george patton wife death

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. Eisenhowers response is unrecorded. This is the only language they understand and respect. He recorded that the supreme commander made a speech which had to me the symptoms of political aspirations, on cooperation with the British, Russians and the Chinese, but particularly with the British. I think it is amusing that no one tries to get any [medals] for me. The reports were true. He lay in a shell hole for hours before it was safe to evacuate him, but he refused to be taken to the hospital until he had reported to his commander. Why didnt I think of it? Too bad it should have been the future President who really did do as much as Patton but got the credit. Considered one of the most successful combat generals in US history, Gen. George S. Patton died on December 21, 1945, 12 days . Was General George S. Patton Assassinated Sixty-Five Years Ago Today? The ambulance, which eventually arrived at the scene with two medical officers, took Patton to the 130th Station Hospital in Heidelberg, 15 miles away, where he was admitted at 1245 hours. Who knows? In the case of Europe, he was convinced it would soon become Communist, and in the case of the Nazis he saw practical problems. Some of the politics then was similar to what we see now in the general ranks. Gen. Leven Allen, Bradleys former chief of staff. They talked until three in the morning, but there is no record of any discussion about Pattons military governorship. 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. Patton Museum: Death Car, Fort Knox, Kentucky When they were alone again, Patton suggested that he should be simply relieved, but Ike said he did not intend to do that and had had no pressure from the States to that effect. At 1630 hours it began its journey to Luxembourg where it arrived at 0400 hours on the 24th. My record on that is clear and unchallengeable. George Smith Patton - Major General, United States Army It is rather sad for me to think that my last opportunity for earning my pay has passed. A first-generation American of Lebanese descent, James Jabara was intent on being a fighter pilot. There are a number of sources available to consult and the reader can decide for themselves. Theyd have to run the telephone exchanges, the power facilities, the street cars, and thats not what soldiers are for. In short, provided a German had the right qualifications for a particular job, Patton was prepared to ignore his former Nazi background. A doctor summoned her at about 1800 hours, but it was too late. 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. Sadly, generals have no say in the world when a war comes to an end. Very Deep story. At the beginning of June came the news that Patton had been dreading. May the Great Worm gnaw your vitals, Beatrice pronounced, uttering what DEste said was a feared curse she had learned in Hawaii years before. This has been a proud and wonderful day. But, in fact, Patton had put his foot in it again. 30 views, 2 likes, 1 loves, 7 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Jefferson Avenue UMC: Jefferson Avenue UMC Patton began his military career . 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. 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. For all his showmanship he was a scientific soldier, a thorough military student. After inspecting the American garrison responsible for administering and guarding the camp, he met the German commander of the prisoners. Patton made a short farewell speech, which began with the words All good things must come to an end and ended with Goodbye and God bless you. A band then played Auld Lang Syne, the Third Army flag was handed over, and Patton left to the music of the Third Army march and Hes a Jolly Good Fellow. After a luncheon in his honor, he left in the Third Army train for his new headquarters in Bad Nauheim, 20 miles north of Frankfurt. Corrections? 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. This article is part of a series commemorating the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II made possible by the Department of Defense. I am extremely proud of our General Patton and Im pretty sure you are too! The American press had guaranteed him a heros welcome. PDF The Many Faces of George S On April 4, 1941, he was promoted to temporary major general, and a week later he was made commander of the 2nd Armored Division. By his very nature and background, Patton was unsuited to his role as military governor. The officers with few exceptions gave the appearance of recently civilized Mongolian bandits., The most notorious incident allegedly happened toward the end of May when an English-speaking Russian brigadier general arrived at Pattons headquarters to demand that some river boats on the Danube that had contained Germans who had surrendered to the Third Army be returned to the Russians. 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. 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. Bradley shouldve been relieved of command. 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. RIP, General. THIS ARTICLE WAS MOST INTERESTING AND BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND IT SEEMS QUITE LIKELY IT WAS A TRAGIC ACCIDENT. His career climaxed with World War II, where he led corps and armies from North Africa, to Sicily, to the continent of Europe. Patton spent a year at the Virginia Military Institute and then transferred to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he was forced to repeat his plebe (freshman) year because of poor grades. Patton was left paralyzed and died of a heart attack or embolism on December 21, 1945 at the military hospital in Heidelberg. Courtesy of The National Archives and Records Administration. Bless you. The room was empty except for a hospital bed and a few other pieces of standard furniture of that long-ago era. She was dead within days. The route from Luxembourg City station to the U.S. cemetery was lined by troops from the United States, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, and the cortge was followed by Prince Felix of Luxembourg, two French, one Italian, and numerous American generals, including Gay and Truscott. Patton Oswalt killed Michelle Mcnamara to cover up his father's history (Read Sir John Keegans Britannica entry on the Normandy Invasion.). LIMITED TIME OFFER $2 / Month Subscribe now for