans, it was something.
It usually meant there was some high-ranking North Vietnamese officer on board — and that meant trouble; as soon as the Viet Cong spotted us, they started firing.” The two boats split, one headed for the north bank, the other went east. Williams and his crew broke off with the north-bound boat and sank it before it could reach the river’s edge.
The thirty-six-year-old Williams, affectionately called Old Man by his crew of mostly 19 and 20 year olds, then turned for the second boat. Just as he was about to open fire the sampan made a sharp turn into an eight-foot-wide canal in front of a rice paddy. Williams and his crew of Patrol River Boat-105 couldn’t follow.
“I looked at the map and saw that I could go to the right maybe for a third of a mile and come back to where he would have to come out. We wanted to get them real bad. I went around that corner at max sped to cut him off — and, lo and behold, I looked up and didn’t see nothing but boats and people and more boats and more people.”
Williams had unwittingly stumbled into a first staging area and there was no way out but straight ahead. With bullets flying and guns blazing, Williams slammed the throttle down and pulled the wheel hard left, creating a large wake which slapped against the hull of the sampan and disrupted the enemy’s aim.
Williams then took PBR-105 at full speed through the middle of the formation, causing mass confusion. “Fire came from all directions. But their aim was off that day ’cause they was shootin’ and hittin’ more of each other than we was.” With some crafty boat handling, Williams zigzagged his way through the staging area while his crew returned the enemy’s fire.
But, the cliché, “out of the frying pan and into the fire,” was about to become much more real for Williams and his crew. “We get through this area and I’m trying to high-tail it back. We got around the next corner and by God! there’s another staging area. We had to just fight. There was no way out. I twisted, crisscrossed and turned that PBR. I did whatever I could to get them off our backs.”
The fight lasted for three and a half hours. When it was all over, Williams, with just two boats and 10 men, had sunk 65 enemy boats and eliminated 1,200 enemy troops. “It’s hard to believe the first day we were out, we got blasted to hell and back and nobody got killed.” F
or his heroic actions that day, Williams was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. But he is quick to admonish anyone who wants to talk about his awards. “You gotta stop and think about your shipmates. That’s what makes you a great person and a great leader – taking care of each other. You’ve got to think — team. It takes a team to win any battle, not an individual.” But on one particular day in 1966, this individual made the team unbeatable.
MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. BM1 Williams was serving as Boat Captain and Patrol Officer aboard River Patrol Boat (PBR) 105 accompanied by another patrol boat when the patrol was suddenly taken under fire by 2 enemy sampans. BM1 Williams immediately ordered the fire returned, killing the crew of 1 enemy boat and causing the other sampan to take refuge in a nearby river inlet.
Pursuing the fleeing sampan, the U.S. patrol encountered a heavy volume of small-arms fire from enemy forces, at close range, occupying well-concealed positions along the river bank. Maneuvering through this fire, the patrol confronted a numerically superior enemy force aboard 2 enemy junks and 8 sampans augmented by heavy automatic weapons fire from ashore.
In the savage battle that ensued, BM1 Williams, with utter disregard for his safety exposed himself to the withering hail of enemy fire to direct counter-fire and inspire the actions of his patrol. Recognizing the over whelming strength of the enemy force, BM1 Williams deployed his patrol to await the arrival of armed helicopters.
In the course of his movement he discovered an even larger concentration of enemy boats. Not waiting for the arrival of the armed helicopters, he displayed great initiative and boldly led the patrol through the intense enemy fire and damaged or destroyed 50 enemy sampans and 7 junks.
This phase of the action completed, and with the arrival of the armed helicopters, BM1 Williams directed the attack on the remaining enemy force. Now virtually dark, and although BM1 Williams was aware that his boats would become even better targets, he ordered the patrol boats’ search lights turned on to better illuminate the area and moved the patrol perilously close to shore to press the attack.
Despite a waning supply of ammunition the patrol successfully engaged the enemy ashore and completed the rout of the enemy force.
Under the leadership of BM1 Williams, who demonstrated unusual professional skill and indomitable courage throughout the 3 hour battle, the patrol accounted for the destruction or loss of 65 enemy boats and inflicted numerous casualties on the enemy personnel.
His extraordinary heroism and exemplary fighting spirit in the face of grave risks inspired the efforts of his men to defeat a larger enemy force, and are in keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.
MILITARY DECORATIONS
Medal of Honor
Navy Cross
Silver Star (with one gold award star)
Legion of Merit (with “V” device)
Navy and Marine Corps Medal (with gold award star)
Bronze Star (with “V” device and two gold award stars)
Purple Heart (with two gold award stars)
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with “V” device and gold award star)
Navy and Marine Corps Presidential Unit Citation (with bronze service star)
Navy Good Conduct Medal (with four bronze service stars)
Navy Expeditionary Medal
National Defense Service Medal (with bronze service star)
Korean Service Medal (with two bronze stars)
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Vietnam Service Medal (with two bronze service stars)
Korean Presidential Unit Citation
Vietnam Cross of Gallantry (with gold star and palm)
United Nations Korean Medal
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medan
Korean War Service Medal
Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)