Prior to the Normandy Invasion, he was publicly placed in command of the First U.S. Army Group (FUSAG), a fictitious army whose supposed marshaling in eastern England helped to deceive German commanders into thinking that the invasion would take place in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. MacArthur and Patton: The St. Mihiel Offensive He acknowledged that he was a terrible politician. Under a large tent to keep the rain away, the pall bearers placed Pattons casket over a grave dug by German prisoners of war. General Hobart Hap Gay, a loyal friend and his chief of staff, and other members of the staff noticed that he became withdrawn, often taking long drives by himself, having little to say during meals and going home early. I especially liked the excerpts from his diary which shows Patton NOT to be the person that many have said, to have had too many bumps to the head, but a man of common sense who was derailed by political academists. In the case of Europe, he was convinced it would soon become Communist, and in the case of the Nazis he saw practical problems. Wonderfully done! 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. Family Name To get things done in Bavaria, after the complete disorganization and disruption of four years of war, we had to compromise with the devil a little. I guess, he made me love the American Military so much that I decided to become American, get a high school degree, college, and enlisted myself into the military as Satellite and Wideband Communications until I retired from the Air National Guard. Along with the faux pas committed during his Boston speech, Pattons past indiscretions continued to dog him. In September things began to go terribly wrong for him. Patton had taken so little interest in the new administration that he did not even recall meeting its Minister President, a Dr. Fritz Schaeffer. His early years were marred, however, by difficulties in spelling and reading, which has led some historians to speculate that he suffered from undiagnosed dyslexia. His wife is Beatrice Banning Ayer (26 May 1910 - 21 December 1945) ( his death) ( 3 children) George S. Patton Net Worth His net worth has been growing significantly in 2022-2023. When Fort Knox shipped out most of its old Army tanks in 2011, the General George Patton Museum seemed destined to follow. The incident nearly destroyed the Pattons marriage, left Beatrice crushed and the general stricken with remorse. On the 22nd, the day Stars and Stripes carried the headline PATTON DIES, she drove to Bad Nauheim to oversee her husbands effects being prepared for shipment back to their home in Massachusetts. RIP, amen. By now Bedell Smith, Adcock, and others had come to the conclusion that Patton was mentally unbalanced. Pattons version of what Ike said at this conference can be read in his diary. Although there was no eulogy, various holy men, including a group of rabbis wearing their concentration camp uniforms, prayed over Pattons grave. Gen. John J. Pershing and accompanied him on a punitive expedition into Mexico. Was Patton Murdered? I cant understand why Patton wasnt brought back to the US for burial at West Point, like his wife wanted. The road took us through Luxemburg and Dad showed us all about Pattons Tank and the history of the Ardennes since we were going through them Even in Bitburg and in the small villages around the B-50 that goes to Spangdahlem Air For Base like Dudeldorf you see traces of your Grandpas tanks on the sides of stones village entrance that were not much wider than the tanks. Crazy maybe but a hero nonetheless. The intersection where Patton had his car accident. After nearly two weeks in the hospital, Patton died on this day in 1945. His strict discipline, toughness, and self-sacrifice elicited exceptional pride within his ranks, and the general was colourfully referred to as Old Blood-and-Guts by his men. On the 69th anniversary of General Patton's death, . Stories of General George Pattons encounters with the Russians are legendary, and some may well be apocryphal. Today's blog was written by David Langbart, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. Eisenhower and the allies handed over Eastern Europe to the Russians. But Eisenhowers mind was made up. Despite Pattons indiscretions and lack of interest in his overall duties, in August 1945 Bavaria was judged by Secretary of War Stimson to be the best-governed area in the whole U.S. European Theater of Operations (ETO), an opinion apparently shared by his deputy. Patton had wanted to push on to Berlin, but Eisenhower rejected the idea, deeming the cost too high for a city already allotted to the Soviets by the terms of the Yalta agreement. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared." 7. I dont know if you ever visit Luxemburg or did see part of Germany and retraced his voyage, but I wish I could because I always loved your Grandma tremendously and cant read or see a film or documentary without crying When a reporter asked the rabbis why they prayed for an anti-Semite, they explained that Pattons generalship ended the war months earlier than it would have without him, thus saving the lives of thousands of concentration camp victims. None of todays generals could ever come close. There, he was x-rayed, revealing two crushed vertebrae. George Smith Patton Jr. was born on November 11, 1885, in the Los Angeles suburb of San Gabriel, California, to George Smith Patton Sr. and his wife, Ruth Wilson, the daughter of Benjamin Davis Wilson, the second Mayor of Los Angeles. There