. >>> robert patton is a historian and grandson of general george s. patton."hell before breakfast," a history of the early years of war correspondence. thank you for being here. it is great to meet you. your grandfather and our generals have become the main protagonists in american's imaginations when it comes to war. why do you suppose that is? >> part of it had to do with world war ii. the american generals were rock stars of their era. it wasn't the chief of the allies but ike. they were figures in people's imaginations. a person like patton became a character that people related to. people related to them personally and rooted for them with the kind of personal, almost sporting interest. >> general patton was sort of the image of american bravado. similarly, eisenhower, you mentioned ike, who his celebrity as a general, as a leading commander in world war ii helped make him president. >> the point you make about eisenhower, he was the perfect man for the job. he had never been under fire in world war i. to some extent, he felt guilt about that. for the jo