He was interred next to a Private of the Third Army.
The same paper ran a classic edition of Out Our Way.
Last edition:
Showing posts with label George S. Patton. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George S. Patton. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 24, 2025
Sunday, December 21, 2025
Friday, December 21, 1945. Patton dies.
George S. Patton died at age 60, the result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident several days earlier.
The general's daughter woke up in the United States and saw him standing, in full uniform, at the foot of her bed, where he smiled. His daughter Beatrice received a phone call in which he asked "Little Bee, are you alright?'” An attempt to confirm the call in the morning ended up in the information that no oversees call had been placed.
Such incidents are not uncommon. A fairly large number of people experience post death visitations of people they knew, with it most commonly being the case that they happen very soon after the person's death. Indeed, in ancient times, Jews believed that the spirits of the dead were not aware of their deaths for a three day period, and the Irish custom of a wake stems from a desire to stay awake with the recently departed to help them know that they had died.
Patton was one of the most controversial American generals of the Second World War. A member of the cavalry branch, he's famously recalled as an armor general. Almost all of the really effective armor generals in the U.S. Army from the Second World War were cavalrymen. While now hugely admired, during the war the two slapping incidents he was involved in nearly cost him his career.
Patton, although he died due to an accident, fits into a fairly large collection of senior military officers that died right after the war.
The Battle of Shaobo in China ended in a Communist victory. It was another one of the battles in which Chiang Kai Shek pitted Chinese collaborationist units that had rejoined the Nationalist against the Communists.
From the same newspaper as above:
Casper received news that the Texas Refinery was going to expand.
It's now closed.
Ethiopian Airlines was founded.
Last edition:
Thursday, December 20, 1945. Tires.
Thursday, October 2, 2025
Tuesday, October 2, 1945. Patton relieved.
Gen. Eisenhower was relieved of command of the Third Army and put in head of a military history detail due to his remarks about denazification.
United States Marshal Fred A. Canfil sent a gift to his friend Harry S. Truman of a painted glass sign mounted on a walnut base with the phrase "The Buck Stops Here".
Admiral William Sample, age 47, was on a flight which disappeared near Wakayama, Japan.
Korea was removed from Japan's political and administrative control..
Last edition
Monday, October 1, 1945. The OSS disbanded.
Monday, September 22, 2025
Saturday, September 22, 1945. Patton spouts off . . . again.
In what would prove to be a last straw for Gen. Eisenhower, Gen. Patton expressed skepticism over denazification, comparing the Nazis to Republicans and Democrats.
Patton was growing increasingly frustrated now that peace had arrived. If Eisenhower could have read the comments in his journal, he would have been relieved by this time.
The Huaiyin–Huai'an Campaign ended in communist victory in China.
Former French pows went on a rampage in Saigon and killed members of the Viet Minh and innocent civilians, including children. French civilians joined in.
Last edition:
Wednesday, September 19, 1945. Kim Il Sung returns to Korea.
Monday, June 9, 2025
Saturday, June 9, 1945. Parade.
Yugoslavia agreed to evacuate Trieste so that claims to who should administer it could be resolved.
Ultimately the city would go to Italy.
Japanese Prime Minister Kantarō Suzuki told the Diet that Japan would "fight to the last."
"One rifleman reloads, and another fires in the 96th Infantry Division's advance to capture Big Apple Hill, scene of intense fighting on Okinawa 9 June, 1945. 96th Infantry Division." The firing soldier is carrying a M1911 handgun and appears to be carrying a Japanese one in a shoulder holster as well. The other solder is carrying a combat knife on his belt.
Marines surrounded Japanese forces on Okinawa's Oroku peninsula.
The 37th Infantry Division captured Bagabag on Luzon. The 24th Infantry Division took Mandog on Mindanao
A victory parade was held in Los Angeles for George S. Patton and James Doolittle.
Last edition:
Friday, June 8, 1945. Battle of Porton Plantation
Tuesday, May 6, 2025
Sunday, May 6, 1945. Stopping advances.