were, of course, no seat belts in those days, and whereas Gay and Woodring, having seen the oncoming truck, had braced themselves for the impact, Patton, who had been looking out the side window, had not. Hitlers mother was the only person he ever genuinely loved. Cancer killed her decades before he became a monster. . My chief interest in establishing order in Germany was to prevent Germany from going communistic. Patton made a respectable showing, coming in fifth out of 42 contestants. He was the grandfather of World War II general George S. Patton. His beloved dog, Willie, was to follow later. Most of his time, however, was spent preparing his book War As I Knew It. For all his showmanship he was a scientific soldier, a thorough military student. and George. This was despite the fact that an Army order banning dependents had prevented Beatrice from accompanying him. The official cause of death was pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure. She was dead within days. The Open Question Of George Patton's Last Days Gen. George Pattons wife put a Hawaiian curse on his ex-mistress. Neither he nor Gordon knew the purpose. I enjoyed reading about the times from the end of the war in Europe to Pattons tragic accident and death. 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. This was. Allen wrote later: The relieved staff roared with surprised delight. She was discovered on the floor of the kitchen with the oven gas turned on, and had committed suicide. Patton renamed the barracks Flint Kaserne, after Colonel Paddy Flint, an old friend and one of his regimental commanders who had been killed in Sicily. After a ceremony at the church, pallbearers placed Pattons casket back onto the half-track for the trip to the train station. As he put it to his III Corps commander, Maj. Gen. James Van Fleet, There is already a star [MacArthur] in that theater and you can only have one star in a show., Patton was also depressed because he knew there would be a rapid reduction in the strength of the U.S. Army in Europe, and he believed this was inviting disaster. Salute to a great general! For the years that are left to me I am determined to be free to live as I want and say what I want. This inevitably worried Gay, who surmised, almost certainly correctly, that Patton planned to speak out against Eisenhowers handling of the campaign in Europe and against other senior officers, like Bedell Smith, Hodges, and even Bradley. In the gray skies above, an aircraft circled, attempting to bring Lieutenant General Walton Walker, one of Pattons former corps commanders, to the funeral, but low cloud cover prevented it from landing. events, and resources, The Real Story of General George Patton, Jrs Death & Final Days. We examine the circumstances and the theories.Dr. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Updates? PDF Patton Faked his Death The bureaucrat military elites wanted Patton forgotten lest people find out how Eisenhower bungled the handling of the war after D-Day from which General Patton was excluded for slapping a soldier. On March 1 those forces took Trier, precipitating one of the most famous exchanges of the war. While there I was taken by wheelchair to a room which was supposedly that of the hospital room where General Patton had died. Patton was rushed to the 130th Station Hospital in Heidelberg, 12 miles away. His first words to his wife were, Im afraid, Bea, this may be the last time we see each other., Needless to say, rumors soon began to circulate that the accident that had led to Pattons death was no accident. He was not interested in the details of rebuilding a country. I was stationed in Germany in the early 1970s and was hospitalized for several weeks at the US Army Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany. 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. No one was hurt except Patton, who, despite a nasty gash on his head, immediately realized he had been paralyzed. (Read Sir John Keegans Britannica entry on the Normandy Invasion.). The commander of the U.S. Third Army, General George Patton, Jr., took no great pleasure in the end of the war in Europe; he already knew that despite his lobbying of many influential figures in Washington, D.C., he had no hope of being reassigned to the Pacific Theater to command combat troops there. 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. The whole luncheon party reminded me of a meeting of the Rotary Club in Hawaii where everyone slaps everyone elses back while looking for an appropriate place to thrust the knife. Bradleys reputation is always polished by Ernie Pyle. On September 22, Patton agreed to answer questions from reporters after his normal morning briefing at Bad Tlz. He died Dec. 21, and was buried in a military cemetery in Luxembourg. His former mistress. When Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa led an attack on the border town of Columbus, New Mexico, in 1916, Patton joined the staff of Brig. Bless you. He asked his chief of staff, Major General Hobart Hap Gay, who was sitting next to him, to rub his fingers. Behind them are Beatrices brother, Frederick Ayer, and Major General Hobart Hap Gay, who was with Patton at the time of his car accident. However, the dismissive paragraph regarding the Generals demise is lacking. The French government, grateful for Pattons role in liberating their country, offered to bury him in Napoleons tomb, where a number of great marshals were laid to rest. Three days after VE-Day, Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower