General George S. Patton was a great hero of the 20th century. Even as a child, he dreamed of one day being a hero, but had no intention of being famous (Kay). Patton overcame many obstacles, such as reading and mathematics, but he excelled physically. Even today his war techniques and strategies resonate throughout the military.
Patton was born on November 11, 1885 in San Gabril, California. He grew up in a wealthy family. Since he was dyslexic, Patton had to be tutored until the age of twelve. In 1903, he decided to go to the school, at Virginia Military Institute where his father went. The next year, a spot opened up in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and George Patton accepted it (George). After Patton graduated from West Point in 1909, Patton played polo for the Army for two years. In 1912, he represented the United States in the Olympics at Stockholm in the Modern Pentathlon. He placed fifth overall, even when the event was normally dominated by European marksmen (Kay). After the Olympics, Patton visited the French calvary school in Saumur, and studied the sword drill. Once he came back home, Patton designed the U.S. calvary saber M1913, and wrote the Army's Saber Regulations 1914 (Kay).
During the early 1900s, Patton wanted to do more in the military, and he was starting to receive the jobs and promotions that he sought after. He wanted to join the French calvary in 1914 when World War I started, but the War Department denied his request. In 1916 though, he went with General Pershing as an aid in a fight against General Poncho Villa in Mexico. On one mission, Patton killed General Cardenas, who was Villa's head body guard. General Pershing was impressed by his actions in Mexico, and let Patton command his headquarter troops in London, England (Kay). He soon went off to France to become commander of the U.S. Tank Corps and
led the British tankers at Cambrai. While helping rescue some tanks that were stuck in the mud, Patton was injured by machine gun fire, and earned a purple heart (Kay). During the late thirties when the German Blitzkrieg spread throughout Europe, Patton was put in command of the new armored brigade and trained his men with tanks that were obsolete. Patton was one of the only fighting generals who would fight alongside his men, and at one point he saved one of his tanker's life who had been hit by a shell fragment in an artery. He had also saved two Frenchman from a building that had collapsed.
Patton risked his life for his country off the battlefield too. During one instance, Patton was heading towards a formal dinner and saw three men abducting a woman, and he drew his revolver on the men and rescued her. He also rescued three boys when the boat they were on capsized, earning the Congressional Life Saving Medal, Second Class (Kay). In December of 1945, Patton got in an accident with a truck and was severely injured. On the 21st of December he died, and was shortly buried in a cemetery in Luxembourg (Kay). Patton was a great hero and a general who never lost a war in his entire career. He is considered to be the greatest military commander in the history of the United States.