only $3.99 $2 a month! Ruth Wilson Patton (1861-1928) - Find a Grave Memorial His former mistress. I HAD JUST WATCHED THE MOVIE OF GENERAL PATTONS HISTORY DURING WORLD WAR 2 AND DECIDED TO DIG A LITTLE FURTHER AS MY HUSBAND WHO IS A HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR SEEMED TO THINK THERE MAY HAVE BEEN FOUL PLAY AT THE TIME OF HIS DEATH. It is not clear if or what the psychiatrist reported, but needless to say it was not long before the wiretappers heard their subject expressing violently anti-Russian views and even suggesting that ex-members of the Wehrmacht should be rearmed and used to help the U.S. Army force the Red Army back into Russia. In one conversation with Ikes deputy, McNarney, he allegedly went as far as to say, In ten days I can have enough incidents happen to have us at war with those sons of bitches and make it look like their fault., Patton held two disastrous press conferences during the following month. And then, two weeks later, he was again thrilled to receive an invitation to go to Sweden to address the Swedish-American Society. r/todayilearned on Reddit: TIL that General Patton had a years long He entered the Virginia Military Institute in 1903 but transferred to theU.S. Military Academy at West Point after just one year. Patton was rushed to the 130th Station Hospital in Heidelberg, 12 miles away. The treaty that Hitler hated even more than the Treaty of Versailles and one of the most important treaties you have probably never heard of. I admit I am guilty of this practice, although at the moment I have no appropriate weapon.. Before it departed, seventeen Army cannons roared a salute to the fallen general. Pattons medical records for that day read, Prognosis for recovery increasingly grave. Spurling and the other doctors knew that it was impossible to operate to relieve the pressure on his badly damaged spinal cord to eliminate the paralysis. On November 11, Pattons 60th birthday, he was thrilled to find his staff had arranged a surprise party. During the demobilization that followed World War I, Patton reverted to the permanent rank of captain. . This failed to materialize, and he was instead made the military governor of Bavaria, a political position for which he was ill-suited by training and temperament. His death resulted from complications with his injuries and congestive heart failure. His formal education did not begin until age 11, but, in time, he became a voracious reader and later in life published numerous articles on military subjects. 6731 Whittier Avenue, Suite C-100 McLean, VA 22101, Stay up to date with all of our latest news, Even so, he took little serious interest in the work other than to ensure, according to Eisenhowers son John, a lieutenant on the Fifteenth Army staff, that Pattons Army was mentioned about three times as often as any othereven though John Eisenhower himself felt that the First Army had contributed more to victory than had the Third. Few unbiased military historians would disagree with that view. 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. His public criticisms of the Allied postwar denazification policy in Germany, coupled with ill-advised comments to the press, led to his removal from the command of the Third Army in October 1945. Family Name But he was ignored. There were tears in Meekss eyes. Wholly ill-suited for the administrative position, Patton was on a hunting trip when he was critically injured in a low-speed car accident. Patton was just an average general, nothing more. The next day, people lined Heidelbergs streets (and some roofs) to watch Pattons funeral procession on its way to the Episcopalian Christ Church. It was a mistake to suppose a free-swinging fighter could acquire overnight the capacities of a wise administrator. Willie standing by Patton's belongings, 1945. When Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa led an attack on the border town of Columbus, New Mexico, in 1916, Patton joined the staff of Brig. A destroyed and bankrupted Europe would not have supported war against Stalin. Eisenhower and the allies handed over Eastern Europe to the Russians. He was one of several notable personalities I briefly crossed paths. George Smith Patton, the first of his name, died in the Third Battle of Winchester while under the command of Jubal Early. Great read. Over the next months he organized, trained, and even designed the uniforms for the new tank units; he was also promoted to lieutenant colonel. George Patton died peacefully at 1755 hours on December 21, 1945. The cemetery belongs to and is gifted to USA by Luxembourg and hence he is buried on American soil. 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. Pattons memoirs, War as I Knew It, appeared posthumously in 1947. 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. 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. No one was hurt except Patton, who, despite a nasty gash on his head, immediately realized he had been paralyzed. 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. 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. This was, of course, completely contrary to the political direction he had received from Eisenhower for the denazification of the American zone of Germany. Fortunately, Pattons condition began to stabilize. Elizabeth Patton Crockett - Wikipedia Rather surprisingly, Patton chose to return the governors hat-doffing salute by removing his own helmet, complete with its four stars and the emblems of the Third and Seventh Armies and I Armored Corps. His beloved dog, Willie, was to follow later. America and warfare were never the same. That limousine we know from pictures and records was a 1938 Series 75 Cadillac sedan, a rare type. Pattons armoured units were not operational until August 1, almost two months after D-Day, but by the end of the month, they had captured Mayenne, Laval, Le Mans, Reims, and Chlons. His removal by General Eisenhower was an acknowledgement of that mistake. 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. Patton died from his injuries on Dec. 21, 1945. In the Meuse-Argonne offensive a few weeks later, Patton was badly wounded by a machine-gun bullet. This is the offical version of the accident and death. His cross faces those of the men he led, as if he were leading them again for one last battle. Patton himself seemed resigned to his fate; when he saw his wife, he said to her, "I'm afraid, Bea, this may be the last time we see each other." On December 20, medical staff gave Patton oxygen to restore his breathing; an x-ray revealed a small pulmonary embolism in his upper right lung. 