The Block And The Chip Off It
Lt. General Alexander McCarell Patch and his son, Captain Alexander M. Patch III, shortly before the young man was killed while leading a company of the 315th Infantry Regiment, 79th Infantry Division in France, 22 October 1944. Awarded a posthumous Distinguished Service Cross. I read once that a man serving under Patch heard him say that at least his son 'wasn't tired, cold and hungry anymore. I never saw a man with a harder face'.
General Patch died at 55 while at Fort Sam Houston, Texas in November 1945. He was promoted to full general in 1955. Patch struggled with illness all the way through the war, had he quit after leading the Americal Division on Guadalcanal he would have still been regarded as an above and beyond leader.
https://youtu.be/Fr5znyVkbSs
https://youtu.be/Fr5znyVkbSs
World War II Combat Infantry Badge, an honor among honors. General Joseph Stillwell was awarded one on his deathbed, it was all he asked for.
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