called a conference of all his U.S. Army commanders and told them that they were not to criticize publicly any of the campaigns that had won the war and of the need for solidarity in the event that any of them were called before any congressional committees. Thanks for posting the article-overall, good information. With Patton, you always knew where you stood with him, no doubt or grey areas! She was the wife of Brig. When his host pointed out a new, massive, and very advanced Stalin IS-3 tank and mentioned that its cannon had a range of 17,000 meters, Patton is said to have replied, Indeed? Pattons personal residence was a palatial house on nearby Lake Tegernsee. [3] World War II Thank you so much for this comprehensive and heartfelt and I would have to say incredibly accurate account of my grandfathers final days. This is a bit off topic but perhaps you might clarify something for me. Patton enjoyed military history in particular, especially books about the American Civil War, a conflict in which his grandfather and great-uncle had been killed while fighting for the Confederacy. But the end of the war with Japan only added to his low morale; on August 10 he wrote in his diary, Another war has ended and with it my usefulness to the world. During the early part of that month he decided to visit some of the prison camps in his area holding hardened Nazis and former members of the Waffen SS. Maybe because the Americans saved Europe (yes, but that was way before my time, I was born in 1965), maybe because they delivered Bxls and a tank stayed in my Moms courtyard for over a week, or maybe because every time I would visit my Godfather by Spangdahlem, I would pass the base and later on learn English, meet an airman, marry him and be stationed there for 4 yrs then go to Leipheim for 4 yrs? Patton Museum: Death Car. George Patton Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements Its not known what else was said between the two women, but a few days later, on Jan. 8, 1946, Gordon was found dead in the New York City apartment of a friend. All's Fair in Love and War 11 Famous Military Leaders Who Kept Patton wrote this account as part of a six-page letter to his wife, which, despite all its bombast, managed to be magnanimous to MacArthur's unwillingness to seek shelter: "I was the only man on the front-line except for General MacArthur who never ducked a shell." MacArthur's version of the story is more convoluted. The attack garnered much publicity and was notable for being the first time that automobiles had been used in combat by the U.S. Army. Pattons biographer, Carlo DEste, has suggested that his melancholy and increasingly extraordinary behavior may have been due to brain damage that resulted from a series of head injuries caused by a lifetime of falls from horses and road accidentsthe most serious being an accident in Hawaii in 1936 that had resulted in a two-day blackout. General Patton's Warning | National Vanguard He should have been president. And then, two weeks later, he was again thrilled to receive an invitation to go to Sweden to address the Swedish-American Society. He discovered that the German organization set on behalf of Patton to administer Bavaria was riddled with former Nazis. When Beatrice appeared, she took off her hat and coat, looked angrily at Gordon and pointed a finger at her. On September 12, 1918, Patton, ignoring orders to stay in radio contact, personally led the first U.S. tank units into battle during the Saint-Mihiel offensive. She shaped the man, fortified the soldier, and created the legend This is the offical version of the accident and death. Patton was a "true leader in every sense of the . The other issue is that I got Eisenhower and gave Mark Clark a pass in Italy. General Patton's Car Accident Remains Controversial Today George S. Patton, who was the son of the famous World War II General and who became a Major General in the Army himself, died June 27, 2004, at his home in Hamilton, Mass., at age 80. funny. Jean Gordon (Red Cross) | Military Wiki | Fandom There are many famous and controversial figures to emerge from World War II, but General S. Patton is arguably one of its most controversial. Two days later he repeated his concern when he wrote his wife: "If we have to fight them, now is the time. He was at his best when commanding his men and was extremely instrumental in the victory of the allies over the Germans. They were then driven through the suburbs of Boston to a ticker tape reception in the city itself. He knew he was seriously injured and apparently murmured, I think Im paralyzed, and later, This is a helluva way to die.. He goes on to say, however, that we shall never know, for after his death Beatrice refused to allow an autopsy on the body despite a request from the Army. He was paralyzed from the neck down and suffering from severe traumatic shock; his pulse rate was 45, and he had a blood pressure reading of 86/60. Also Known As: George Smith Patton Jr. Died At Age: 60 Family: Spouse/Ex-: Beatrice Banning Ayer (m. 1910-1945) father: George S. Patton mother: Ruth Wilson children: Beatrice Smith, George Patton IV, Ruth Ellen Born Country: United States Military Leaders American Men Height: 6'2" (188 cm ), 6'2" Males Died on: December 21, 1945 . If ever dog was suited to master this one was. He was promoted to the temporary rank of colonel and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery under fire. 