The year was 1944.
World War 2 was dragging on into its 5th horrific year.
29-year-old Creighton Abrams had just been promoted to the rank of colonel in the US Army, and was serving his country on the Western Front.
As December of 1944 came, Abrams was commanding troops in the town of Bastogne, Belgium.
At this time, the Germans began to attack Bastogne, in an event known as the Siege of Bastogne.
Near the end of the nearly month-long siege, there was one day when Abrams, with a small group of men under his command, were forced to retreat into a single building.
Abrams and his men were outnumbered, and the building they were hiding in was surrounded by German troops. They were taking fire.
All of Abrams’s men were scared. Many thought that this was the end for them—that there was no way out.
But not Creighton Abrams.
The Germans had fucked with the wrong guy.
Abrams was determined to keep both himself and his men alive, and there was nothing that was going to stop him from doing just that.
And with this determination in mind, Abrams said one of the most badass lines in history:
“They’ve got us surrounded again, the poor bastards.”
With this, Abrams and his men proceeded to fight their way out of their sticky situation.
And Abrams lived to tell the tale.
Creighton Abrams is truly one of the most badass people to ever live.