Patton instructed his men: \u201cPray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day.\u201d He believed the Third Army\u2019s nearly 500 chaplains, representing 32 denominations, were as critical to victory as his tank commanders. \u201cHe wanted a chaplain to be above average in courage,\u201d O\u2019Neill recalled. \u201cIn time of battle, he wanted the chaplains up front, where the men were dying. And that\u2019s where the Third Army chaplains went\u2014up front. We lost more chaplains, proportionately, than any other group.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patton relied on his faith more than most commanders did. Brig. Gen. Harry H. Semmes wrote that Patton \u201calways read the Bible, particularly the life of Christ and the wars of the Old Testament. He knew by heart the order of morning prayer of the Episcopal Church. His thoughts, as demonstrated daily to those close to him, repeatedly indicated that his life was dominated by a feeling of dependence on God.\u201d Semmes added that \u201cPatton was an unusual mixture of a profane and highly religious man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gen. Omar Bradley concurred: \u201cHe was profane, but he was also reverent. He strutted imperiously as a commander, but he knelt humbly before his God.\u201d This was certainly the case during Patton\u2019s finest moment in the Ardennes. \u201cDestiny sent for me in a hurry when things got tight,\u201d he wrote at the height of the battle. \u201cPerhaps God saved me for this effort.\u201d He also noted: \u201cWe can and will win, God helping. . . . Give us the Victory, Lord.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> In World War II, Gen. George Patton believed the Third Army\u2019s nearly 500 chaplains, representing 32 denominations, were as critical to victory as his tank commanders, writes @kershaw_alex<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/6JWN16ZNM1<\/a><\/p>— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) December 20, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>