Patton, George S.
Patton, George S. (1885–1945), U.S. Army general.A charismatic and flamboyant aristocrat, Patton excelled in training and leading soldiers into battle, obtaining the utmost from them, and employing them with audacity and speed against the enemy.
Descended from an old Virginia family and a pioneer Californian, Patton was born in San Gabriel, California. Afflicted with dyslexia as a child, he struggled to read and write and overcome his own feelings of worthlessness. After a year at the Virginia Military Academy, he graduated from West Point as a cavalry lieutenant in 1909. In 1910, he married Beatrice Ayer, daughter of a wealthy Boston family.
Patton was highly athletic as well as an outstanding fencer and horseman. In the Mexican Punitive Expedition in 1916, Patton served as an aide to John J. Pershing, upon whom he modeled himself. In 1917, when the United States entered World War I, Patton...
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