"I have given this a great deal of thought", said the General. "I am going to resign from the Army. Quit outright, not retire. That's the only way I can be free to live my own way of life. That's the only way I can and will live from now on. For the years that are left to me I am determined to be as free to live as I want to live and to say what I want to say. This has occupied my mind almost completely the last two months and I am fully convinced that this is the only honorable and proper course to take."

This was a painful and extremely difficult decision for Patton. The Army was his life. He had lived as a soldier and warrior for over thirty years. Most certainly, if Patton felt that he must give up the Army to be able to speak freely, then surely there must have been some outstanding reasons. Reasons so important that he would be willing to withdraw entirely the only way of life he had ever known.

In December of 1945, Patton was scheduled to go home to Hamilton, Massachusetts to spend the holidays with his family. His plans were to fly to London where he would meet with and accompany Admiral Hewitt on Hewitt's flagship to the United States.

"When I get home," said Patton, "I am going through with my plan to resign from the Army. I'm going to do it with a statement that will be remembered a long time. If it doesn't make headlines, I will be surprised. I am determined to be free to live my own way of life, and I'm going to make that unforgettably clear."

Unfortunately, General Patton did not live to fulfill his decision. After he was injured in an automobile accident on the ninth of December, 1945, he died on the twenty-first of December in that same year. He had received a broken neck as a result of the accident and never recovered. He was buried on December twenty-fourth, Christmas Eve, in the United States Military Cemetery located at Hamm, Luxembourg. To this day, there are thousands of visitors who make a special trip to the cemetery to see his grave among the graves of the men with whom he fought during the Second World War. Luxembourg observes "Patton Day" every year in commemoration of the great achievements of General Patton.

Patton felt that there were many things that had been withheld from the American public during the war and he strongly believed that they had a right to know the truth. He felt that someone had to stand up and fight for America and it might as well be him, since no one else seemed willing to do so. He was firmly convinced that the United States had an obligation to not only win the war they had just fought, but also to win the peace.

More detailed examinations of "winning the peace" and "telling the truth" will be dealt with later in this book. Presently, we will examine the reasons behind Patton's personal motives for his planned resignation from the service, The underlying reasons why he felt that he must do something now and why he was willing to give up thirty years of his life.

To some people this may all seem to be borne out of a "bitterness" which grew within Patton after his ouster from command of the Third Army in September of 1945. This was not so. It was a situation that had been festering for some years, even before the Western Task Force's invasion of North Africa in 1942. If Patton could, indeed, be labeled as "bitter", it was not without cause, and damn good cause.

Patton's one great desire in life was to be a combat commander, to "lead thousands of men in a desperate fight." Unlike Eisenhower, who attended West Point in order to "get a free education", Patton attended West Point (as he termed it, "That Holy Place") as the first step in the ladder to his only ambition in life; the role of a combat commander; a SOLDIER of the highest caliber.

Admitted even by his most ardent military detractors, Patton WAS the best the United States Army had in the European Theater of war. Probably in all theaters of war. As time passes, and more facts come to light, we see that Patton was more correct not only in military matters, but also in his opinions and ideas concerning international political assessments. He was correct in his thinking more often, and consistent in his winning abilities more successfully than any other military commander of the Second World War. Yet, he was forced to humble himself before other men of lesser ability.

Often, Patton was charged with egotistical behavior regarding his own ability. It was often said that he was too "cocky" (a term used very often when also speaking of Third Army soldiers). In war, as in no other human endeavor, there is no room for false modesty, especially when the lives of thousands of men are at stake.

Patton, during WWII, was the butt of a great many personal slights from people who were supposed to be his "friends". The seeds of bitterness were planted before the United States became fully immersed in the brutal struggle in Europe. In April of 1945, when Eisenhower had five stars, and all of the others had received their fourth stars, Patton was the LAST to receive his fourth star.

Patton had been a full Colonel in the Tank Corps in WWI and upon the signing of the Armistice in 1918, was reduced to Captain, then the following day promoted to Major. This demotion was not due to any error or failure on his part, this was just customary Army procedure. Most officers were treated in this manner. It is the usual course for American politicians, after a war, to reduce in grade all military personnel, and to do their best to destroy the fighting ability of the military organization. It had been done in every war in which the United States had ever been involved, and continues to be the course of action today. It took twenty years for Patton to again become a full Colonel, advancing through each and every rank.

Both Bradley and Clark had been given a special assist up the ladder of success. They had been promoted directly from Lieutenant Colonel to Brigadier General by General George C. Marshall, bypassing entirely the rank of Colonel. Patton, Bradley, and Clark wore stars before Eisenhower did, yet Eisenhower was eventually moved ahead of them all.

In all aspects; knowledge, age, education, ability, effectiveness, leadership, and experience, Patton was head and shoulders above them all. Yet, he was the last of them to receive recognition by the high command. He was the last to receive the four stars of a full general.

