DEATH

STEPHEN J. SKUBIK

THE MURDER OF GENERAL PATTON

DECEMBER 21, 1945

7/3/93

Now you know the restory, Dad

DEDICATION

My wife, Virginia Dutton-Skubik, deserves a great deal of praise for her forbearance. I was so involved in researching and writing this book about the murder of General Patton that I was not even available to help her with the chores of daily life. This book is dedicated to her.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

No author does it all alone. I must admit that I would not have written the MURDER OF GENERAL PATTON had it not been for my wife. Virginia Dutton-Skubik and my children Jane Duperrault, Laura Skubik, Hattie Skubik and Mark Skubik. They encouraged me to write stories about my life including my military experiences. They even had the nerve to criticize my work. Thanks to them I have cleaned up the language normally used by soldiers in time of war. Also had it not been for the Christmas gift of a computer they gave me, I could not have written my book. Typewriters aren't fun anymore. Special thanks to Virginia for her ideas regarding the jacket for the book.

To the people in the computer world, I thank you for developing the word processing system, the printer and the monitor. You have made my writing go along much smoother. To my teachers, especially Dennis Cohen, I owe a debt of gratitude for helping me to understand how to use WordPerfect and WordStar as well as other helpful programs needed by me as an author.

To Bob Patton, a Sergeant serving under his cousin General George Patton, thanks for telling me why you think Colonel Charles Keegan had a hand in killing General Patton.

To Mitchell Shakour, Editor and Publisher of the Monadnock Shopper News for helping me promote the sale of the books. Also Carl Laundrie, Editor of the Palm Coast/Flagler Tribune helped me with his story about me. The Monadnock Ledger and the Peterborough Transcript have kindly written about me. Thanks.

To my friends, especially Mike Blastos, Louise Kingsbury, Betty Ripley, Nancy Blair, Walter Eastman, Donna Pubick, Katherine Bliss, Kristen Halverson, Reverend Rick Palmer and a host of others for their support and encouragement. THANKS!

FOREWORD

It is my intention to explain the circumstances which lead me to believe: that General George Smith Patton, Jr. was murdered; that the accident which took place on December 9, 1945 was set up by the Soviet NKVD (Narodny Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del) in collusion with the American OSS (Office of Strategic Services); that Patton died at the Heidelberg Military Hospital on December 21 at the hands of an assassin.

It is impossible to prove who actually did the killing since no one at the hospital reported witnessing the murder. The trained NKVD assassin would have entered the room disguised as a hospital attendant.

It is not my intention to even try to prove that Patton was murdered. I wish only to refute the official line which military historians state that Patton's death resulted from a broken neck sustained in the auto accident near Mannheim.

Yes, the collision took place as they write, but it was a planned accident. Patton was disabled, but, by what means? Did an assassin fire a weapon at Patton as he sat in the back seat? A Douglas Bazata claims that he had been hired to assassinate Patton by General Donovan, head of the OSS. He charges that another agent NKVD or OSS beat him to the kill. He explains the kind of weapon which was used. I can not verify Bazata's story.

I have spoken to Bert Goldstein, one of Patton's bodyguards during that time. Bert told me that Patton's life was threatened, that he was vulnerable to the ever present danger. Bert states, that had the bodyguards not been removed Patton would not have been murdered. He is convinced that his favorite General was murdered.

I have also spoken to Robert Patton, who served with his cousin General Patton in North Africa, Sicily and Germany. He states that there are members of the Patton family who agree with him that the General was murdered. He told me that

Ladislav Farago, in his book THE LAST DAYS OF PATTON, provides significant detail about the accident and about the hospital scene, but even as he discusses the possibility of murder, he accepts the official story that Patton died of heart failure brought about by a broken neck sustained in the so-called accident.

Fred Ayer, Jr., Patton's brother-in-law, was a Counter Intelligence agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in Germany. When he heard of the accident he said, "Accident hell. It was murder. Those communist sons of bitches killed him".

I was in the Third Army as a Counter Intelligence agent while Patton was the General. The CIC was involved with others in providing security for him. It was my informants from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) who told me that Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin wanted Patton assassinated and ordered the NKVD to kill him. The fact that UPA General Stepan Bandera was himself assassinated, and UPA/NKVD agent Ivan Malij was executed by the NKVD, lead me to believe that they were killed to silence them about the Patton assassination.

