Gen. George S. Patton, 80, Son Of World War II Commander, Dies

Earlybird | Jun 30, 04 | Unk

[SLB]

WASHINGTON, June 29 - Maj. Gen. George S. Patton, the son and namesake of the World War II armored commander and a veteran of combat in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, died on Sunday at his home in Hamilton, Mass. He was 80.

General Patton, who retired from the Army in 1980, had been in poor health for years because of complications from hip surgery and other ailments, his wife, Joanne, said.

The younger General Patton was occasionally asked whether he felt overshadowed by his father, who gained fame for his exploits in North Africa, Sicily and France and who was introduced to new generations of Americans through George C. Scott's movie portrayal. "I've never worried about it," the son said in an interview in 1977. "I've been too busy."

The younger officer was wounded in one of his three Vietnam tours and was awarded a Purple Heart. He was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest decoration for bravery in combat.

George Smith Patton was in his last year at West Point when his father, George S. Patton Jr., was killed in a traffic accident in Germany in December 1945. For a time, the younger man was known as George S. Patton III, but he eventually dropped the Roman numeral, his wife said.

General Patton acknowledged that, just as his father had, he demanded a spit-and-polish look from his soldiers. And like his father, he loved history and spoke French, Joanne Patton said. He received a master's in international affairs from George Washington University.

As a colonel, he commanded the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam. As a major general in 1975, he took command of the Second Armored Division at Fort Hood, Tex. His father had led the division in North Africa.

In 1964, the younger George Patton and other relatives objected to a new biography of the World War II commander, "Ordeal and Triumph," saying it used unauthorized material from the general's wartime diaries. Some material was deleted, and the book was published.

In retirement, the general ran Green Meadows Farm in Hamilton, north of Boston.

Also surviving are three sons, George, of Hamilton; Robert, of Darien, Conn.; and Benjamin, of New York; two daughters, Mother Margaret Patton, a nun in Bethlehem, Conn., and Helen Plusczyk of Saarbrücken, Germany; six grandchildren; and a great-grandson.

[Valin]

Somebody got their butt in a sling over this.

[Thane_Banquo]

Don't know much about this guy, but I know his father was a great American.

[Protagoras]

Patton seems to have arrived at Bastogne after the 101st and others had already fought the enemy to a standstill.

[ExSoldier]

I was a "cadet" at Fort Knox in the summer of '77. I heard some of those stories. In 1993 when I attended the Armor Officer's Advanced Course there, they were still floating about.

[robowombat]

G S Patton III had apparently made enemies in the course of his career. Who knows why, jealousy over his flamboyant leadership style while commanding the 11th ACR, spite, complaints that he had a drinking problem, who knows. In any case his final tour of duty represented a victory by these people. From being commander of the Armor School he went to being the Deputy Chief of Staff for Readiness of Army material Command. AMC was and is the supporting and equipping arm MACOM of the Army and is regarded with dismissive contempt by many in the combat arms as its knick name 'A Million Civilians' shows. Being given an a HQ AMC staff appointment would have been insult enough to a combat arms officer of such distinguished name and repute. However, DCS Readiness was , I believe, a deliberate and careful insult. DCS Readiness was a grab bag of largely unrelated functions including management of the two AMC controlled reserve center, logistics support plans, exercises, including AMC participation in a large annual USAR logistics simulation named LOGEX. Within the peck order of AMC Readiness pretty much sucked hind tit and was regularly rolled by the larger DCS's such as Supply, Maintenance, and Transportation. So as a final assignment before retiring it was a real insult.

However, unlike some other general officers who had been rusticated to AMC Patton did not react either as amartyr or with visible disgust at his final assignment. He was known as a polite, courteous, and gentlemanly leader who listened carefully to what civilian workers and managers had to say. He also made a point of knowing each person who worked in his organization by name, which is a very nice touch in a manager. When he retired his official ceremony was held at the Armored School but at the reception tendered him at AMC virtually every employee of DCS Readiness participated. Patton was a warfighter but he was far better liked by his civilian employees than a number of combat service support general officers who followed him.

[The Mayor]

Welcome Home

[sns5151]

Thanks for the ping. Another great Cowboy coming home after a long days journey May his legion live on. Semper Fi Marine wife/mom nanna of6

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank God for this hero and his family!

[brazzaville]

Good morning.
In 1968 my company worked for the 11th ACR for a while and I met Col. Patton in our TOC a couple of times. I remember him being cool towards us, probably because we were too loose for him. Blackhorse was a good unit to work for which, to me, means Patton was a good leader.

Michael Frazier

[leadpenny]

I remember when he ended up at AMC or DARCOM or whatever it was called. Didn't he have a tour in Germany after being the Armor School Commandant? The reason I ask that is because there were stories he had been in the front seat of a Huey when they violated some kind of German restricted airspace. I also remember that the Army Times ran a story that he was about to retire when he was a BG. Soon after that he came out on the MG list. Not sure of all my dates.

[T-Bird45]

Thanks for the ping, Cannoneer No. 4. Unless my memory is totally failing me, Patton III was the CG of VII Corps when I was in the FRG 1978-81. I recall much was made of the fact his HQ was in the same town (Stuttgart) where Rommel's son was the mayor of the town. It was said they had a fine relationship that was founded on mutual respect of their fathers' wartime rivalry.

[snippy_about_it]

He must have made his dad very proud. RIP George S. Patton.

[DuncanWaring]

Ping

[leadpenny]

One more story:

Again, in 71 or 72 I was the Duty Officer at 194th Armor Bde HQ. at Knox. I finished reading the instructions and the Duty NCO and I agreed that I would take a couple hour nap and then stay up over the midnight hour.

No sooner had I dozed off when I heard a commotion at the front door. As I got to the top of the steps, the NCO was talking to General Patton, who was standing at the bottom of the steps with a young buck sergeant who was standing beside him with his duffle bag. I learned later that Patton did this when ever he returned to Ft. Knox via Standiford Field in Louisville. When the General saw me he said very loudly, "I got another soldier for Colonel Buchanan (194th CO)." He had picked up a soldier at the airport for a ride to Ft. Knox. My mistake was to say to the General, "Yes sir, we'll see to it that he gets over to the 120th Replacement Company." That was just a straight line for the Armor School Commandant. "Replacement Company?" he said, "You tell Buchannan that if he doesn't want this fine soldier, I'll take him." Again, it was something for a soldier to write home about. Should've kept my mouth shut and I never did get the rest of my nap.

[leadpenny]

Thanks, now that you mention it, I remember that story.

[poindexter]

"He sure looked like his father!"

I miss the chrome-plated helmet, though! ;-)

[Mr. Silverback]

As a colonel, he commanded the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment in Vietnam.

Where he famously told his officers: "Find the bastards, fix them, and then pile on!"

He knew Armored Cav, that's for sure.

[RobbyS]

Casey is supposed to take over for Sanchez, isn't he? Seems to have a good rep.

[RobbyS]

Thanks for the anecdote. Says a lot about the general's character.

[ELS]

Mother Margaret Patton, a nun in Bethlehem, Conn.

There is a Benedictine Abbey in Bethlehem, CT. I'll bet that is where she is.