http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/1996/409612.shtml
Had Patton not died, I'm sure the Dems would try to get him to badmouth Rummy as well...
I love these conspiracy theories that become crystal clear 60 years later when nobody will be hurt and everyone interviewed gets a check. Roswell was a non-issue when it happened. 30 years later it was a conspiracy theory accepted as fact. now you can spot the believers by the reflections in the sun from their headgear.
Ping for later reading.
I think what ultimately killed the general was pnuemonia.
From my reading on this topic I think Patton wanted America to go to war against the Soviet Union. And powerful forces in the united states wanted to avoid fighting a war with the Soviet Union for a variety of reasons.
But they also knew Patton would become President if he wanted, and very likely lead the nation into war against the USSR. At minimum they wished Patton would just go away. It may have been a random act, and maybe not.
I remember reading that Patton was injured by a Czech "debris gun" as his injuries were inconsistent with the accident.
I also remember parts of a biographical book on Patton from grade school (almost 50 years ago) that offered that Patton felt he was a warrior from times past. Interesting stuff.
I thought he had a heart attack after they tried to close his military academy?
bump
The boy was a glory hog.. extremely self important..
I recall seeing a filmed interview with Gerd Von Rundstedt after the war. He was in England maybe still in prison and was being interviewed by historians.
I remember one question in particular. They asked him who the Germans considered the best allied general. He instantly said "Patton was the best", then he said Montgomery too. He then listed some others including a couple of Russians.
It struck me that the Germans knew better than anyone who was the best.
http://mailgate.supereva.com/soc/soc.history.war.world-war-ii/msg38413.html
Here are some gory bits of info on his final days. Ialso read that PAttons wife hired a detective as she was not certain of the events surrounding his death.
The reason he mentioned it was to say that although it may sound ridiculous to us now, the Germans really were hoping for the Americans and Russians to turn on one another.
He also says the Americans then shot down a large number of the Russians. He commented that this was never reported in the media.
On paper the Russian and American air forces may have been similar and the performance of their planes was much better than generally thought but the American pilots must have been superior.
This would lead me to think the American air force would have destroyed the Russian one fairly quickly, then could have turned on the Russian ground forces.
At that time, air superiority was a deciding factor, and I think just about everyone agrees on that.
One thing I have been looking for are actual recordings of Patton speaking, even one version of his famous wartime Third Army speech was faked by a voice actor.
I've only seen one brief clip of him speaking at a celebration after V-E day.
A wonderful essay on General Patton and his prescient understanding of the modern day war on "terror"
http://www.victorhanson.com/articles/hanson102304.html
I think that his death should be investigated...but having seen the Commies get off with no retribution or punishment...I would not bet any money on an investigation.
If WW 2 was an online game, pretty funny
Offensive (to some) language contained herein:
*Hitler[AoE] has joined the game.*
*Eisenhower has joined the game.*
*paTTon has joined the game.*
*MacRthr has joined the game. *
*Churchill has joined the game.*
*benny-tow has joined the game.*
*T0J0 has joined the game.*
*Roosevelt has joined the game.*
*Stalin has joined the game.*
*deGaulle has joined the game.*
Roosevelt: hey sup
T0J0: y0
Stalin: hi
Churchill: hi
Hitler[AoE]: cool, i start with panzer tanks!
paTTon: lol more like panzy tanks
T0JO: lol
Roosevelt: o this f**** s**** i got a depression!
benny-tow: haha america sux
Stalin: hey hitler you dont fight me i dont fight u, cool?
Hitler[AoE]; sure whatever
Stalin: cool
deGaulle: shit Hitler rushed some1 help
Hitler[AoE]: lol byebye frenchy
Roosevelt: i dont got s*** to help, sry
Churchill: wtf the luftwaffle is attacking me
Roosevelt: get antiair guns
Churchill: i cant afford them
benny-tow: u n00bs know what team talk is?
paTTon: stfu
Roosevelt: o yah hit the navajo button guys
deGaulle: eisenhower ur worthless come help me quick
Eisenhower: i cant do shit til rosevelt gives me an army
paTTon: yah hurry the f*** up
Churchill: d00d im gettin pounded
deGaulle: this is f***in weak u guys suck
*deGaulle has left the game.*
Roosevelt: im gonna attack the axis k?
benny-tow: with what? ur wheelchair?
benny-tow: lol did u mess up ur legs AND ur head?
