It amazes me to see how events unfolded and the way humanity has advanced. To see how empires rose and fell, to see how fundamental inventions like iron and glass were developed, and see how cultures change over time, that is why history is so fascinating to me; because of the progress that time contains and the changes made by man to the world. Yet, for some reason, war seems to especially draw my attention more than any other subject in time.  It might be the little kid inside of me imagining the battles that were fought, and glorifying them into something more, but ignoring the loss of life that happened due to war. The fact of the matter is that somewhere deep in the crevices of my mind, there is a primal part of me that is attracted to the violence, suppressing my own anger by projecting it onto the past.

I have always been an avid history buff, even in 3rd grade, I would pick up a history book that I could barely read and study it intensely, not only because of the illustrations, but for the content that it contained. In highschool, when my reading skills had developed and perhaps even surpassed some of my peers, I would open up multiple research pages on the internet and study a topic to the point of reading almost irrelevant information, yet I continued on. When I learned that my class was going to do a project about the 20th Century, I had such a vast amount ideas that I couldn’t decide on what to do. Should I do something to do with the military, something that changed the face of the world? What about inventions that saved millions of lives? Penicillin? Or how about the interstate system? After much consideration, I decided on General Patton, a famous General of World War II. To that end, I also have to think about my family’s service.

My family has had a history of military service so it comes to no surprise that I developed an

interest to further understand the sacrifices that, not only my family, but others have made. I even considered joining but due to some circumstances, I am no longer able to. So to thank the service that my father, uncles, grandfathers, great grandfather, and cousins served in, I find it important to remember their past. Yet still, all major military figures must be remembered as to not to repeat the same mistakes they made nor forget the hardships that were suffered by both troops and civilians.

With a cocksure grin on his face, General George S. Patton led his troops on the front.  Or that is how I imagine him. However, his aggressive personality caused friction between him and Allied Command, he was temporarily  relieved of his command because he slapped two of his men that suffered “battle fatigue”(possible PTSD), and was stubborn to a fault where he disagreed with his superiors. But Patton also had oratory skills to inspire his troops; his strategies won battles, and he earned the respect of his foes. It’s because of this complexity that I decided to study him with more than a quick glance over.

Yet the question still looms, why pick Patton and not some other General? As aforementioned, Patton had an arrogant air about him, but had a charisma he used during speeches to inspire troops. Unlike other famous Generals of the 20th century, Patton’s eccentric personality seems like it will transfer well into an art medium. The confidence he contained is very palpable even from the brief research I have done. Perhaps that is from how the media has portrayed him, a strong General that lead from the front and was butting heads with his superiors, a moniker of Old Blood and Guts, and called by the Leiter of Germany “that crazy cowboy General.” In short, I think that when I make my 20th century box, I will be very glad that I picked a person so fascinating as Patton and because that, I will be able to make something great.