re: #222 palomino

Certainly Ike was in less immediate physical danger than those with less rank. But he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders when he was given the job of finishing the Nazis. He wasn’t sitting at a desk 5000 miles away, watching things on a monitor.

What he did—defend freedom, liberate concentration camps, save western Europe from fascism, and in the process save millions of lives—sure qualifies as heroic in my book. (as well as most historians) But then I guess we all have a different “book” to play by.

he did an excellent job for the most part, exactly what he was trained for…but wars are won in the trenches, dealing with overwhelming fear, where life and death are only an instant apart…this is where the heros are, not in a trailer behind the lines…coaches don’t win games, players do…Ike didn’t storm a beach or toss a grenade, or stock butt a Nazi when his clip popped out…to me there is a huge difference…he may have shit his pants, rather than fight in the face of a Japanese assault on Guadalcanal…nobody will ever know