World War II General George S. Patton is often quoted as saying: “Give me an army of West Point graduates, and I’ll win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies, and I’ll win a war.” The quote appears on some Aggie T-shirts, but no source has been found. Most scholars believe that Patton never said it. The earliest recorded citation is from 1993.
Wikiquote: George S. Patton
General George Smith Patton, Jr. (1885-11-11 – 1945-12-21) was a U.S. General during World War II; he was known in his time as “America’s Fightingest General”.
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Misattributed
“Give me an army of West Point graduates, I’ll win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I’ll win a war!”
Mike Province, founder and president of The Patton Society calls this an urban legend and in the Texas A&M Battalion (2 October 2006) is quoted as saying “I’ve gotten e-mails and questions regarding that quote for several years… People will use it with Texas Aggies, The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute and even Clemson. All of these schools want to be linked to Patton… Anything is possible… I honestly don’t believe he said it, because I’ve heard too many people say that he said it about their school. But if anyone out there can find proof that he said it, I’d love to hear about it and get it out there.”
Google Groups: alt.quotations
Newsgroups: alt.quotations
From: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) (Raoul Rodriguez)
Date: 30 Sep 1993 01:41:34 -0500
Local: Thurs, Sep 30 1993 2:41 am
Subject: Re: Military quotes
“Give me an Army of West Point Graduates, and I’ll win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I’ll win a war.”
- Patton (who graduated from West Point)
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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