I was given a bad time by NKVD General Davidov, who was head of the NKVD at SHAEF in Frankfurt, and by OSS General Donovan, because I reported about the Stalin order to the NKVD to kill Patton. Also my own life was threatened because it was thought that I knew too much. I was considered having "political dynamite". I suppose that had I been allowed to investigate the Ukrainian intelligence reports of Patton's murder, I would have proof positive, one way or the other. But since I was denied the right to make such an investigation, I can only write of the circumstances which lead me to believe that the historians have not completed their research on the

death of Patton.

Of course it may be too late to discover the truth about Patton's death, especially since so many records have disappeared. Also since so many of those people in the know have either died or disappeared, it can only frustrate historical researchers.

The main purpose of my writing what I experienced, what I knew and what I suspect, is to caution those who have accepted the official line about the so-called accident and the subsequent death of General George S. Patton, Jr. I say, "Don't believe it."

My book is broken up into four parts. PART ONE deals with my own experiences in the Counter Intelligence Corps and my Ukrainian connection. PART TWO is a short biographical sketch of George Patton as a boy, a man and a soldier. PART THREE is about Patton as a General serving under General Dwight Eisenhower. It was clear that Eisenhower was a long time friend of Patton's who eventually turned against him. PART FOUR deals with the death and suspected murder of Patton. In it, I explain why I believe he was murdered. I do not attempt to prove my contention because I cannot. All I can do is to theorize on how and by whom the murder was plotted and executed.

WHY STALIN WANTED PATTON DEAD

General George Smith Patton, Jr., Commander of the U.S. Third Army, was a military genius, a history scholar, a warrior who led his soldiers from the field. He won many major battles against the German armies during World War II. He was a hero to many, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

But, General Patton was a very controversial man who brought upon himself the scorn and hatred of men in power. He was outspoken in his dislike of Dictator Joseph Stalin. He often had praise for the valor and abilities of the German soldiers. He equated the Communists and Nazis to the Democrats and Republicans. He disputed the Soviet military capabilities and worse, he called them rabble. He refused to accept the hand of the Soviet Generals. Generals Marshal and Eisenhower were often angry at Patton's outspoken or illspoken remarks to the press.

The war in Europe was coming to an end in May, 1945. The defeat of the German armies was imminent. They were being crushed by the Allies in the West and by the Soviets in the East. Patton didn't like the idea of letting the Soviet Armies conquer and keep control of East European territory. He urged and begged General Eisenhower to let the Third Army take Czechoslovakia before the Soviets did.

General Eisenhower agreed and gave Patton the green light to take all of Czechoslovakia even though there was

an agreement that a line of demarcation in Bohemia called for the U.S. Armies to halt at Pilzen. The Soviets hurriedly took Eastern Bohemia and were nearing Prague at the same time that Patton's forces were poised to take Prague. Soviet Chief of Staff, General Antonov called Eisenhower, and warned him that if Patton's forces weren't stopped by Eisenhower, that there would be a full scale war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Patton was ordered to stop and he angrily and reluctantly halted his troops. But there had been a few skirmishes between the two.

Marshall Joseph Stalin was furious, he had learned of how Patton tried to take all of Czechoslovakia and how he even wanted the Soviet armies to withdraw from all of Eastern Europe, including giving up German territory. Stalin ordered the murder of General Patton.

General Patton had made contact with the dissident Russian General Vlasov, Ukrainian General Shandruk, Polish General Anders and with guerrilla fighters such as Stephen Bandera. This contact was clear evidence to Stalin that Patton intended to start a war against the Soviet Union. Patton had made remarks to high ranking leaders in the West that he favored going to war against the Soviets immediately rather than wait.

At the same time, the Office of Strategic Services, under General William Donovan, was dealing with the Soviet NKVD and KGB for intelligence cooperation and exchange. The Soviets had willingly agreed to place NKVD agents into the OSS. There were NKVD agents

in many sensitive positions in Washington, D.C. at Treasury, at State Department and even at the White House. The military intelligence in the field was penetrated by the NKVD. General Donovan's agreement to recruit NKVD agents was made with the hope that there would be a harmonious and friendly relationship between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Patton's belligerency caused Donovan no end of difficulty. The OSS in the field and in Washington were informed by the NKVD that Patton was making cooperation very difficult.