Patton had seen himself and the American Army continually being forced to accept secondary roles in combat action. In North Africa, the II Corps, under British command, suffered a humiliating defeat. Patton was called in to restore the unit to a fighting pitch.

In Sicily, American forces (the Seventh Army) were relegated to a second place position as "flank defenders" for Montgomery during his advance toward Messina, the capital of that island. Patton and the Seventh Army still managed to get to Messina before Montgomery could.

In Normandy, Patton landed with the Third Army after a beachhead had been established. He then broke out of the hedgerows and began attacking in four directions. To quote an old cavalry saying, "He attacked in all directions at once, with a saber in each hand, and a pistol in the other." In short order, he surrounded the entire German Seventh Army, yet he was halted in his tracks by SHAEF, being ordered NOT to close the gap between the American and British Armies. It was left to Montgomery to do so. He did so about two weeks later, after most of the Germans had managed to escape to fight again.

Patton and the Third Army had later reached and began to clear Paris before the other Allied forces. He was ordered NOT to enter Paris, but to give that privilege to the American First Army and the British forces.

Patton's Third Army was the most successful, fastest moving army in the ETO, yet he was halted during a successful campaign again in September of 1944 so that Montgomery could launch his "Operation Market-Garden"; an attack which was supposed to clear the Germans out of Arnhem and open the way to Germany itself. This operation designed to attack deep into the Reich's territory succeeded in killing or wounding about half of the thirty thousand Allied troops involved.

Ignoring SHAEF's intelligence reports and relying upon his own, Patton expected and was prepared for the German offensive at Bastogne in December of 1944. Patton suggested that the Germans be allowed to advance a short distance further and that he could then hit them in their rear, cutting them off at the neck. Of course, his idea was rejected. His army then shifted ninety degrees to the north as ordered and it hit the German offensive in the flank, stopping their advance immediately. when Patton indicated that he should be allowed to advance directly to Berlin after the Bastogne operation, he was once more overruled and told to head south. Later, he was ordered to the "Redoubt" area which (as Patton had predicted) proved to be non-existent.

It is noteworthy to mention that at the time of the Ardennes Offensive (the Battle of the Bulge), Patton was leading his army in combat. Bradley was in SHAEF headquarters in London playing bridge with Eisenhower when they received word of the German's attack.

There were two incidents which occurred in WWII which caused problems for Patton due to his "comments". One of these was the "Knutsford Incident" in England. At a gathering at a Women's Club, it was alleged that Patton said that Britain and The United States were destined to rule the world. This was not the major problem, the problem was that he had supposedly "omitted" mention of our "friends", the Russians. The fact is that the story is untrue, he had mentioned the Russians and it was duly noted in the English papers. The mention of the Russians was omitted in the United States papers by the United States publishers and correspondents. They then claimed that Patton was the one who failed to mention the Russians. Furthermore, Patton at first refused to speak at the gathering. He was talked into it by one of the ladies of the club. He was promised that there were no news people present, and that his remarks were to be "off the record" and that he would not be quoted.

The second of the incidents was the "September Affair" in which Patton supposedly compared Nazi's to Republicans and Democrats. What makes the story even more disgusting is the fact that the United States Supreme Court now allows the Nazi Party to exist within their own borders today.

After the cessation of hostilities in Germany, the country was, of course, in chaotic turmoil. The only people who knew how to run things were Nazi's, or those who had at least joined the Nazi Party to hold unto their jobs. Patton kept a certain number of these people in key positions in an effort to start re-building of destroyed country. Patton's wish was to build Germany as a buffer state against the real enemy that he envisioned, the Russians. As he said, "They do a damned good impression of the "goose-step". They strike me as a very great danger and threat to future world peace and world political reorganization. They are something to be feared." Patton wanted to be friends with the Germans. Although Patton was condemned for this line of thought, the U.S. would later spend billions of dollars to re-build Germany almost exactly along the lines as Patton had proposed except that now the plan is known as the "Marshall Plan", and of course, General Marshall is lauded and hailed as a great hero and humanitarian. Patton was doing exactly what was being done by all other U.S., British, and French commanders, and civilian authorities throughout occupied Germany. Later, after the furor had died down, the Military Government would actually put into effect the same "Nazi personnel" quota that had been created by Patton.

At a press conference, Patton was asked by a reporter, "Isn't this Nazi thing really just like a Republican-Democratic election fight? The "outs" calling the "ins" Nazis"? To this question, Patton answered, "Yes, that's about it."

This was immediately paraphrased by the media into "front page stuff", with headlines claiming that, "PATTON CALLS REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS NAZIS."

At this point, with the war over, Eisenhower no longer needed Patton to push him up the ladder of success. After a strained two and a half hour meeting, the friendship between the two was ended. Patton was removed from Third Army command and given command of the 15th Army, a paper army.

