He was buried in Luxembourg. He was a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy during World War II, when his father, General George S . He shortened the war in Europe and saved many lives, civilian and military, while predicting what would happen if the Russians were given free reign. Now all that is left is to sit around and await the arrival of the undertaker and posthumous immortality.. A Cadillac similar to that in which General George S. Patton was traveling when struck by a waiting 2.5 ton U.S. Army truck. He announced that he intended to return to the States by March 1946 at the latest and that he expected all the necessary reports about the European campaign to be finished by then. When Patton heard that Ikes likely successor was to be his deputy, General Joseph McNarney, he said he had no wish to serve under a man who had never heard a gun go off. One of Pattons last acts before handing over command was to award a Silver Star to his driver of more than four years, Master Sergeant John Mims. With blood covering his face and scalp from cuts that had gone through to the bone, he was diagnosed as having a fracture of the third cervical vertebra, with a posterior dislocation of the fourth cervical vertebra. Whether or not the spinal cord had been transected or merely traumatized remained a matter of conjecture. But he was ignored. [4] Shortly after Beatrice Patton buried her husband, Gen. George S. Patton Jr., she summoned a woman to her hotel room. Bedell Smith did not attend the service, which is hardly surprising since Patton carried his dislike for both him and Eisenhower to his grave. . No doubt with this in mind Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson did just that at a press conference in Washington on June 14; Patton was left merely to add a few comments about the Germans and the Third Army. Of course, she declared, he should be buried here. This was, of course, completely contrary to the political direction he had received from Eisenhower for the denazification of the American zone of Germany. Willie standing by Patton's belongings, 1945. After the German surrender, Patton campaigned vigorously for a command in the Pacific theatre in the ongoing war against Japan. Salute to a great general! Tolbukhin, a Soviet Army Group commander, who tried to get him drunk and whom he described as a very inferior man who sweated profusely. He did admit that the Russian soldiers put on a tremendous show [they] passed in review with a very good imitation of the goose step. One news service said pictures of the general were strewn around her. On December 22, an Army ambulance brought Pattons body to Villa Renier, where it would lie in state to be visited by friends, soldiers, and the general public. Cartoonist Bill Mauldin describes the moment: "Beside him, lying in a big chair was Willie, the bull terrier. It is hell to be old and pass and know it., In his despondency, Patton reverted to the things he liked and did bestoverseeing the training and discipline of his Army, riding, hunting, and readingand for exercise he added a squash court to his residence. To remedy the situation, cemetery workers moved his casket to a more central location, but it was hardly the cure, as people still made a path to the grave. May the Great Worm gnaw your vitals, Beatrice pronounced, uttering what DEste said was a feared curse she had learned in Hawaii years before. After satisfying himself about the correctness of the complaints, Patton immediately ordered action to rectify the situation and then went further, ordering that the starvation diet, which was described by one former senior German officer as not enough to live on, but too much to die on, should be supplemented by American Army rations. He was not allowed to crush the German 10th army but was directed by Mark Clark to the Appian Hills where he got 10,000 GIs killed in a fight west of Rome so that Mark Clark good march into Rome. MY THEORY WOULD BE THAT THE GENERAL WAS NOT OF SOUND MIND AND HIS DEATH COULD BE A BLESSING IN DISGUISE FOR MANY POLITICIANS AND LEADERS. By Michael E. Ruane April 24, 2017 at 1:15 p.m. EDT Jean Gordon, left, was found dead in a. Historians doubt Patton's claims that he was involved with his wife's niece. Her family connections included well-known surnames Pico, Sepulveda, and Alvarado. Beatrice is said to have declared, I can hardly speak, Im so overcome. George Patton, in full George Smith Patton, Jr., (born November 11, 1885, San Gabriel, California, U.S.died December 21, 1945, Heidelberg, Germany), U.S. Army officer who was an outstanding practitioner of mobile tank warfare in the European and Mediterranean theatres during World War II. I think it is amusing that no one tries to get any [medals] for me. General William H. Simpson, commander of Ninth Army, has received little attention in the historiography of World War II. A very unique man indeed. By V-E Day (May 8, 1945), Pattons Third Army had fought for nine months since becoming operational, capturing more than 80,000 square miles (more than 200,000 square km) of territory. Upon arrival in Luxembourg, a light rain fell as the casket was brought to the cemetery on December 24, the day before Christmas. This was. In September things began to go terribly wrong for him. The United States should have helped destroy the Soviet Union in 1941. They did, however, discuss Ikes successor. Mark . He was a hero. Furthermore, his problems were compounded by the fact that Washington was intent on demobilizing its warrior soldiers as quickly as possible, thus