Quote Originally Posted by feltspanky View Post
Or maybe it wasn't done by Pershing but another American Military Commander.

snopes.com: Pershing and Pigs
I am not sure if you noticed the label 'Legend' it means 'fiction' or 'did not happen'. They go through various things that did happen which sound close or may have given the wrong impression, but at the end of the day the conclusion is that there is no evidence about it happening. Even when real politicians have brought it up it hasn't been done - most likely because upon second reflection it was determined that it won't have an effect.

The verdict on Pershing was that he did the exact opposite - used minimum force and deescalated conflict on any possible occasion. And was successful. It makes a lot of sense to me.