IMHO General Patton got the stars on his uniform the old-fashioned way. He earned them by being on the receiving end of enemy fire.
About twenty years ago I had occasion to share an evening with an old vet from Patton's command during WWII. That crusty old soldier talked about the general for hours. The devotion his troops had for him, as described to me, was inspired by his devotion to the troops he commanded. Some forty years after the war had ended, my old friend spoke through tears of the sacrifices of individuals and victories of battalions long forgotten except by the name of the man who commanded them.
Russell
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