reducing his pool of skilled American manpower. With the Generals passing, Beatrice had to decide where his remains would reside. This photo shows Gen. Patton's dog Willie after the general's death. Soon after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (December 7, 1941), Patton organized the Desert Training Center near Indio, California, to simulate combat and maneuvers in the harsh North African climate. The commanding general of U.S. Army Recruiting Command and his wife, Lesley, welcomed the granddaughter . Patton Oswalt killed his wife, because she was about to reveal his closeted homosexuality to the world. He had a degenerative form of dementia. And why? General George Patton once remarked that World War II undoubtedly would have lasted a lot longer were it not for his soldiers and his wife. For years The Patton Museum in Ft. Knox, Kentucky advertised that it had on display the limousine in which Patton was injured. If I can parse the weird grammar on the Wikipedia page correctly, she wasn't actually related to Patton. Patton was offered command of the Fifteenth Army an army in name only since its sole mission was to prepare a history of the war in Europe! He reaped no laurels from the peace, but those he won in war will remain green for a long time., Pattons letter to Beatrice, written the day after his meeting with Ike, indicates the turmoil in his mind: The noise against me is the only means by which Jews and Communists are attempting and with good success to implement a further dismemberment of Germany. He ended it by saying that he had no wish to be executioner to the best race in Europe., With regard to the fateful September 22 press conference, Patton later wrote: This conference cost me the command of the Third Army, or rather, of a group of soldiers, mostly recruits, who then rejoiced in that historic name, but I was intentionally direct, because I believed that it was then time for people to know what was going on. Gen. Patton, after a lifetime of military service, and grand achievements in World War II, had suffered a broken neck in a car accident in Germany on Dec. 9, 1945. Patton may have been a great war general, but the business of politics and running a country would not have been his cup of tea. Now we are using them for lack of anyone better until we can get better people.. This is the offical version of the accident and death. No one was hurt except Patton, who, despite a nasty gash on his head, immediately realized he had been paralyzed. He entered the Virginia Military Institute in 1903 but transferred to theU.S. Military Academy at West Point after just one year. The two men did not get on. Pattons supporters claim that the Cold War may have unfolded differently had the West taken the capital, but this largely ignores the military situation on the ground in eastern Europe. Marking the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, The National WWII Museum connects two instances of remorse for Nazi criminality by leading German politicians. December 21 is the 70 th anniversary of the death of General George S. Patton, Jr., renowned and controversial general and subject of the unforgettable 1970 eponymous motion picture. Just like Churchill was a great war leader. Early life Jean Gordon's father died at an early age and her invalid mother was the half sister of Patton's wife. By his very nature and background, Patton was unsuited to his role as military governor. Patton handed over command of his beloved Third Army to another cavalryman, General Lucian Truscott, on October 7, 1945. Too bad it should have been the future President who really did do as much as Patton but got the credit. While some have mourned what was a tragic loss at the time, others over the decades have theorized Patton's death was anything but an accident. As a result of Dorns discoveries and the PW Camp 8 incident, he and Adcock, presumably with Bedell Smiths agreement, arranged for a psychiatrist, disguised as a supply officer, to be posted to Pattons headquarters to study his behaviorand, unbelievably, for Pattons phones to be tapped and his residence bugged. She was the bridesmaid for both the Patton girls. Some of the politics then was similar to what we see now in the general ranks. Death: October 01, 1871 (89) Lincoln County, Kentucky, USA . Most of his time, however, was spent preparing his book War As I Knew It. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. How could the deaths of so many more American solders made to day any better? Many historians have written about the famous Buffalo Soldiers of the all-Black 92nd Infantry Division, who fought with distinction during World War II. The first American home that I stayed in, back in 1988, was that of General Ben Partin (U.S. Air Force). However, such accusations tend to rely on circumstantial evidence, and no definitive proof of any conspiracy has emerged. He died Dec. 21, and was buried in a military cemetery in Luxembourg. Though the mission failed to apprehend Villa, Patton was responsible for leading a raid that killed three of Villas men. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Jean Gordon's father died at an early age and her mother, Beatrice Patton wife's half-sister, was an invalid. He told them, while his wife was out of the room, that he believed his luck had run out. On April 4, 1941, he was promoted to temporary major general, and a week later he was made commander of the 2nd Armored Division. Patton's final resting place is in Luxembourg American Cemetery in Luxembourg. The USSR is gone to the dust bin of history and so many of us would never been born if our fathers had died in that war[mine was a USAAF bomber pilot] and today no one can say for sure what would have become from another war. When Alexander took command on February 20, 1943, one of his first tasks was to assess II Corps combat readiness after its setbacks during its early engagements around Kasserine Pass. By not listening to him when he wanted to re-arm the German army, put him in charge with his third army and kick to Russians back to where they belong has been proven to be the worst blunder in military history. He wrote in his diary, It gave me a very warm feeling in my heart to be back among soldiers. Even so, Patton was pessimistic about the future of Europe, reluctant to get involved in the complexities of military government, and, perhaps more importantly, reluctant to purge the Nazis. On the face of it, a conspiracy in the death of Patton might sound silly or inconceivable. He graduated with distinction from the Army War College in 1932, and he remained a vigorous proponent of tank warfare throughout the interwar years. The first stop of Patton's last ride, however, was after only about five miles when he saw General Keyes's car, who left earlier for his headquarters, stalled on the side of the road with mechanical trouble. Courtesy of The National Archives and Records Administration. Those who knew the Pattons were aware of the vital role Beatrice played in his reaching his destiny, but few others . Ive always admired Patton, he was a great leader of fighting men and a natural leader of men. A New Jersey husband and wife are behind bars after a routine traffic stop turned into a demolition derby that resulted in charges of attempted murder of a police officer and aggravated assault. Part of Douglas Southall Freemans introduction to War As I Knew It, which was published in November 1947, reads: He undertook this small book after the close of hostilities and he drew heavily from [his] diary for detail. Shortly after Beatrice Patton buried her husband, Gen. George S. Patton Jr., on Christmas Eve 1945, she summoned a woman named Jean Gordon to her hotel room in Boston. Hello Helen. On September 30,1953 at Hamilton, Massachusetts, while horse riding she suffered a ruptured aortic aneurysm which took her life instantly causing her to fall from the animal. Eisenhower, Bradley and the like had never been to a battlefield until after the battle. Patton was a great war time general and a bad choice for an administrator. He was, indeed, the consummate warrior, steeped in military and well trained for the terrible combat which followed. In 1968/69 while a young USARMY engineer LT stationed in Kontum Province in the VN Central Highlands, I recall meeting a young armor LT named George Patton. He asked his chief of staff, Major General Hobart Hap Gay, who was sitting next to him, to rub his fingers. George S. Patton (1885-1945) was a high-ranking WWII general, who led the U.S. 7th Army in its invasion of Sicily and northern France in the summer of 1944. Patton obviously saw into the future and what the world would be like in our time with Russia and china. His death resulted from complications with his injuries and congestive heart failure. She was discovered on the floor of the kitchen with the oven gas turned on, and had committed suicide. Gen. George Pattons wife put a Hawaiian curse on his ex-mistress. During a visit to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, he rounded on the press reporters following him with the words, Ill bet you goddam buzzards are just following me to see if Ill slap another soldier, arent you? One staff officer wrote later: It was obvious he was undergoing deep and gnawing turmoil.. Ike found not only appalling conditions but German guards, some of whom were former SS men. Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes escorts Mrs. Beatrice Patton to her husbands funeral in Hamm, Luxembourg. Helen Patton stepped into Maj. Gen. Frank Muth's quarters Feb. 26, and stepped back in time. Mother of World War II General George S. Patton, Jr. . After a ceremony at the church, pallbearers placed Pattons casket back onto the half-track for the trip to the train station. An M3 half-track bore Pattons flag-draped gunmetal casket, escorted by helmeted soldiers wearing white gloves. Whether or not these were his own or due to too much cooperation with the British I dont know. His academic performance improved, and, after graduating in June 1909, Patton was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the cavalry. Finally, the general was moved to the front of the entire cemetery, where, today, patio stones protect the ground and a white chain-link barrier preserves the grass around Patton. Jeter Downs needs to play to develop. They are a scurvy race and simply savages. George Smith Patton, the first of his name, died in the Third Battle of Winchester while under the command of Jubal Early. The former supreme commander was due to return home in November to take over as Army chief of staff at the end of the year. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Pershing was made the commander of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF), and Patton, promoted to captain, joined him in France. Bradley shouldve been relieved of command. Patton is said to have predicted his own death to both his daughters, Ruth Ellen and Bee, during a visit to the latters home in Washington shortly before his return to Germany.

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