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. We came to give them back the right to govern themselves. General George S. Patton, commander of the U.S. Third Army, became military governor of the greater portion of the American occupation zone of Germany. He agreed with Patton that the Russians were the enemy, and said the men on his troop ship heading home were willing to return to Europe and fight the Russians. Photo Credit: A million people lined the 25-mile parade route leading to the Hatch Memorial Shell in Boston, where General Patton delivered a war bonds speech. Was General George S. Patton, America's most famous WWII general, murdered in December 1945? However, the trip, which involved traveling on a special train once used by German President Paul von Hindenburg, turned out to be much more than just a speaking engagement. December 21, 1945 - General Patton dies following mysterious car Very Human story. In December 1944 the Germans launched a massive surprise counterattack in the Ardennes Forest, encircling the U.S. 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne, Belgium. But at the recommendation of Major General Geoffrey Keyes, Pattons deputy commander in North Africa and Sicily, Beatrice made up her mind. I left for the States (Mt Home, ID) in 1996 (was 32 at the time). 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. Greg Wehner. For accurate reading concerning Patton, read Patton The Man Behind The Legend, 1885-1945. 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. I dont like the Nazis any more than you do. On May 26, 1910, he married Beatrice Banning Ayer, the daughter of Boston industrial tycoon Frederick Ayer. In that role he designed the U.S. Model 1913 Enlisted Cavalry Saber, known as the Patton Sword. Patton also loved polo, and he played it, like he pursued so many things, with a violent, reckless abandon, frequently injuring himself in the process. He toured France collecting, according to his aide, enough certificates of honorary citizenship from cities like Avranches, Rennes, and Chartres to paper the walls of a room, and he had lunch with the unanimously elected president of the provisional French government, Charles De Gaulle, and dinner with the chief of staff of the French Army. Well, my dear Marshal Zhukov, let me tell you this. Michael Reynolds was a retired major general in the British Army, a veteran of the Korean War and the former director of NATOs Military Plans and Policy Division. Was he any relation to you by any chance and, if so, what ever happened to him? There he competed against military officers from around the world in the modern pentathlon, an event that included swimming, pistol shooting, running, fencing, and riding. The brief ceremony over, Beatrice exited the tent clasping the tri-folded flag that had covered her husbands casket. In the past three years I did my utmost to kill as many of them as possible. They are a scurvy race and simply savages. I have been a student of General George s. Patton for some 40-45 years and this is a well written article, very accurate. His task was to keep a group of disparate actors on the same page while still planning a strategy to win a war. Get this son-of-a-bitch out of here! 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. Keyes had already thumbed a ride back to Patton's headquarters, but Patton didn't continue his ride until Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes escorts Mrs. Beatrice Patton to her husbands funeral in Hamm, Luxembourg. Fort Knox, Kentucky. This is a bit off topic but perhaps you might clarify something for me. George Patton was also the great-grandfather of Major General George Patton IV, who died in 2004. He should have been president. On May 7, 1945, he had pleaded with visiting Undersecretary of War Robert Patterson: Lets keep our boots polished, bayonets sharpened and present a picture of force and strength to these people [the Russians]. If its a choice between them and the Russians, I prefer the Germans., Worse was to follow. Eisenhower returned and went to see Patton at Tegernsee on September 16. After the tragic death of her husband in 1945, Mrs. Patton became a forceful and persuasive speaker advocating universal military training. His admiration for Germans was indeed troubling.. The mystery is why. Truman wrote in his diary, Dont see how a country can produce such men as Robert E. Lee, John J. Pershing, Eisenhower and Bradley and at the same time produce Custers, Pattons and MacArthurs., Patton did not enjoy his time there and on the 21st wrote to Beatrice, We have destroyed what could have been a good race and we [are] about to replace them with Mongolian savages. In the aftermath of the Battle of Kasserine Pass, US II Corps passed to the command of General Harold Alexanders 18th Army Group. Why does General Patton still lay in Europe? General Patton was the greatest US Army combat general of WWII. 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. https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Smith-Patton, Jewish Virtual Library - Biography of George Patton. They were then driven through the suburbs of Boston to a ticker tape reception in the city itself. The other issue is that I got Eisenhower and gave Mark Clark a pass in Italy. We examine the circumstances and the theories.Dr. Whether or not these were his own or due to too much cooperation with the British I dont know. For example, he closed one letter to his wife with these words: "I cannot send you any kisses this evening because we had onions for dinner." A military genius, a legend, an American folk hero, George S. Patton, Jr., captured the imagination of the world. Her family connections included well-known surnames Pico, Sepulveda, and Alvarado. Hello Helen. 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. The fake news that haunted George Washington. But Gordon had reappeared in Europe during the war, alarming Beatrice. Wikipedia Advertisement 11. The US would have been defeated if it had gone to war with the Soviet Union in 1945. and just how would the US have succumbed to the Russians? Courtesy of The National Archives and Records Administration.
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