George S. Patton

George Smith Patton, Jr. (also George Smith Patton III) (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a U.S. Army officer who was in the army from 1909 to his death.Carlo D'Este. Patton : A Genius for War HarperCollins, (1995).  He was in charge of many soldiers and worked to defeat Nazi Germany during World War II in Europe.

He was sent to the North African Campaign in 1942 after the United States, led by Franklin D. Roosevelt, declared war on Nazi Germany after he Empire of Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 because Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party supported Japanese Emperor Hirohito after Luftwaffe Commander Hermann Göring and Kriegsmarine Admiral Erich Raeder urged him to declare war on America.

Patton was also involved in the Allied invasion of Sicily, the Allied invasion of Italy, and the Normandy landings in some of the most severe fighting in the war. However, he also was involved in a series of slapping incidents.

Patton was born on November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California. He was married to Beatrice Banning Ayer from 1910 to his death; they had a son.  

Patton died on December 21, 1945 after a car crash in Heidelberg, Germany, aged 60. He was later buried at American Cemetery and Memorial in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. In the movie  Patton, he was portrayed by George C. Scott. 

References

Category:1885 births
Category:1945 deaths
Category:Military people from California
Category:Road accident deaths
Category:Purple Heart recipients
Category:Companions of the Bath

Category:Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire
Category:American generals