From Dale Price:
From the Class Act Hall of Fame, and one that fellow history dorks will appreciate:
In 1944, Charles de Gaulle visited the United States. During the visit, he wanted to pay his respects to John “Black Jack” Pershing, commander of the U.S. Army in World War I. Pershing was beginning to suffer from dementia at this point, and after learning that de Gaulle was a French general, asked de Gaulle how his (Pershing’s) old friend General Petain was doing.
Without missing a beat, de Gaulle said that Petain appeared well the last time de Gaulle saw him.
When General de Gaulle spared the feelings of General Pershing, Pershing had long been retired and had no political pull. DeGaulle had nothing to gain from being gentle in his reply to Pershing, other than to be nice to an old man now in his dotage. Being good when you gain nothing personally by being so is usually an accurate measure of character.
De Gaulle had some less than satisfactory qualities but no one ever accused him of failing in his duties of personal consideration even during disagreements.
Having been the father of a Down’s syndrome child for 17 years, I can relate to the General’s feelings. A Special Needs child can be the best thing that can ever happen to you if you let it. And you should.
That is precisely how my Bride and I felt during the bit over 21 and a half years we were blessed with our autistic son.
Charles DeGaulle was a man, a gentleman and a scholar.
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