If you want to know what General Walter Beedle Smith looked like in 1955- See the Audie Murphy movie "To Hell and Back" circa 1955- staring Audie Murphy front and center- It is true that he was turned down in his efforts to enlist in the USMC in 1941- ended up in the Army 3rd Inf. Div.-- the rest, as they say, is history. It is also reported that Eisenhower's C.O.S. "Beetle"Smith made 2 moves that had an influence on WW2 ETO: To wit-- (1) Recommended that "Ike" demote Patton and ship in back to the States in disgrace, after the Sicilian Slap-fest events- and (2) Pushed "Monty's Fubared from the Get-Go Op "Market Garden"--
IMO-One of many strong points that "Old Blood & Guts" possessed was his reliance on accurate Intel- and his G-2, Col. Oscar Koch was on "top of his game" in that regard. RWTF