Hitler[AoE]: ROFLMAO
T0J0: lol o no america im comin 4 u
Roosevelt: wtf! thats bs u fags im gunna kick ur a$$es
T0JO: not without ur harbors u wont! lol
Roosevelt: u little b**** ill get u
T0J0: mac i'm totally kicking ur a$$
MacRthr: BRB AFK
Hitler[AoE]: wtf
Hitler[AoE]: america hax, u had depression and now u got a huge f***in
army
Hitler[AoE]: thats bs u hacker
Churchill: lol no more france for u hitler
Hitler[AoE]: tojo help me!
T0J0: wtf u want me to do, im on the other side of the world retard
Hitler[AoE]: fine ill clear you a path
Stalin: WTF u asshoel! WE HAD A F***IN TRUCE
Hitler[AoE]: i changed my mind lol
benny-tow: haha
benny-tow: hey ur losing ur guys in africa im gonna need help in italy
soon sum1
T0J0: o shit i cant help u i got my hands full
Hitler[AoE]: im 2 busy 2 help
Roosevelt: yah thats right b*** im comin for ya
Stalin: church help me
Churchill: like u helped me before? sure ill just sit here
Stalin: dont be an a$$
Churchill: dont be a commie. oops too late
Eisenhower: LOL
benny-tow: hahahh oh s*** help
Hitler: o man ur f***ed
paTTon: oh what now b***h
Roosevelt: whos the cripple now lol
*benny-tow has been eliminated.*
benny-tow: lame
Roosevelt: gj patton
paTTon: thnx
Hitler[AoE]: WTF eisenhower hax hes killing all my s***
Hitler[AoE]: quit u hacker so u dont ruin my record
Eisenhower: Nuts!
benny~tow: wtf that mean?
Eisenhower: meant to say n**sack lol finger slipped
paTTon: coming to get u hitler u paper hanging hun cocksucker
Stalin: rofl
T0J0: HAHAHHAA
Hitler[AoE]: u guys are f***in gay
Hitler[AoE]: ur never getting in my city
*Hitler[AoE] has been eliminated.*
benny~tow: OMG u noob you killed yourself
Eisenhower: ROFLOLOLOL
Stalin: OMG LMAO!
Hitler[AoE]: WTF i didnt click there omg this game blows
*Hitler[AoE] has left the game*
paTTon: hahahhah
T0J0: WTF my teammates are n00bs
benny~tow: shut up noob
Roosevelt: haha wut a moron
paTTon: wtf am i gunna do now?
Eisenhower: yah me too
T0J0: why dont u attack me o thats right u dont got no ships lololol
Eisenhower: f*** u
paTTon: lemme go thru ur base commie
Stalin: go to hell lol
paTTon: f*** this s*** im goin afk
Eisenhower: yah this is gay
MacRthr: k back!
*Roosevelt has left the game.*
Hitler[AoE]: wtf?
Eisenhower: shit now we need some1 to join
*tru_m4n has joined the game.*
tru_m4n: hi all
T0J0: hey
Stalin: sup
Churchill: hi
tru_m4n: OMG OMG OMG i got all his stuff!
tru_m4n: NUKES! HOLY SHIT I GOT NUKES
Stalin: d00d gimmie some plz
tru_m4n: no way i only got like a couple
Stalin: omg dont be gay gimmie nuculer secrets
T0J0: wtf is nukes?
T0J0: holy &%$&(##$@&*%(!
*T0J0 has been eliminated.*
*The Allied team has won the game!*
Eisenhower: awesome!
Churchill: gg noobs no re
T0J0: thats bS u f***in s***
*T0J0 has left the game.*
*Eisenhower has left the game.*
Stalin: next game im not going to be on ur team, u guys didnt help me for
s**
Churchill: wutever, we didnt need ur help neway dumbass
tru_m4n: l8r all
benny~tow: bye
Churchill: l8r
Stalin: f*** u all
MacRthr: f*** u commie!!!
MacRthr: ur next b****!
tru_m4n: shut up commie lol
*tru_m4n has left the game.*
benny~tow: lololol u commie
Churchill: ROFL
Churchill: bye commie
*Churchill has left the game.*
*benny~tow has left the game.*
*MacRthr has left the game.*
Stalin: i hate u all fags
*Stalin has left the game.*
paTTon: lol no1 is left
paTTon: weeeee i got a limousine
*paTTon has been eliminated.*
paTTon: o s***!
*paTTon has left the game.*
ping
You know that Fulton Sheen once predicted the death of Stalin on "Life is Worth Living." ;-)
I served with an old SSGT who had been pretty badly injured in a crash that he swore was a rehersal for the crash a week later that killed Patton. I have no reason to doubt his credibility.