“On parade, the

              “On parade, the Pershing smile became a proverb. It broke a thousand cameras”‘What the world admires in General Pershing is his modesty. He has been a soldier without swagger. He won battles, but he did not boast or brag about them. Some people think that he had too little praise for others; if so, he expected no praise himself. He did not flatter the doughboys. At times, perhaps, he was inclined to be hard on them. If, however, he was strict, it was only because he knew that he was risking their lives, and he did not want those lives to be lightly thrown away. Any man who honestly looks death in the face must be stern when he stands at attention. But at mess — yes, and on parade — the Pershing smile became a proverb. It broke a thousand cameras. If Pershing can smile, it is because his conscience is at ease. So transparent is his honesty that he has never had anything to conceal, except his plans from the enemy, who, more than once, were taken by surprise when he attacked. The big thing about this big man is the simple fact that he hates fuss. When the reporters try to interview him, he sits tongue-tied. He cannot explain things to the press. At the art of publicity and advertisement, he is a mere tyro. And some boosters — to whom any quiet fellow is a boob — have undervalued Pershing. They are wrong. But when Pershing says “yes,” it is yes. And his “no" is no. He settles large issues with short words. And throughout his brilliant career, he has known his place. There are officers — not so far, some of them from the United States — who would profit a good deal by General Pershing’s example of self-restraint…”After WW1, Philip W. Wilson (1875–1956) American correspondent for the Daily News – Photo: September 17 1919, General Pershing, saluting and smiling, during the Victory Parade in WashingtonNote: The Victory parade in Washington took place September 17 1919, on the 132th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the United States (although not planned as such a celebration). “The reception in Washington was very enthusiastic, and every available space along Pennsylvania Avenue, down which the parade passed, was crowded to the utmost with people eager to see the troops who had remained longest abroad and who had been most often in the fight. Flowers were showered in the path of the regiment as it passed along the avenue. Newspapers both at the capital and in New York declared the two parades to have been the greatest of the kind in the history of the nation.” SourceYouTube showing the Sept 17 1919 Victory Parade in Washington + Several photos @ the Library of Congress – General Pershing’s diary entry for Sept 17 1919 -- source link
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