
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 6, 1994                    TAG: 9406060135 
SECTION: SPORTS                     PAGE: C6    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY BOB ZELLER, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940606                                 LENGTH: DOVER, DEL.

WAS PATTON FOR REAL? AN ENTHUSIASTIC YES

{LEAD} In the movie ``Patton,'' the story of the hard-driving World War II general George S. Patton Jr., one of the most memorable scenes is when the crusty commander untangles a traffic jam of war vehicles, standing by a crossroads personally directing traffic.

Bud Moore saw it happen.

{REST} ``We were attached to one of the armored divisions going to Bastogne and we were on the back of the Sherman tank and we passed right through that crossroads where he was directing traffic,'' Moore said.

``I think he was one of the greatest generals over there,'' he said. ``His attitude was to get the war over as quick as possible. The way he did it, he saved a lot of lives instead of prolonging things and getting a lot more men hurt.''

The first time he saw Patton, ``He had a megaphone and he was briefing everybody as to what was going on up in Bastogne,'' Moore said. ``He was standing on the courthouse steps with that megaphone, talking to everybody. He had those pearl-handled pistols on, and a little old white dog.

``He said, `We've got to go up there and get those guys out of Bastogne. The 82nd and 101st are surrounded, and we're going to go up there and kill every SOB on that way.' And that guy rode the front tank.

``I also saw him when we'd taken a little town - I don't remember what the name was. We took it about five times and the Germans would take it back. Maybe more than that. I know we'd have it one day and they'd have it the next. And I remember seeing a jeep going up a little trail - maybe 100 or 200 yards away - and it was Patton, coming up to see what was wrong up there.

``We did get a little more reinforcement, and the next day we'd taken that little town, and we kept it that time.

``I think he was one of the all-time best generals they ever had. I don't think there was a man in the 3rd Army who wouldn't have followed him to hell.''

{KEYWORDS} D-DAY WORLD WAR II NORMANDY

by CNB