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By Vern Gowdie - posted Monday, 26 August 2019

The year was 1970.

The movie…Patton. A biographical film about George Smith Patton Jr…a four-star US Army General in the Second World War.

The opening scene sees General Patton dressed in all his military finest walk on stage against the backdrop of a giant US flag.

Great theatrical staging.

Patton’s inspiring address to the US Third Army begins with…

Now, I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.

Those two sentences of pure logic set the tone for the movie.

General George S Patton was portrayed as a tough, uncompromising, no nonsense leader.

Patton’s mere presence on the battlefield lifted the morale of his troops.

His blunt and abrasive style didn’t always win him friends…but did earn him (begrudging) respect.

Patton was a man who did not suffer fools.

The audiences loved it.

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This article was first published in The Rum Rebellion.

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About the Author

Vern Gowdie has been involved in financial planning since 1986. In 1999, Personal Investor magazine ranked Vern as one of Australia’s Top 50 financial planners.
His contrarian views often place him at odds with the financial planning profession today, but Vern’s sole motivation is to help investors to protect their own and their family’s wealth. Follow him on Twitter @RumRebellionAus