Dynasty.

This is coolbert:

We do not seem to have ever had military dynasties in the U.S. Families whose generations of menfolk are devoted to military careers from an early age and make a name for themselves with military service.

This does seem to be something that was common in Europe in the days of nobility. Noble families would send their sons to military service, and these sons would begat other sons who would follow in the footsteps of the father for generations, etc [I am thinking here of such noble families as the von Freytag-Loringhoven's. A Prussian noble family that had generations of military men in it. Military men that fought in the American Civil War, World War One, and World War Two, among others.

[one Freytag-Loringhoven was involved in the attempt on the life of Hitler].




[Another Freytag-Loringhoven, Bernd, is the LAST survivor "Hitler's Bunker" in Berlin, 1945. He has only now, sixty years later, spoken about the events that occurred there!!]

This sort of thing just does not seem to happen in the U.S. Never has, probably never will. Why that seems to be so is just not clear.

Famous military names of American history just do not seem to produce dynasties of military leaders.

Washington of course was childless.

Robert E. Lee was the son of Light Horse Harry Lee, of Revolutionary War fame. But Robert E. did not seem to have any famous descendants that followed in the military footsteps of the great Confederate General.

Grant also did not seem to leave behind any sons or grandsons that became famous military men.

The Mac Arthur family for a while seemed to possess the stuff a dynasty is made of. First Arthur Mac Arthur attained the rank of General. And of course the famous Douglas followed quite closely in the footsteps of his father and achieved even more glory and greatness. Douglas did have children, but I don't think any of them had military careers.

The grandson of "Black Jack" Pershing fought and was killed in Vietnam as an infantry lieutenant [Dickie Pershing]. Perhaps he sought to continue the military service of his famous family. But his life was cut short.



"Pershing may best be remembered for his waggish ways, he was also a very bright young man who blossomed into a serious and skillful soldier. A second lieutenant with the 101st Airborne Division, Pershing was killed when his platoon was ambushed near Hung Nhon, 400 miles north of Saigon,while searching for a lost comrade."

The Patton family did have a military dynasty for three generations. One Patton was a general [??] in the Confederate Army. The most famous George S. Patton Jr. fought both in World War One and Two. And the son of George S., also called George [the IV, there was not III?], achieved the rank of Major General and fought in both Korea and Vietnam. But after George IV, the Patton family seems to have eschewed military service.



The family Mc Cain had the stuff of a dynasty also. John Mc Cain was on the way to the rank of admiral until his plane was shot down over North Vietnam. His experience and injuries as a POW precluded further military service. If he had successfully continued his military career, he would have undoubtedly followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, both of whom were admirals. None of John's children have seen fit to follow in his footsteps.

Even in our own modern time, the Schwarzkopf family has produced two generations of military men, the famous Norman of Desert Storm, and his father, who was a major military man and a general in his own right too. But as with the Patton and Mc Cain families, none of Norman's children have sought out a military career.

It has been noted that big money only last three generations at the most in the very richest of American families. The first generation makes the money, the second generation consolidates the families position in society, but does not expand the financial base, and the third generation spends most of the money and are for the most part wastrels. Perhaps something akin to this pattern of behavior is also present in prominent American military families?? I just don't know!

coolbert.