“Our hearts were touched with fire.”
The best toast you’ll ever read
In 1969, a professional Army officer with a keen grasp of history and a clear-eyed view of the present, offered a toast to his young son on the eve of his deployment to Vietnam. Colonel George Peterson Winton, West Point Class of 1939, had a distinguished record in three wars. As his toast would demonstrate, he also had a clear-eyed view of history and of the conflicting forces on his son as he was about to go to war. It is worth contemplating 55 years later.
In 1969 many young men of our generation were either fighting or preparing to fight in Vietnam. We were not part of the select cohort that the intelligentsia of the day called the “elite.” No matter our background or qualifications, as their words and actions proved, we were looked down upon and despised by the John Kerrys and Bill Clintons of the world.
It was a tough time to fight and not just because of the heat, the terrain, the malaria-carrying mosquitoes, and a very tough and well-trained enemy. We had an even tougher enemy at home. A media that denigrated us, jello-spined politicians who had sent us there almost unanimously but who ultimately would sell us out, and our college-attending peers who rooted for our enemies to kill us. And make no mistake about that latter point — We well remember the “anti-war” rallies by the cowards trying to avoid the draft who bellowed out, “Ho, ho, Ho Chi Minh! The NLF is going to win.”
In that context one of the young soldiers preparing to deploy for combat in Vietnam was George B. Winton, my West Point gymnastics teammate and Colonel George P. Winton’s son.
George was the strongest man I ever met. He also was one of the smartest, graduating as a “Star Man” in the top 5% of the West Point Class of 1967.
At a dinner on the eve of George’s departure for Vietnam, Colonel Winton offered a toast to his son. In just a few sentences, Col. Winton demonstrated a remarkable grasp of history, a penetrating understanding of the American public, and a coherent vision of the role of the Army and its soldiers whom the Country was sending off to war. It is about as good a summary of the role of the Army in war and in peace as I have ever read. Take a look:
30 Mar 69
Our nation is 193 years old. During those years we have fought and won eight major wars. During major wars, the nation is united and everyone puts his shoulder to the wheel. But between times, the public prefers to think of other things.
Now we are in a period where, in effect, the Army is at war but the nation is at peace. This is nothing new; it was the case for an entire century during which we fought the Indians, not to mention the past half-century during which we handled the Philippine insurrectes, Pancho Villa in Mexico, the bandits in Nicaragua, the communist guerrillas in Greece and many other assorted hostiles.
The professional military services have made it possible for us to win our major wars by carrying on the burdensome chores of planning and preparation in peacetime and furnishing the requisite leadership in war. They have also carried the principal part of the load of fighting the interminable minor wars. These men serve in unpleasant and frequently dangerous ways, and as a result of their services the rest of us are able to live prosperous and comfortable lives.
When they go out to fight for us, they should not go with our pity. They are fortunate to have the opportunity to serve. As the late Justice Holmes pointed out, referring to his service in the Civil War in which he was wounded three times, "To our great good fortune, in our youth our hearts were touched with fire." No, these fighting men should not go out with our pity, but may they always go out with our gratitude and our admiration.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Lt. Winton of the Regular Army.
A realistic and clear-eyed appraisal. True then; true now.
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Every soldier that wore a uniform made America's enemies think twice. I am forever grateful.
What a fine, extraordinary father son legacy.
Thank you for sharing that eloquent salute.
P.S. A sad, far cry from the woke-DEI-Milleyfied institution that is the U.S. Military Academy and U.S Army under mismanagement (not leadership) of the Obama-Biden-Milley tenure.