Patton could not understand WHY this happened. He had done nothing that the other commanders had not done. If he was wrong, why not they, too? He was hurt by Eisenhower's patronizing and "Messiah" attitude (as Patton termed Eisenhower's growing egomania). Patton had predicted, again correctly, as early as 1942 that Eisenhower was having thoughts of being President of the United States. Patton had given his utmost in loyalty and labor, yet he was subjected to a humiliating verbal spanking in private by Eisenhower and degrading condemnation in public. Radio commentators attacked him, newspaper editorials insulted him, and opportunistic politicians acrimoniously ranted an raved for his scalp.

Patton had no chance to defend himself during this incident. As he was "under wraps" and had been ordered by Eisenhower to remain silent and have no further press conferences. There was, however, some concern that he might have been goaded into the situation by many newspaper people. One of them was George E. Sokolsky of a Cincinnati, Ohio newspaper. In an editorial he raised some very interesting questions which were never answered. He states, "Patton has a side. The argument against General Patton was that although he was a wonderful commander in the field, he was a pretty poor administrator and that he does not understand politics at all. This is a generalized statement of what has been said on all sides, and having had some experience with propaganda, particularly of the whispering kind, I have become suspicious of the unanimous character of the above judgment. Too many who could not know have said the same thing; therefore somebody laid it down as something to be believed. It is a dictum of propaganda that if a lie is repeated often enough, it comes to be believed.

So I have been making inquiries, and the story I get is that some newspapermen and left-wing government agents have been laying for George Patton because they do not like him. These leftwingers know that the general has a strong temper, which the Germans found troublesome on the field of battle, and therefore they needled him into outbursts of wrath at them, which, when generalized and repeated out of context, got him into trouble. I have not been in Europe and cannot speak from first-hand information, but I feel that it is simple justice to give the side that seems to have had no representation.

A tricky reporter can, like a shyster lawyer, cross up an amateur whose business is not asking or answering questions.

Businessmen have in recent years found that they have to hire public relations counsel to protect them against the kind of inquisition which involves a yes-or-no answer to the query, "Have you stopped beating your wife again"? Of course, no decent person asks such a question just as no decent person picks a pocket.

On the particular occasion when General Patton got himself into a jam on account of which he was removed from his own heroic Third Army, he was put through the kind of criss-cross questioning which Mr. Roosevelt used to handle both brilliantly and gallantly, making the questioners look like natural-born dopes. Patton apparently lacks that skill. At one time he did say, "Don't you put words in my mouth," but that only encouraged his cross-examiners. I am told that they asked him long, involved questions, ending in the query, "Isn't that so"? To that sort of thing, the interrogated should ask, "Isn't what so"? but it is difficult to be both a gentleman and cagey, particularly when a rude fellow is blowing smoke out of his pipe into your face.

So they got into an argument as to whether Patton had or had not said that 98% of the Germans were Nazis. And when Patton complained that he was being made to say something that he had not said, he was forced to ask whether he was being called a liar and it was said in his presence that he was being so called -- and to me, it is astonishing that somebody was not carried out pummeled beyond recognition.

Now, according to the account which was given to me, a number of persons were present at this interview and some of them discussed Patton before and after it and much of the conversation is recorded in a form which makes ugly reading. The entire row means little, but the veracity of American reporting is involved. Some of those present avoided the entire matter because they felt that George Patton was subject to a Max Steuer cross-examination in the hope that he would lose his temper and ultimately say something that would make headlines if properly played up. It is an old journalistic trick to trap the unwilling and unwary victim of the genteel art of interviewing, but decent newspapermen permit a man to say what he wants to say. My own habit, when I was a reporter, was to request the interviewed to sign the interview as evidence of good faith on either side.

I should like to see the heads of the three American news agencies, the Associated Press, the International News Service, and the United Press investigate this situation thoroughly and make a public report concerning it."

Of course, an investigation as requested by Mr. Sokolsky, was never attempted. It apparently was not "newsworthy".

Patton felt that he deserved better treatment than that from the people he had served for almost forty years.

To him it was a confirmation that there was, indeed, in and out of the army certain malicious and envious forces that were determined to destroy and to discredit him. His greatness had inevitably brought about the jealously of his professional peers and rivals who, by virtue of their own great mediocrity, were unable to perceive the intrinsic quality of his ability and leadership.

Throughout Patton's long and distinguished career, his perceptions, his military ability, his strategical and tactical ideologies were always excellent. There were none better. Had he not been continually slighted and ignored, it is certain, upon consideration of the information available to us today, that the war would have been over at least six months earlier. There would have not only been a great saving in untold lives, but also millions of dollars of property destroyed during that last six months would not have been destroyed.

These, then, are some of the reasons behind Patton's decision to resign his commission in the Army. When viewed circumspectly, it is little wonder that Patton might be called "bitter".

Legislation awarding the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously to General George S. Patton will be introduced in the House. Representative John E. Rankin (D-Miss) announced that he would sponsor the bill.