George S. Patton

A good battle plan that you act on today can be better than a perfect one tomorrow.

All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty.

Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash.

Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.

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

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains that victory.

Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.

Always do everything you ask of those you command.

Better to fight for something than live for nothing.

Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.

Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.

I do not fear failure. I only fear the "slowing up" of the engine inside of me which is pounding, saying, "Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you?"

I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.

If a man does his best, what else is there?

If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.

If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened.

It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.

Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.

By perseverance, study, and eternal desire, any man can become great.

Do more than is required of you

I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.

Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.

May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't.

Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men

Say what you mean and mean what you say

You’re never beaten until you admit it

An Army is a team; lives, sleeps, eats, fights as a team. This individual heroic stuff is a lot of crap

- All from George S. Patton, 1885 - 1945

About:

George Smith Patton was born at San Gabriel, California on 11 Nov in 1885 in a family with deep military roots. After graduating from West Point, Patton represented the US in the pentathlon competition of the 1912 Olympic Games at Stockholm. He stayed in Europe for several years, studying and teaching sword skills. Patton fought on horseback against Pancho Villa, and was the first member of the US Tank Corps. He advocated an expanded role for the new armored cavalry, but Congress didn't provide the funds he wanted until the German Blitzkrieg made his point. A demanding and inspiring military leader, it's appropriate that his birthday coincides with Veterans Day (US) or Remembrance Day (Canada).