When I continued to report to the OSS about the threat against Patton's life, I had no way of knowing that I was letting the NKVD know that the Ukrainian intelligence people were knowledgeable of the NKVD order to kill Patton.

The NKVD had learned that General Patton was due to leave Germany on December 10. They had to move quickly against him before he left. The coincidence of the accident of December 9 just one day before the December 10 date is suspicious to say the least.

The fact that I was not permitted to investigate the socalled accident, also left me very suspicious. I was sure that the NKVD was behind the accident. My Ukrainian informants reported the details of what happened to Patton, but I was in no position to do anything. I found out that by making the point that the NKVD killed Patton, my own life was in danger.

The Ukrainians, especially the Bandera people, were quite upset that the U.S. intelligence people weren't

willing to listen to them. I told my Ukrainian contacts that I would be leaving Germany in early January and that I might be able to tell their story in Washington. When I got to Washington, I spoke to my girlfriend who worked with the Army Security Agency. She suggested that I let the matter drop since it could not be proved. I took her advice and I'm glad I did since I probably wouldn't be alive to write this story.

THE MURDER OF GENERAL PATTON

Part One: WAS GENERAL PATTON MURDERED?

Part Two:
PATTON, THE BOY, THE MAN

Part Three: PATTON, THE GENERAL

Part Four:
THE MURDER OF GENERAL PATTON

PROLOGUE

THE ORPHANAGE

On December 24, 1915, I was left on the doorstep of the Chancery of Bishop Stephen Ortynsky of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Philadelphia.

The Sisters of St. Basil formed an orphanage adjacent to their convent. I was about two months old. The sisters were wonderful. I learned to speak Ukrainian before English. Little did I know how my life would be affected by my Ukrainian connection.

I had retained the ability to understand and speak the Ukrainian language for many years.

OFF TO FIGHT THE NAZIS

After the Nazis invaded the countries of Eastern Europe, I was drafted into military service. Eventually I became a Special Agent in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps.

My Ukrainian background became an albatross. There was a very sinister anti-Ukrainian bias in the intelligence community. It appears that even being a friend of Ukrainians was dangerous.

RUSSIA IMPERIALISM

The Russian imperialists controlled the Soviet Union which contained many subjugated/captive nations. Ukraine was considered "Little Russia." a part of big Russia.

American scholars equated Ukraine of the Soviet Union to Texas of the United States. Russian emigres to American convinced scholars that the Ukrainian language was a dialect of the Russian language.

The idea of an independent Ukraine was unthinkable. Ukrainian nationalism was considered a German invention, supported as a concept for breaking up of the Soviet Union.

PATTON ENEMY OF THE SOVIET STATE

General George Smith Patton, Jr. became anathema to Joseph Stalin when he befriended the Ukrainian freedom fighters. Also his incursion into Czechoslovakia infuriated Marshal Stalin. How dare he interfere with the Soviet geopolitical plans for a greater Soviet Union?

The depraved NKVD, Soviet state securityagents, assassinated many so-called enemies of the State. Patton became an arch enemy of the Soviet State and a personal enemy of Stalin.

NKVD KILLED PATTON

According to my sources, the NKVD plotted and executed the accident at Mannheim of December 9, 1945, which cost Patton his life.

It had to be Soviet NKVD agents or their OSS communist agents who killed him at the hospital in Heidelberg.

NKVD General Davidov cost me my rank and almost cost me my life.

General "Wild Bill" Donovan's communist OSS agents directed by Donovan's right hand, Duncan Chaplin Lee, who was an NKVD agent, cooperated closely with General Davidov and his dogs.

People like: Harry Hopkins, President Roosevelt's live in close friend and advisor, was considered by Soviet Marshal Stalin as his agent in the White House. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau's assistant Harry Dexter White and a slew of other U.S. government officials took their marching orders from Moscow out of the belief that by cooperating with the Communists they would be serving our country and humankind.