Patton's Third Army captured Plzeň. To Patton's disgust his men were prevented from advancing any further due to the occupation agreement between the Americans and the Soviets.
"Yanks in Landeck, Austria, wave their rifles and helmets with joy as they heard 19th German Army surrendered today. 6 May, 1945. 44th Infantry Division. Photographer: T/5 Louis Weintraub, 163rd Signal Photo Co."
The Siege of Breslau ended after three months with a Soviet victory.
The U-853 and U-881 were lost in the Atlantic Ocean.
The United States lifted the midnight curfew for all places of entertainment in effect since February 26, 1945.
Last edition:
Saturday, May 5, 1945. Balloon casualties.
Monday, March 3, 2025
Punitive Expedition Display, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Dubois Wyoming
This is a smaller display, adjacent to the larger World War One display.
The first displayed item is the typical field uniform worn by soldiers in the Border War. This sweater pattern is unique to the period, the M1910 sweater. The campaign hat is the long serving M1911 campaign hat. Some National Guard units that served on the border were not yet equipped with it. The saber is the M1913 "Patton" Saber, which was designed, based on a British pattern, by George S. Patton. For the most part, enlisted men were not allowed to carry their sabers into Mexico, following a tread that had started during the Indian Wars.
The car is a Dodge touring car, perhaps most famously associated with a raid conducted by Patton. Automobile use was heavy during the Punitive Expedition in spite of it being largely a horse cavalry effort. Indeed, the Army's 1st Provisional Aero Squadron was committed to the effort largely due it being the only U.S. Army unit that was completely motorized.
Last edition:
Equipment of the Vietnam War, National Museum of Military Vehicles, Dubois Wyoming.
Thursday, December 26, 2024
Boxing Day, 1944. Third Army broke through to Bastogne.
The Third Army broke through to Bastogne, relieving the siege of the city. The Royal Air Force hit the German transportation hub at St. Vith.
"Anti-tank gun on guard against attempted German breakthrough on Bastogne. 26 December, 1944. 101st Airborne Division."
Churchill opened a conference between all parties in the Greek political crisis.
The Japanese Navy, in its last raid on the Philippines, hit Mindoro.
Today In Wyoming's History: December 26. Boxing Day: 1944 Kentucky beat Wyoming in football, 50 to 46, in Buffalo New York.
Last edition:
Christmas Day, 1944. Benignitas et humanitas
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Today in World War II History—November 24, 1939 & 1944 (Friday November 24, 1944). Terrace Mutiny,
Usually I post this separately, but there are so many significant items in Sarah Sundin's blog this Sunday, I'm incorporating it into my post.
Today in World War II History—November 24, 1939 & 1944: 80 Years Ago—Nov. 24, 1944: US B-29 Superfortress bombers bomb Tokyo for the first time. Japanese capture Nanning, completing a land corridor between occupied China and Indochina. In controversial decision, Gen. Dwight Eisenhower orders the 6th Army Group not to cross the Rhine but to drive north and assist Patton’s Third Army. In Terrace, BC, Canadian conscripts (many are French-Canadian) mutiny when they hear they might be sent overseas, the largest mutiny in Canadian history; put down by 11/29; news of the mutiny is censored. France establishes Commission de Récupération Artistique (CRA) to return looted artwork, with curator Rose Valland as secretary.
Wow.
The Terrace Mutiny, which is what the mutiny was called, reflected the internal discord in Canada over conscription, something that has largely been glossed over after the war. English Canadians were disproportionately represented amongst those who volunteered for service and volunteered to go overseas. French Canadians were disproportionally amongst those who did not. Those who volunteered termed those who did not "Zombies" and often harassed them. Ultimately, the needs of war could not sustain the system.
The 3d Army crossed the Saar.
Soviets completing their occupation of Saaremo in the Baltic.
The HMCS Sawinigan was sunk by the U-1228 in the Cabot Strait.
Last edition:
Thursday, November 23, 1944. Thanksgiving Day.
Sunday, November 3, 2024
Friday, November 3, 1944. Generals.
"Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., and Maj. Gen. W. S. Paul discuss tactics of war while walking in field near headquarters of Maj. Gen. Paul in France. 3 November, 1944."
Tokyo broadcast the news of its new Kamikaze units.
Last edition:
Thursday, November 2, 1944. The march of the Hungarian Jews.
Friday, September 27, 2024
Wednesday, September 27, 1944. The Battle of Metz commences.
S/Sgt. Claude W. Small, of Summit Street, Boothwyn, Pennsylvania reads a letter from home. 27 September, 1944.
The Red Army and Yugoslav partisans crossed into Albania.
The Battle of Metz began.
Only four B-24s out of thirty-five from the 445th BG survive the round trip from their base in the UK to their target at Kassel.
The Finnish army took Pudasjärvi in northern Finland from the Germans.
Sweden closed its ports to German shipping.
The Japanese troop transport and hospital ship Ural Maru was sunk in the South China Sea by the USS Flasher. 2,000 perished in the sinking.
The HMS Rockingham hit a mine in the North Sea and ultimately sank.
Australian sailors, September 27, 1944.
Controversial evangelist Aimee Elizabeth Semple McPherson died at age 53 from an accidental overdose of sleeping pills.
McPherson inspired a major plot, in a very fictionalized form, in the revived Perry Mason series.
Last edition:
Wednesday, September 4, 2024
Wednesday, September 4, 1974. Recognizing East Germany.
The United States established diplomatic relations with East Germany.
Gen. Creighton Abrams, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, died at age 59 due to complications following a lung removal surgery. He was a heavy cigar smoker.
Abrams had entered the Army following West Point as a cavalry officer. He was a highly successful commander under Patton during the Second World War. His tenure as commander in Vietnam was less successful. Following that, he was appointed Chief of Staff by President Nixon.
All three sons of the general and his wife became Army general officers and all three daughters married Army officers. Raised as a Methodist, he converted to Catholicism in Vietnam.
President Ford appointed George H. W. Bush to be the Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office to the People's Republic of China.
Last edition:
Monday, August 19, 1974. Gerald Ford on the cover of Time and Newsweek.
Monday, August 12, 2024
Saturday, August 12, 1944. Appreciating the Falaise Gap.
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Loading shells onto a tank destroyer just outside Brest, France, are, left to right: T/5 Francis J. Kangas, Astoria, Oregon; Pfc. Dominic Juncewski, Silver Lake, Minn.; Sgt. Emory Triggs, Arkansas City, Kansas; Pvt. John Horns, Dickinson, N.D., and Cpl. Cliff Pratt, Selah, Washington. 12 August, 1944. B Company, 603rd Tank Destroyer Battalion.
The Battle of the Falaise Pocket, the decisive battle in the campaign for Normandy, began.
The US 15th Corps of the 3d Army took Alencon and advanced to the edge of Argentan. Patton sought permission to advance and close the Falaise gap, but was halted by command for several hours who feared that there would be friendly fire casualties.
Army field hospital nurses, August 12, 1944. France. Nurse on far left as viewed is wearing paratrooper boots.
Gen James Edward Wharton, commander of the 28th Infantry Division, was killed in action by a German sniper while inspecting the front lines. He'd taken command of that division on that very day.
An underground oil pipeline beneath the English Channel was completed. It was the world's first Pipeline Under the Ocean (PLUTO) and ran from the Isle of Wight to Cherbourg.
US bombers operating out of Italy bombed the Bordeaux-Merignac airfield and flew on to the UK.
Navy pilot Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr died when his PB4Y-1 Liberator, the Naval version of the B-24, converted for radio controlled drone operations, detonated. The plane was part of a project that converted the planes into flying bombs, largely unsuccessfully, but which still required pilots to get them airborne.
The 5th Army took Florence.
Churchill met Tito in London.
Franklin Roosevelt gave an address from the Puget Sound Navy Yard.
The U-198 was sunk in the Indian Ocean.
Last edition:
Friday, August 11, 1944. Third Army crosses the Loire.
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