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rubberneck · 03-21-2010, 10:33

Yesterday my eight year old son asked me to take him to one of the local parks to throw a football around. The park itself is right next to the local VFW which has a really nice M48 Patton on display. As he was exploring the tank he asked why it was called the Patton and I explained who General Patton was and why he was so famous. Any ways my son finally asked who the best General this country has ever produced and why. I explained that there was a difference between being a famous general and a great general even though they often go hand in hand but there was probably no right answer.

It got me to thinking about some of the great generals this country has produced but never became house hold names for one reason or another. We all learn about Washington, Grant, Sherman, Jackson, Lee, Custer, Pershing, Eisenhower, Patton, MacArthur, Bradley, Puller and others in history class but we hear less about men like General Ridgeway and General Blackburn. I am curious about some of the lesser known Generals you guys consider to have been great leaders. Given the wide breadth of military experience and historical knowledge the members of this board has I thought that this would be the best place to get an interesting perspective.

03-21-2010, 10:33	#1
rubberneck Area Commander Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Buckingham, Pa. Posts: 1,746	Great Generals Yesterday my eight year old son asked me to take him to one of the local parks to throw a football around. The park itself is right next to the local VFW which has a really nice M48 Patton on display. As he was exploring the tank he asked why it was called the Patton and I explained who General Patton was and why he was so famous. Any ways my son finally asked who the best General this country has ever produced and why. I explained that there was a difference between being a famous general and a great general even though they often go hand in hand but there was probably no right answer. It got me to thinking about some of the great generals this country has produced but never became house hold names for one reason or another. We all learn about Washington, Grant, Sherman, Jackson, Lee, Custer, Pershing, Eisenhower, Patton, MacArthur, Bradley, Puller and others in history class but we hear less about men like General Ridgeway and General Blackburn. I am curious about some of the lesser known Generals you guys consider to have been great leaders. Given the wide breadth of military experience and historical knowledge the members of this board has I thought that this would be the best place to get an interesting perspective.
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