I want to believe that they had no idea that Stalin intended to control all of Europe and Asia once the German and the Japanese were defeated.

General Patton was in the way and had to be eliminated. He could not be allowed to return to America alive. He was feared as a potential President of the United States.

General George Smith Patton, Jr., World War II hero, incurred the wrath of Marshal Joseph Stalin when Patton's Third Army with General Hodges' V Corps pushed deep into Czechoslovakia on May 6, 1945.

Patton's forces occupied Western Bohemia and Pilzen. The Soviet forces occupied Eastern Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia.

General Zhukov appealed to Eisenhower to stop Patton's drive on Prague. General Antonov threatened war.

General Eisenhower ordered Patton to return to the agreed upon line of demarcation.

Generals Patton and Hodges withdrew from the Prague area, but Stalin wanted Patton's hide. He ordered the NKVD to kill him.

THE UKRAINIANS

While Patton was in Pilzen he was to become acquainted with the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) led by Stepan Bandera. Also he came to know the First Ukrainian Division commander, General Pavel Shandruk.

These Ukrainian troops had fought against the Nazis and against the Russians. In 1945 they were inflicting severe damage to the Soviet forces in Slovakia.

Patton's liaison with these Ukrainian forces infuriated General Zhukov and Marshal Joseph Stalin.

THE COUNTER INTELLIGENCE CORPS

I was a Special Agent in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps assigned to the 89th Infantry Division which was part of the Third Army commanded by General George Patton. The 89th Division was commanded by General Finley.

My responsibility was to catch spies, prevent sabotage and eliminate subversion. Also I was to engage in catching Gestapo Agents, SS Officers and Nazi leaders.

I think I did a better than average job. I caught 6 spies, 17 Gestapo Agents, a number of Nazi Kreisleiters and Gauleiters.

Because I spoke German, Ukrainian, Polish and Russian, I was often called upon by my superior officers for special duty.

It was also one of my responsibilities to ferret out Nazi collaborators from among the hundreds of thousands East European refugees, slave labor and prisoners of war, captured by the Nazis.

The fact that I interrogated such Ukrainians as General Pavel Shandruk, head of the Ukrainian First Division; Professor Roman Smal-Stocki, a prominent professor at the Warsaw University and Prague's Charles University; Stepan Bandera, leader of OUN-B of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), among many others, got me into trouble with the NKVD and the OSS.

NAZI ESCAPE PLANS

Hans and Marta were my informants. Hans was at the meeting as a guard while Marta was there as a stenographer. She had typed the lists which contained the names of those present and which stated their new identities and the countries to which they were fleeing.

She told me that there were five books with at least a

thousand names of those Nazis. The books were buried in a wooded area outside of Pilzen.

As I entered into Czechoslovakia in my jeep, I was very heavily armed. I had a 32 in my holster, a 45 as a side arm on my belt, 6 hand grenades on the floor, a grease gun with five clips and my M-1 on the seat beside me. Hans and Marta sat in the back seat. I was fully prepared for a fight with anyone who dared to try to do me harm.

I noticed a convoy of American tanks, trucks, jeeps, etc. coming toward me. It didn't occur to me that the convoy might be heading back to Germany. The GI's waved at me as I waved at them.

I had no idea that the Russians posed a danger to me and the two SS people with me.

Shortly I arrived in a village about 25 miles from Pilzen. I stopped to visit a Czech Colonel. I explained to him what I was up to. He agreed to help me. He loaned me fifty Nazi soldiers (POW's), and five of his guards to help dig up the books.

He loaded the Nazi's onto four trucks with fifty shovels.

Marta told me to stop at a field which she thought was the one where the meeting had been held only a few days ago. She, Hans, the Colonel and I walked onto the field. We noticed a lot of debris: boxes, papers, cigarette butts, etc. strewn around on trampled grass.

Marta said it was just inside the woods where the box of books was buried, perhaps 15 to 20 feet away from the

field. She said she wasn't certain of the exact spot.

I asked the Colonel to unload the Nazi soldiers. Each was handed a shovel. The five guards, the Colonel and I held our rifles on the prisoners. We told them to start digging. Each was about 6 feet from another in a straight line of about 100 yards.

