General George S. Patton. RIP

[bgcatty]

General George S. Patton died at 5:55 pm on December 21, 1945. Perhaps the greatest combat General this country has ever produced died in his sleep after a car-truck accident left him paralyzed from the neck down. The accident took place on December 9th when a 2.5 ton military truck turned quickly in front of his Cadillac and caused the General to break his neck.

He was an outspoken critic of US-Russian relations at the close of the war and famously stated he could take his armies and crush the rising tide of communism once and for all in 1945.

How the world would have been different if the naive politicians permitted Patton to accomplish that task.

Thank you General Patton for being the right leader at that moment in history known as WWII. Rest in Peace.

 

[Brad69]

I had a a Battalion Commander that was a nephew of General Patton. He had a big portrait of the Big Guy behind his desk. He did look like him

He was a great leader as well!

 

[Shadow01]

Classmate of my father’s was in the 3rd at the Bulge. I was lucky enough to have several conversations with him about Patton. The one that sticks out most to me was in his opinion “Patton should have slapped a few hundred more”. You know you are standing and talking to heroes when they never say anything about what they did, but are always talking about the actions of those they served with.

 

[MrSmitty]

The 2 men he slapped said that Patton was right, and they needed it.. Those 2 guys probably did more to win the war, than some people will ever realize....

 

[Tactically Fat]

Bonus Army - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

He was a part of a horrible terrible thing before he was anyone.

The way he treated veterans, their spouses, and their children.

 

[tomcat13]

How the world would have been different if the naive politicians permitted Patton to accomplish that task.

Hmmmm, kinda sounds Familiar for present day!
Yes, RIP Indeed General Patton.

 

[dekeshooter]

Dad served under him in Europe during WWII and respected him greatly.

 

[mark40sw]

Bonus Army - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

He was a part of a horrible terrible thing before he was anyone.

The way he treated veterans, their spouses, and their children.

I did not know of this.

 

[Tactically Fat]

I did not know of this.

Most people don't.

 

[HoughMade]

I see no scenario where the U.S. drives the Communists out of power in the Soviet Union in the immediate post WWII period. There was even less of a chance of "defeating" the Soviet Union, whatever that would have meant. The Soviets, if attacked, would have traded land for time until they were ready to counter just like they did with Germany. If we're talking the U.S. going nuclear, first, there was no justification for that and second, they would have traded cities and lives for time until they could respond in kind.

The U.S. could have forced the Soviet Union out of the eastern bloc countries it occupied after WWII, but once again, with a real shooting war, there would have been (not could have been) a nuclear conflict as soon as the USSR had that capability. They would not have simply gone home and called it a day.

 

[rob63]

I met his grandson a few years ago at a militaria show. He was raising money for the military museum in Vincennes. Looks just like him.

 

[shootersix]

I met his grandson a few years ago at a militaria show. He was raising money for the military museum in Vincennes. Looks just like him.

View attachment 246143

He is on the board of directors for the museum, I can honestly say this, if you’ve never been the Indiana military museum, your missing out big time! Well worth the price of admission!

But here’s my story, I was at the museum with my dad, there was a display of the Generals items, including a ivory handle colt 32 acp, I looked at my dad and said “I wonder if that was really general Patton’s or just a colt with ivory grips?”…from behind me I hear “it was the general’s, if you look at the picture at the top, (it was the general in an oversized chair, with 4 or 5 kids) the kid by his leg is his grandson, he’s on our board of directors”

Judge Osborne has built one hell of a military museum in Vincennes! And I need to get back to see it again

 

[Cameramonkey]

Dad served under him in Europe during WWII and respected him greatly.

My Wife's Maternal Grandpa was his driver for a while.

So we had no idea until after he died. He never told us. He was a very meek and quiet gentleman. He Just told his wife and family that he was a lowly truck driver. He wrote home to tell his wife that he was always well behind the lines, and there was nothing to worry about. BIG. FAT. LIES.

Apparently he was know to be one of the best mechanics out there. I guess he could get a jeep running with bailing wire and chewing gum. Because of this reputation, one day he was approached and "asked". "General Patton needs a driver. He has heard that you are one of the best. Do you want to take the job? Think about it, I'll be back in 15 minutes for an answer. " He knew he REALLY wasnt being asked, so of course he said yes. I guess those two ended up in some pretty hairy positions, but of course they always got out of them.

We had no idea until his funeral. We were standing around and across the room we saw my FiL talking with a group of fellow older vets that came to pay their respects. They all shook hands and he walked towards us, and he looked like he had just seen a ghost. "Wow. You guys arent going to believe this."

Turns out those gents were fellow vets from the local Legion hall. Back when he would go and have a drink, those were the guys he would hang out with and commiserate. He never revealed those details to us.

We were all floored. How could meek little grandpa have been that badass back in the day? Wow.

And knowing the man was VERY handy and mechanically inclined, we have no reason to believe what he told his buddies wasnt true.