The Fates had indeed been shaping Pershing from boyhood for a supreme
task. Each step had been along the path to a definite goal.
The punitive expedition into Mexico was a case in point. It was a
thankless job at best, and full of hardship and danger. A day's march
of thirty miles across an alkali desert, under a blazing sun, is hardly
a pleasure jaunt. And there were many such during those troubled
months of 1916.
Then, one day, came a quiet message from Washington, asking General
Pershing to report to the President. The results of that interview
were momentous. The Great War in Europe was demanding the intervention
of America. Our troops were to be sent across the seas to Europe for
the first time in history. The Government needed a man upon whom it
could absolutely rely to be Commander-in-chief of the Expeditionary
Forces. Would General Pershing hold himself in readiness for this
supreme task?
The veteran of thirty years of constant campaigning stiffened to
attention. The eager look of battle--battle for the right--shone in
his eye. Every line of his upstanding figure denoted confidence--a
confidence that was to inspire all America, and then the world itself,
in this choice of leader. He saluted.
"I will do my duty, sir," he said.
IMPORTANT DATES IN PERSHING'S LIFE
1860.
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