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. George S. Patton Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family Fighting the Allies during the North African campaign of 1942-1943, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommels Afrika Korps (DAK) was resupplied by a concerted air and sea lift effort. Patton's final resting place is in Luxembourg American Cemetery in Luxembourg. Bedell Smith did not attend the service, which is hardly surprising since Patton carried his dislike for both him and Eisenhower to his grave. Robert Brown was an educator, civil rights activist, community leader, elected official, and a WWII combat veteran. In November 1917, Patton, now a major, left Pershings headquarters staff and became the first officer to be appointed to the new U.S. Army Tank Corps. The American press had guaranteed him a heros welcome. Pattons final command was to head the Fifteenth U.S. Army in Bad Nauheim, Germany, where he oversaw the writing of a history of the war in Europe, a role Patton described as serving as an undertaker at my own funeral. On December 9, 1945, Patton sustained serious injuries to his head and spine in a low-speed car accident; after 12 days of terrible pain, he died. He graduated with distinction from the Army War College in 1932, and he remained a vigorous proponent of tank warfare throughout the interwar years. Courtesy of The National Archives and Records Administration. They talked until three in the morning, but there is no record of any discussion about Pattons military governorship. 1945 General George S. Patton dies General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. 3rd Army, dies from injuries suffered not in battle but in a freak car accident. George Patton IV - Wikipedia This photo shows Gen. Patton's dog Willie after the general's death. He was a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy during World War II, when his father, General George S . A jeep driven by Technical Sergeant Joe Spruce followed, carrying the guns and a gun dog. A group of rabbis, still dressed in their concentration camp uniforms, offer prayers at General Pattons grave. If you fail to do this, then I would like to say to you that we have had a victory over the Germans and have disarmed them, but have lost the war.. By the time the gap between Falaise and Argentan was closed on August 20, some 20,00040,000 Germans had escaped. We came to give them back the right to govern themselves. 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. This came to be per his request to "be buried with his men." Rather than IKE. WAS HE MURDERED? His plane, escorted by a formation of fighters and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, touched down at an airfield near Boston on June 7, where an honor guard, a 17-gun salute, and the governor of Massachusetts greeted him. Joe Scruce seemed troubled in the weeks leading up to his death. The 60-year-old general had led a life of adventure, fighting in almost every major American twentieth century conflict. Wife of David Crockett: Spouse(s) James Patton (d. 1813), David Crockett (1815-1836) Children: George Patton, Margaret Ann Patton, Robert Patton, . New Jersey couple arrested after allegedly trying to mow down officers If any of my gunners started firing at your people before they had closed to less than 700 yards, Id have them court-martialed for cowardice.. 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. This great ovation by Boston is not for Patton the general, but Patton as a symbol of the Third Army. The following day, the Daily Record headlines announced: FRENZIED HUB HAILS PATTON and GEN PATTON IN TEARS AT HUB TRIBUTE. This latter headline referred to Patton breaking down in tears during a speech at a state dinner held in his honor that night; he was completely overcome by the glowing tributes. PDF The Many Faces of George S Seventh Army into Sicily, employing his armour in a rapid drive that captured Palermo in July and Messina in August. The Pattons had been married for 35 years, with minimal domestic turmoil, except for an apparent dalliance the general had with Gordon in 1936, according to Patton biographer, Carlo DEste. So, how much is George S. Patton worth at the age of 60 years old? Those who knew the Pattons were aware of the vital role Beatrice played in his reaching his destiny, but few others . The only jobs in which he was interested were commandant of the Army War College or commanding general of the Army ground forces. It was accompanied by a cover letter saying Smith thought Patton was out of control in Bavaria and that Ike ought to come back and take the matter in hand before any further damage was done. Ike told him they were both already filled. George Patton | Facts, Biography, Quotes, World War II, & Death It took the form of a gala evening in the ballroom of the Spa Hotel in Bad Nauheim, and Patton found himself once again surrounded by friends and the center of attention. George Smith Patton - Major General, United States Army He was out partying while the Tet offensive happened. We already had atomic weapons and had used them on Japanese cities twice-perhaps some historians have suggested as a demonstration and warning to Moscowbut I am interested in the details of how we would have lost to the Russians, in some detail of course ie our objectives vs theirs and precisely how wed have failed in ours while they suceeded in defeating an American armed forces at the apogee of their war potential and still in Europe prior to Operation Magic Carpet. My whole youth, my family traveled from Bxls to Spangdahlem because part of my German family lived there.