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trivia question re: lt. general matthew b. ridgway
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 7:11 am
by tom d. friedman
from ww 2 through the korean war why did a high ranking general like ridgway always have a grenade attached to his web belt?? was this his signature of the man like patton's ivory handled pistols were to him??
Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 9:06 am
by Holedigger
Found this on that, a quote from the General himself.
he always had a hand grenade attached to one shoulder strap on his battle jacket, and a first aid kit on the other. "Some people thought I wore the grenades as a gesture of showmanship," he said years later. "This was not correct. They were purely utilitarian. Many a time in Europe and Korea, men in tight spots blasted their way out with hand grenades."
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/ridgway.htm
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:45 am
by tom d. friedman
let's see a general get away with that today!!
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:24 am
by Holedigger
Carrying grenades or getting called "Ol' Irontits"?
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 11:24 am
by tom d. friedman
both, because up to now i never heard that name applied to ridgway
how did he get that title??
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 11:25 pm
by Holedigger
at least not to his face!!! Lots of mentions of it, just google, ridgway iron tits and you will get a lot of citations! Guess they "cleaned up" general history books to not offend anyone!