The Generals Among Us, Part I

 

                                                The Generals Among Us, Part I

                                   Published in Marietta Daily Journal 11/6/21

            In the preface to his account of World War II titled “A Soldier’s Story,” General Omar Bradley writes, “In this book I have tried to achieve one purpose: to explain how war is waged on the field from the field command post. For it is there, midway between the conference table and the foxhole, that strategy is translated into battlefield tactics; there the field commander must calculate the cost of rivers, roads, and hills in terms of guns, tanks, tonnage – and most importantly – in terms of the lives and limbs of his soldiers.”

            Bradley, the clearest of writers, doesn’t present us a biography. The book is not about him but about the big war. If his chapter 4, “With Patton to El Guettar,” doesn’t grip readers, chapter 15, “D Day, Normandy,” will. No literary or military critic should claim that Bradley “sizes up” his fellow generals; he doesn’t. He describes them and does so in reference to their decisions, their handling of crises, and their responses to strategies with which they disagreed.

            The closest to characterizing that Bradley gets is in Chapter 1, “Summons to the Normandy Invasion.” Writing his story only 6 years after the war ended, Bradley informs us that Patton has just “stormed in to breakfast.” He continues, “Patton’s vigor was always infectious, his wit barbed, his conversation a mixture of obscenity and humor. He was at once stimulating and over-bearing. George was a magnificent soldier.”

            Generals have always been a study for many people. My source of interest in them is twofold: 1) two brothers who came home from WWII with changed attitudes about race, as well as with countless stories that revealed their respect for military leaders – they both admired Eisenhower – and 2) the fact that at least three generals are my personal friends.

            What a privilege it was to re-unite and talk recently with one of those friends. Had I known Major General Jere H. Akin in October of 1980, I’m sure I would have clipped from the Marietta Daily Journal the picture of Colonel Akin at his promotion ceremony. Had I known him in 1996 I would have tried to make it to the Fort Rucker National Prayer Breakfast where the General spoke, asserting that “the majority of military leaders who have strong leadership qualities also exhibit openly a strong faith in God.”

            The General and I first met at Burnt Hickory Baptist Church just after his stint as program manager of transportation for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. Planning a network of 2,000 buses that moved close to 140,000 people hither and yon – sponsors, volunteers, athletes and all of their entourages - sounds like a challenge. Fear not. The General was retired at the time but not long enough to forget his role in coordinating and tracking the movement of more than 300,000 U.S. soldiers, their equipment, and food during Operation Desert Storm.

            The abilities that such tasks require should be admired, but there are many other qualities held by those who have reached the title of “General,” and Akin possesses all of them, qualities such as work ethic, vision, and faith. At the prayer breakfast, Akin asserted, “Faith is dreaming your dream, leaping into the unknown, and praying for guidance.”

            General Akin was born in Atlanta. He graduated from West Fulton High School and North Georgia College, now North Georgia University, one of the six senior military colleges in the United States. While there he met his future wife Gwen Payne from Carnesville, Georgia.

            Among many other assignments, Akin was twice assigned to the Pentagon, working with the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Vietnam War and then the Army Staff during Desert Storm. Having served in four divisions – the 8^th in Germany, the 1^st in Vietnam, the 2^nd in Korea, and the 101^st Air Assault division, the assignments he enjoyed most were “working directly with soldiers assigned to infantry divisions.”

            General Akin has some strong beliefs about the nation’s current military leadership: “The complete harmony of Desert Storm didn’t happen in Afghanistan. I was truly disappointed with President Biden and strongly believe he should be held accountable for this total disaster.” Referring to the Congressional Hearing on Afghanistan, Akin stated, “General Milley was weak. The President and military leaders should have been working together to succeed. This didn’t happen.”

            Veteran’s Day was declared to honor men like Akin, generals or not. Moving one’s family 20 times, as the general did in order to serve his country, is no little sacrifice. Keeping foot soldiers at the fore of your mind is the mark of a true General, the kind of General my brothers and Omar Bradley informed me of.