This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 3/7/2024
PATTON, General George S. (1885-1945). Metal Star Taken from Patton’s Command Car in Which He Was Fatally Injured. [1945]. Metal star (approximately 2 ½ x 2 ½”) matted, framed and glazed, with a newspaper clipping image of Patton’s wrecked command car. Framed with a plaque with the following legend: “Star taken off command car in which Gen. George Patton was fatally injured. Acquired while working on vehicle recovery team. PFC Tony Kovach 1235 Clybourn St. Milwaukee, Wis”. Frame size 13 ¾ x 13 ¾”. Excellent. Sometimes nicknamed “Bandito” or, more famously, “Old Blood and Guts,” Patton was one of the few five-star generals of World War II, and one of the greatest commanders of the United States Army. He fought in the Pancho Villa Expedition, World War I, and World War II. He was even an Olympic athlete in 1912 (Pentathlon). He was the American general most feared by the Nazi High Command. On December 9, 1945, Patton was returning from a pheasant hunting trip in Germany, when his 1938 Cadillac struck an Army truck at low speed. The other passengers in the car were relatively unharmed, but Patton struck his head on the heavy glass partition between the passenger compartment and driver’s seat. His head was bleeding, but he had a spinal cord injury which rendered him paralyzed. He died on December 21, 1945 after commenting “This is a hell of a way to die.”