The Story of General Pershing Part 15

The supreme honor thus far which General Pers.h.i.+ng has received is the recognition from his own country which found its expression in his appointment as General, October 6, 1917, "with rank from that date, during the existence of the present emergency, under the provisions of an Act of Congress approved October 6, 1917."

When, on October 8, 1917, he accepted this appointment what thoughts must have been in his mind. He had then received the highest military honor the United States of America could bestow upon a soldier. He was the successor in office of Was.h.i.+ngton, Grant, Sherman and Sheridan.

What a wonderful list of honored names it is! And a half-century had elapsed since anyone had received such an appointment. The wildest dream of the young captain of cadets at West Point had come true. And he had expressed his opinion just before he went to West Point that there would be slight opportunity for promotion in the permanent peace which apparently had settled over the nations of the earth. It is a source of comfort to learn that even the wisest and the best of men are sometimes compelled to revise their judgments.

It is not incredible that the gift which Marshal Joffre provided, or at least one in which he was the prime instigator, the presentation of a small gold-mounted sword for General Pers.h.i.+ng's little son, Warren, may have touched the General's heart as deeply as any honor he ever received. A sword from the Field Marshal of France, given in the greatest war ever fought by mankind! And we may be sure that however kindly the feeling of the foremost soldiers of France may have been for little Warren Pers.h.i.+ng the gift nevertheless was made to the boy because he is the son of his father.

A similar method of expressing the regard for the father by a gift to his son was followed in an incident in the celebration of Bastile Day in Paris, July 14, 1918. At the general headquarters of the American Army in France the members of the graduating cla.s.s of the Lycee presented to the American Commander a marvelously bound volume of episodes in the history of France. This beautiful work, however, was "to be transmitted to Warren Pers.h.i.+ng from his comrades of the Lycee."

What other people than the French would have thought of such a dainty and yet effective way of expressing their admiration of a man? Sometimes a son objects to being known chiefly because he bears the name of his father. It is seldom, however, that a man ever objects to being known as the father of his son.

Just before this volume was given by the students, General Pers.h.i.+ng had presented their diplomas to the members of the graduating cla.s.s of the Lycee. This very pleasing duty had followed after he had formally received the American troops and the French societies which had marched through the streets that were gay with brilliant decorations and thronged by cheering thousands.

On August 7, 1918, there appeared in many American newspapers the following brief and simple message from France:

"With the American Armies in France, Aug. 6.

"President Poincare personally decorated General Pers.h.i.+ng with the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor this morning with impressive military ceremonies at American General Headquarters."

This was all that was cabled, but a column would not have added to the meaning. As far as military recognition was concerned France could do no more. Her choicest honor, the one most highly prized by her patriotic soldiers, had been bestowed upon a soldier from across the sea, not only as a token of her esteem for the man, but also for the country which had chosen him to be the leader of her armies.

Nor was this the only honor of its kind. England already had shown her appreciation by awarding him the Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath--an honor which it is said was then bestowed for the first time upon a soldier of a foreign nation, or at least upon a soldier from the United States.[D] And other similar orders and decorations were given and by different nations. It is difficult in democratic America to appreciate just how much such recognition means in the lands in which they were so generously bestowed. We may be certain, however, that these honors, which are rare, were not bestowed thoughtlessly and that General Pers.h.i.+ng was deeply appreciative in each instance of the motive and feeling that lay behind the gift.

Without question, the honor which most deeply touches the General is the confidence and affection of the men he commands. This is more and deeper than mere popularity. The latter varies and s.h.i.+fts as a weatherc.o.c.k veers with the changing winds. Many of the world's great characters have not only not had it, but have suffered martyrdom because they or their teachings were unpopular. But the deep regard, the confidence and pride which the American forces universally manifest for their leader are based primarily, not upon their impulses or impressions, but upon their belief in the qualities he has quietly manifested, the record he has made, and the power of his own personality.

Deeply impressed as the American commander must be by the receptions given him, the formal honors bestowed upon him by his own and other countries, there is still a minor chord that sounds in the chorus of acclaim. What would the mother, who in the little Missouri village first fired his boyish heart with an earnest desire to make the most of himself, say now if she was here to treasure in her heart the words that have been spoken in memory of the deeds he has done? And his wife--if she had not perished in the fire at the Presidio, and now could follow his career with the pride which a good woman ever has in the recognition of her husband, what added strength her sympathy and fellows.h.i.+p would give to the arm and heart of the man whose name and lot she shared. Sometimes there are tragedies for our soldiers greater even than the battlefields provide.

FOOTNOTE:

[D] Beyond the cabled report the writer is unable to verify this statement.

CHAPTER XVIII

AS A WRITER AND SPEAKER

THE two predominant qualities that have marked General Pers.h.i.+ng in other lines of activity naturally appear in his written and spoken words.

These are simplicity and forcefulness.

He writes but little and then only when he has something to say. What he has to say he tells and then stops. His style is lucid and interesting; even his early reports make good reading.

Certain of his sayings have almost the force of proverbs. For example, when one has once heard, "Germany can be beaten; Germany must be beaten; Germany will be beaten," he can never forget the terse epigrammatic phrasing. The same thing is true also of his response to the message of the French school children who invaded his headquarters, bringing their Fourth of July greetings:

To-day const.i.tutes a new Declaration of Independence, a solemn oath that the liberty for which France has long been fighting will be attained.

It is not much when measured in words, but it is enough when behind it is the man.

Similarly terse and appealing are his words already referred to, hanging in every Y. M. C. A. hut in France.

