The Slapping Incident
The conquest of Sicily almost cost the United States one of its most effective combat generals. During a visit to a field hospital in August 1943, Gen. George Patton physically abused a soldier suffering from a condition euphemistically called “combat fatigue.” After talking to a number of wounded soldiers, Patton approached Pvt. Paul Bennet and asked what was wrong with him. The soldier replied, “ It’s my nerves,” and then began to cry.256
On hearing this, Patton exploded: “ You are just a…coward… I won’t have these brave men here who have been shot at seeing a yellow [expletive] sitting here crying.”257 He then slapped the man and went on berating him.
When he heard of the incident General Eisenhower quietly reprimanded Patton and required that he apologize to those affected. A few months later, however, Drew Pearson broke the story publicly in a radio broadcast, creating a nationwide scandal.
Patton was harshly condemned by many, but there were others who thought him perfectly justified in forcefully stopping soldiers from shirking their duty. It was easy to give Patton the benefit of the doubt, as he was one of the great combat leaders of the time. There were two sides to this incident that would give a modern ethics class plenty to debate.
On balance, I believe Patton’s behavior in this affair has to be condemned. What he did was the result of a temper tantrum on his part and was clearly not a well-thought-out disciplinary action. We’re always on dangerous ground when we react to a situation out of anger. Instead of solving the first problem, we create a new one based on our own behavior, and the new problem then takes on a life of its own. There are many biblical warnings about this kind of behavior. In Proverbs we are told, “ A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control” (Proverbs 29:11).
If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.
—James 1:26