Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1918-12-13
The real GEN. PERSHING
American Commander Every Inch a
Soldier
MAN OF ACTION RATHER THAN WORDS

SIo ! iH'eT at SaHiP SSNici Siahhs
That the Newspaper Pictures Of the
General Are All Wrong-He Was
Once In Close Association With
Pershins and Knows What He Is
Talking About.
Correspondence Of The Yorlcville Enquirer
Camp Sewer Dec. l0-Did you know
| that General Pershing's left shoulder
Is lower than his right and that he
| always has the left shoulder OF his
| coats built up" that Is padded in Or
der to maintain that superb figure OF
his? Sometime ago sent out q story
about an old regular who was former
ly sergeant OF General Pershings
guard and who Is now stationed al
WOW with that old timer a night or
TWO ago and he told me this and many
other interesting things about the
famous American commander. He is
a man, is this old soldier who has been
in the game since May 3rd, 1896. He
is rough and unpublished in a way
that is. he wouldn't be an arc lightSin
meeting of the Ladies' Aid society
or At an extraordinary social session
of the Crust Busters Club" He's
one of these fellows who left the home
tree for this reason or that, years ago
joined the army and stuck to it. He's
one Of those fellows who has picked
up n wonderful stock Of exact infor-
nation through observation, travel and
hard experience; one of those men
who has "guts," as soldiers say; who
would go into battle II the enemy were
ten to one, and fight and dic-happy
in dying for the fellows around them.
AS n general thing two out Of every
five words he speaks are oaths. But
they come so naturally that you don't
consider him profanc or vulgar when
he talks. Somehow you realize that
the oaths are a part OF his language
and that somehow he's different from
YOU and the rest. His eye Is clear and
gray and hard and he loks you all
over with one glance. He's had his
fling all right, and there are many in
cidents in his life perhaps, that would
make him blush II they come to light.
He isn't the kind that would deny
them II they did. though: because he
hates a lie worse than anything else.
He's a man all right; better than the
most Of us and as good as the best of
us. He cusses but he doesn't smoke
cigarettes. And I smoke cigarettes.
8 "All this stun in the paper about
General Pershing saying this and
General Pershing saying that, IL
tommy rot" he said to me- few
evenings ago as we sat in hA to1t
t7Geaerai PershKg doesn't faik much.
Some newspaper guy, sonny, is'shoot-
ing that stuff for the general. His
talk and his sayings wouldn't look ex-
actly right in print just as he says 'em.
and guess some newspaper fellow
is along with him shaping the stuff.
The general doesn't have much to say
anyhow, and ! know darn we'll he
hasn't talked one tenth as much as
the statements have seen as having
come from him would make 1t appear.
ParshinG is n man who docs things
and who doesn't talk about what he
docs. II makes me laugh when I see
stories about his hobnobbing with
IIaig and Foch and Petain and all
hem other dudes at this social af-
fair and that don't believe a word
about it. He amt that kind of fell
low and I'll bet he amt dolling around
with those birds any more than he
can help.
THE general when | first started TO
soldering with him was brigadier;
but 1t was just as easy for n buck
private to go up and talk to him as If
he were also q buck. II you ever went
through one campaign with Pershing
you had in him q friend for life. All
he ever asks Of any man under him
- that that man have his gun good
and clean and that he use that gun
wien he gives the word. He didn't
give IL darn what you did outside Of
that.
He don't want any mollycoddles
around him. He likes those kind OF
fellows who can sleep on the ground
in zero weather with their feet toward
the fire, get up in the morning, take
off their shirts and wash their faces
and bodies in water that is so cold
that the icicles form on the hair and
chest after the bath. He likes best
those men who wouldn't shiver after
such a bath.
do you remember about two months
ago | told you that if Pershing ever
got them Germans to fighting in the
open it would be all off with them and
Lamn quick at that? Well. you see
what has happened? He didn't know
anything about that trench warfare
business and | knew darn we'll as soon
as he went over there that he would
try TO get 'em out Of the bitches and
If he did 1t was good night! He's the
greatest open fighter in the world;
and Id rather be buck private un-
der him than to be colonel under
any other commander in the world.
And remember, an old head Of twen-
ty-three years in the game Is telling
you all this.
in the field he lives just like his men
live. There amt any Of this thing Of
comfortable air tight quarters five or
six or seven blankets for the officers
with almost any other old thing for
the men as 1t Is in some other places.
wish you could see him make an in
spcction of quarters. Just say for
instance, he we're inspecting this
company here:
He would go into tent, his aides
behind him, each Of them with pencil
and note book in hand. The captain
of the company under inspection
would of course be with him. With a
couple OF glances he would take In