NAZI PLAN BOOKS FOUND

They were told to dig three feet deep moving forward about 15 feet into the woods. They began digging shortly before noon. At about 3:00 o'clock one of the soldiers struck a box. We opened it and sure enough it contained the five books which Marta told me about. All of us, even the Nazi soldiers cheered.

SOVIET TRAP

Not wanting to get back to Zwickau after dark, I decided to take a shorter route over the mountains through Western Bohemia.

As I came near Karlsbad, I noticed Russian soldiers all over. There were no American troops to be seen. I was all alone among the Red troops of the Soviet Union.

I didn't think anything about that. I had seen thousands of Russian troops on the other side of the Muldau river in Zwickau. I also had met Russian troops in Aue.

There was nothing to fear. I showed my credentials to the Russian guards at each check point. They politely lifted the road barriers for me. We saluted each other.

I was unaware of the trap I was driving into. At the fourth check point I was stopped by a Russian major who asked me to accompany him to his HQ. There he asked me questions about why I was in Czechoslovakia. I told him I was taking a short cut to my unit in Zwickau.

I also said that I was transporting two Nazi prisoners to be interrogated by our counter intelligence people. I wanted to get back to Zwickau before dark. He told me to wait while he called his commanding officer in Prague.

DANGER

I went back to my jeep. I told Hans and Marta that things looked bad. I said the Russians had us in a trap. I had no idea what they were going to do with us. I sensed we were in danger.

I went to the town hall where I asked the Czech Mayor to issue me an official looking document which gave me authority to travel in Czechoslovakia. He and I knew the document wouldn't be much good with the Russians, but it might just give them pause.

As I walked back to the jeep, I noticed people looking out of their windows and waving at me. They had sadness

When I returned to the Russian HQ, I showed the Major the official Czech document permitting me to travel. He looked at it, he smiled, he sort of chuckled. He gave me back the document and picked up his balalaika. He strummed the balalaika as he spoke to me. He said he expected to hear from Prague within the hour.

I went back out to the jeep where Hans and Marta sat in fear. Their fear made me anxious for their safety. I was a concerned about what would happen to them and me. What to do?

The Major came out and told me that he had orders to escort me to Prague to talk with the Commanding General. He said that I was not a prisoner. He assured me that I could keep my guns and take the prisoners with me. Not to worry.

ristig, rist, st, st, st, st, st, st, st, st, st,

ESCORT TO PRAGUE

He and six armed Russian soldiers got into the truck. He sat in front while the six soldiers with their machine guns aimed at me were in the back. Another truck was also loaded with six soldiers carrying machine guns.

MY ESCAPE PLAN

As we traveled the winding road carving its way through the mountains, I decided on how I would attempt to escape. I didn't want to become a prisoner of the Soviets and to have the Nazi books taken from me by the General, nor did I want harm to come to Hans and Marta. The two SS informants had been useful to me in catching Nazis and had risked their lives to help me find the books.

Escape, escape was on my mind, but how? I tried a few tricks. I sped up too close to the truck in front. I noticed that the rear truck kept its speed steady at forty MPH to remain the 250 feet behind the front truck. I also noticed that when I slowed down the front truck kept steady at forty. But the rear truck had to slow down so as to not hit me.

That was how I would escape. I had observed that when going around a curve, I couldn't see the front truck, so they couldn't see me either. I also noticed that at some curves neither the front nor the rear truck could be seen.

I made my escape plan on those facts. It was my game plan and I perfected it. I sped up to sixty after I had slowed to thirty. I moved up on the front truck to within ten feet. I was tailgating.

I was pleased when the two trucks maintained their steady forty MPH. The two hundred fifty feet between the trucks gave me leeway. I decided to take my chance at the next moment when I couldn't see or be seen by either truck.

THE ESCAPE

I had slowed down to thirty mph as I was approaching the mountain curve. The rear truck had to shift gears. The front truck was out of sight. Then the rear truck went out of sight as I gunned the jeep to sixty.

I told Marta and Hans to grab hold of the bars. I veered sharply to the left and jumped the jeep into the air onto the field and toward the woods. It wasn't fun, it was deadly serious.

