Gerald Astor is a critically acclaimed
military historian and author of such books as The Mighty
Eighth, A Blood Dimmed Tide, The Right to Fight,
The Greatest War, and Bloody Forest. He lives
near New York City.
內容試閱：
Terrible Terry Allen: Combat General of World War II ? The
Life of an American Soldier
By Gerald Astor
Chapter 2: Terry Allen?s West Point
Sam Allen settled into the role of a garrison officer without the
credentials conferred upon those who actually went to war or
commanded troops in the field. After his tour at Fort Monroe during
the Spanish-American War, he served at a number of field, and then
coast, artillery posts, which became a separate bunch in 1907. He
oversaw coast artillery unites in the harbors of Boston, New York,
and Pensacola; slowly he rose up in rank. In 1901, the Allens had
their third child, Mary Conchita de la Mesa Allen.
Terry Allen?s acquaintance with West Point began with his
father?s tour as a teacher. Between the ages of three and seven, he
feasted on the panorama of smartly uniformed young men amid a
citadel that crowned the scenic splendor of massive fortress-type
buildings ensconced on the shores of a magnificent river. There was
pomp and circumstance aplenty to seduce the imagination of a boy,
and over the years Samuel Allen undoubtedly transmitted to Terry
his nostalgic affection for his life as a cadet.
When the family then moved to a series of army posts, the child
indulged himself in a passion for riding. As an artillery officer,
Samuel Allen frequently pursued his duties while in the saddle, and
it was natural for his offspring to emulate his style. In her
fading years, his mother, Concepcion Allen, recalled her small boy
in the saddle, proudly riding off to accompany his father on
maneuvers. By age ten, Terry felt totally comfortable in the
saddle.
Sam Allen ? the somewhat free-spirited, joking, dancing,
gregarious cadet and young officer captured in the memories of Fish
and in his own letters ? had become a more reserved man with
considerable respect for the dignity and discipline of the army.
Terry Allen recalled that while his father was a captain he refused
to have a telephone installed in his home. ?I don?t want to
telephone my seniors and I won?t have my junior officers calling
me.? But, for all of the parent?s concern for decorum and the code
of ?an officer and a gentleman,? the enlisted personnel of the day
were cut from a different cloth, and their children likewise.
The rough-and-tumble log of youngsters Terry?s age, many of them
the spawn of enlisted personnel, were his natural playmates. Even
at an early age he showed signs of leadership, coupled with a
reputation that was less than salubrious. Allen reported that he
once came across a contemporary in tears, and the boy explained
that his mother had just spanked him. When Allen inquired why, his
companion explained ?Because I was playing with you.? According to
Liebling, Allen said, ?My opinion of myself went up like a rocket.?
Aside from his adventures with other army brats, Allen spent
considerable time with the lesser ranks stationed at the camps,
giving him a lifelong empathy toward enlistd men, not to mention a
taste for some of their habits. He informed Liebling that along
with horsemanship, he had learned at a tender age how to smoke,
chew, cuss, and fight. He also surely became aware of how much the
soldiers favored drinking.
Terry never doubted the kind of career he would follow. Having
lived at West Point for four years and enjoyed his life at army
bases, he expected to follow in his father?s footsteps. While he
took for granted that as the son of a graduate and a colonel on
active duty he would receive an appointment, he apparently had not
foreseen that the U.S.M.A. demanded a disciplined behavior and a
certain academic proficiency.
From the Hardcover edition.
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