He is not an orator in the sense of being oratorical, but he is conversational, direct and impressive in public address. His soldierly bearing, his fine physique, clear voice and strong face are accessories of no small value.

There is a field in which General Pers.h.i.+ng has been a p.r.o.nounced success as a speaker which perhaps is not commonly known, and that is at dinners and similar public functions. Anyone who notes the corners of Pers.h.i.+ng's mouth, at once is aware that the General possesses a keen sense of humor. No better ill.u.s.tration could be given of this fact than an incident not long ago recorded in the _Missouri Historical Review_:

"He was invited to a stag dinner party one evening where a jolly story-telling lot of good fellows were to be present and he went primed with his best stories, a memorandum in his vest pocket to aid him in telling them. The memorandum was accidentally dropped on the floor and was picked up by one of his friends, who immediately saw what it was and decided to have his little joke at the General's expense. The finder got an opportunity to spring the first story and promptly started off with the first one on the list. Pers.h.i.+ng said nothing and laughed--he always does when a good story is told, and makes you laugh, too--but when the second one on his list was told he felt in his pocket for the memorandum and discovered its loss.

A few minutes later the General, after a consultation with a waiter, announced that he had just received a message which would require his absence for a few minutes on important business.

"Jumping into a car he was hurried to a hotel.

From the clerk he secured the names of half a dozen traveling men--drummers--who were stopping there and announced that he wanted to see these men at once on important business. The drummers responded and in twenty minutes the General was back at the banquet, before the coffee had been poured, with a new stock of yarns. Then ensued a battle royal between the two famous raconteurs, much to the amus.e.m.e.nts of the guests, until his friend played out the string and left the General victor in the humorous contest.

"Just at this juncture one of the drummers, made up as a police officer, arrived, arrested the joker, searched him and found the General's memorandum, which he exposed to the hilarious guests with the significant comment: 'General Pers.h.i.+ng has really been the only entertainer this evening, but lots of people are making reputations with the public on the General's ideas.'"

His words to the British public and his public address in France are alike notable for their simplicity and directness, their friendliness and dignity. He understands thoroughly his part. It is a great advantage for America to have a representative for whose public utterances no apology must be made and no explanations given.

CHAPTER XIX

THE MAN BEHIND THE GENERAL

IT would be as impertinent as it is impossible for one who has not been a.s.sociated with General Pers.h.i.+ng for a long time directly and closely to attempt anything like an a.n.a.lysis of the man or his career. There are, nevertheless, certain qualities that have become more or less the possessions of the public because they have been manifested in his public service. It is therefore permissible to refer briefly to certain of them.

As a foundation for all his work is a strong, vigorous body which at all times has been cared for in a way to make it the servant and not the master of the man. Regular and somewhat strenuous physical exercise maintains the uniformly excellent health and vigor of the Commander.

Naturally strong, hard work developed his strength in his boyhood, and his military career has made many demands upon as well as increased these powers. Even when he entered West Point he was an acknowledged expert in horsemans.h.i.+p and his early work in the ten years of his campaigns against the Indians, certainly tested his skill to the utmost in this particular line.

He has known almost every form of active service the American Army can provide. In the demands for rough or heavy work excellent judges a.s.serted when he was sent to France that he has no superior and since his arrival he has shown that he was equally at home in the finer and higher demands that were made upon him. His distinguished bearing, his physical vigor and good health have provided an excellent foundation.

The old Latin proverb _Mens sana in corpore sano_ has certainly been verified in the life of General Pers.h.i.+ng.

It was Oliver Wendell Holmes who has been frequently quoted as having said that "the foremost qualification for success is the proper selection of one's grandparents." The forcefulness of General Pers.h.i.+ng's father, the inspiring words of his mother form a rare background.

"Foremost citizen," "devoted to his family," "sterling,"

"ambitious"--these are some of the words of old-time friends and neighbors, descriptive and expressive of their estimates of his father.

All of them, however, are not more suggestive and tender than a neighbor's description of the General's mother as a "splendid homemaker," and "an inspiration to her children." There are many things a son cherishes more highly than the inheritance of great riches, and foremost is the heritage of a good name.

As the oldest of nine children naturally he learned and a.s.sumed certain responsibilities at an early age. With the advice and help of his mother it is said that even when he was only fourteen he was managing a farm in the absence of his father. There was work to be done and in abundance.

There is ancient authority for the claim that it is good to "learn to bear the yoke in one's youth." A "yoke," however, is not the burden, it is a contrivance which enables one to bear his burden.

A prominent and successful man of business in New York City declared not long ago that if a man does not learn to work when he is young (this man placed the limit at twenty-two) he does not learn afterward. This was the result of both observation and experience.

Whether or not these conclusions are correct, certain it is that in the case of General Pers.h.i.+ng, as it has been also in many other marked instances, he learned not only to work but also learned how to work when he was only a boy.

His birthplace was in the great state of Missouri. Reference has already been made to the semi-slang expression which indicates that a man from that State "must be shown." Not long ago there appeared in one of the foremost newspapers of America a bit of verse applying this saying to the present gigantic task of the Commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in France. The following quotation (_The Evening Telegram_), whatever it may lack in poetic flavor, is expressive of the public conception of the meaning of the statement:

"When 'Jack' Pers.h.i.+ng left for Europe With his st.u.r.dy fighting men, Kaiser w.i.l.l.y said, 'How silly!

I'll annihilate them when I have time to bother with 'em, For that peewee Yankee force Won't be in it for a minute With my Prussian troops, of course.'"