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General George Smith Patton Jr.
Vital Stats
Born: November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, CA
Died: December 21, 1945 in Heidelberg, Germany after a traffic accident
Education: Virginia Military Institute, United States Military Academy (graduated 1909)
Service: World War I, World War II
Rank: Full General (1945)
Nickname: "Old Blood and Guts"
Strengths: Tough; ambitious; innovative; brilliant motivator; strong leader and planner
Weaknesses: Could be impulsive and overly outspoken; once slapped two sick soldiers, accusing them of cowardice
Childhood and Education
The military was in Patton's blood--his ancestors had fought in the American Revolution and the Civil War and Patton knew from a young age he wanted to become a soldier. He attended the Virginia Military Institute for one year then transferred to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After graduating in 1909, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 15th Cavalry and posted to Fort Sheridan in Illinois.
Patton was also a talented fencer and horseman, and in 1912 represented America in the first modern pentathlon at the Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, coming in fifth in the overall standings. In 1913, he was sent to Fort Riley, Kansas, where he taught fencing and was given the title of Master of the Sword, in addition to studying at the Mounted Service School.
In Pursuit of Pancho Villa
In 1916, Patton got his first real taste of battle action when he served as an aide to General John J. Pershing on his mission into Mexico to capture or kill the revolutionary Pancho Villa, who had raided the town of Columbus, New Mexico, murdering U.S. citizens and soldiers. Although Pershing and company failed to find Villa, Patton gained some fame for killing several of Villa's associates.
World War I
In 1917, Patton became one of the first members of the U.S. Army's new Tank Corps and was selected to organize and head up America's tank school in France. At the time, the tank was still an unproven weapon in war. In 1918, Patton was put in charge of the 304th Tank Brigade, which he led successfully into battle that September, in St. Mihiel, France. After sustaining a leg wound by enemy fire while directing tanks in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, Patton was forced to sit out the remainder of the war, which ended that November. Still, he proved the tank's effectiveness in battle and earned a Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership.
During the 1920s and early 1930s, Patton was posted to various military jobs in Hawaii and Washington, D.C., and also graduated from the elite Army War College. Ever eager to make his mark on the battlefield, Patton was restless during peacetime, which ended when the U.S. declared war on Japan, Germany and Italy in December, 1941.
World War II
In November 1942, Patton, as commander of the 1st Armored Corps, played a key role in the successful Allied invasion of North Africa. In July 1943, he led the U.S. Seventh Army in its victorious invasion (with the British Army) of Sicily.
In August 1943, while visiting wounded U.S. troops at a field hospital in Italy, he encountered a patient who didn't outwardly appear to be hurt but was said to be suffering from battle fatigue. Patton berated the soldier, calling him a coward and slapping him. The next week, Patton slapped another seemingly uninjured soldier for being a coward. Both men were, in fact, ill. When the story became public later that year, Patton was pummeled by the press. Although he apologized for his actions, these controversial incidents left a permanent stain on his reputation.
Although passed over for a leadership role in the Allied invasion of Normandy, Patton was given command of the U.S. Third Army in 1944 and led his troops in a series of important campaigns across France, Germany and other parts of Europe.
Death
On December 9, 1945, shortly before he was scheduled to return home to America, Patton was in Germany on his way to a day of pheasant shooting when the car in which he was a passenger was involved in an accident. No one else was injured except for Patton, who hit his head on a partition separating the front and back seats. He died in the hospital several weeks later, on December 21, at the age of 60, from pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure. For a warrior such as Patton, it was likely not the final scenario he would've scripted for himself. As he once remarked: "The best end for an old campaigner is a bullet at the last minute of the last battle."
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