The rear truck came into sight when I was about two hundred yards away. I saw the soldiers leap out of the truck. They started shooting, but by that time I was in the woods and out of range. I sped hell bent toward the American territory.

I saw the Russian barrier about a hundred yards ahead. I gunned the jeep to its maximum speed and crashed through the wooden rail. The stunned Russian guards shouted at me. I hollered back "Da Swidanya" as I sped away into American territory.

READY TO FIGHT

Marta and Hans ducked down almost to the floor

when I told them to get down. I had my machine gun ready to fire as I drove rapidly away from the barrier. I had expected the guards to fire on me but they didn't. It was touch and go but we made it.

On the way to Zwickau, we laughed and cheered and even gave an Indian yell. We sang songs as we drove home.

NAZI PLAN BOOKS TURNED IN

I turned over the Nazi books to Lt. Gillespie, made my report, and ate some left over dinner. I slept well that night.

Lt. Gillespie talked with me the next morning. He said that he had sent the books and my report to a Colonel Rodin.

RODIN MY NEMESIS

At about noon I got a call from the Colonel. He sort of congratulated me on finding the books. He also said that the Russian General in Prague must be steaming mad at my escape. I said, "Yeh, I'm kinda angry at him too". The Colonel said that I was a damned fool and lucky to get away.

RODIN WANTS HANS AND MARTHA DEAD

to tell anyone about the books.

He suggested that maybe we ought to kill Hans and Marta because they might tell someone about our having the books, which could alert the escaping Nazis and they could change names and locations.

I told him that I wasn't going to murder anyone. He looked sternly at me and said, "Steve, you had better stay clear of the Russians. They know who you are and where to find you." I told him that I would try to avoid the bastards.

I was surprised when he shook my hand. Colonels didn't shake hands with soldiers. He walked me to my jeep and we saluted. So it was that Colonel Leo Rodin and I became acquainted. Little did I know how much it meant to my future to have met him.

I was sort of curious about his questioning me about my Polish connections. He knew that I had met Jan Karksi, a courier for the Polish underground, who made frequent trips to London. He asked about my meeting with Mikolyczyk, the Minister of Poland. I told him that I had only spoken briefly with the man and had nothing to report. Polish General Anders soldiers were of interest to Colonel Rodin.

I suppose that Rodin was interested in the Jewish underground when he inquired about Lillie and Audi Weil, the kids I saved from the SS. Rodin was interrogating me for information which he might use in his work with OSS General Donovan.

STALIN ORDERS PATTON'S MURDER

It was on May 16, while visiting Stepan Bandera in Munich, when he told me that the Soviet High Command had been ordered by Marshal Stalin to kill U.S. Army General George Patton.

Bandera was a target himself because his UPA troops had killed many soviet troops. Stepan Bandera was a guerrilla warfare expert whose troops harassed and killed thousands of German soldiers. His troops would ambush Nazi troops on Ukrainian soil, at the same time the UPA forces fought the Russians.

Bandera was on the most wanted list put out by the NKVD, the Soviet Military Security agency. I had the list.

When I returned to my headquarters, I reported to Lieutenant Gillespie what I had been told by Bandera. He suggested that I report this information to Colonel MacIntosh of the O.S.S (Office of Strategic Services).

I went to O.S.S headquarters where I spoke with a Major Stone. He told me that the rumor about the Soviet plot to kill General Patton had been floating around. He thanked me and said, "Stay away from Bandera. He's bad news." He also advised me to forget the rumor about Patton. I was disappointed with my first visit to O.S.S.

GENERAL SHANDRUK UKRAINIAN DIVISION

I interviewed General Pavel Shandruk, who was the commander of the First Ukrainian Division which was formed as an army to fight in support of a Ukrainian Independent Nation.

He was very diplomatic, and he had a fine political sense. I was impressed with him during my interview. His knowledge of the history of Germany, of the United States and especially of the Russian Empire came through as we spoke.

He told me that he was concerned about America becoming too much involved with the Soviet Union. He said that General Zhukov was now a favorite of Marshal Stalin, but many past favorites of Stalin were eliminated. He said that General Eisenhower should be wary of tricks played by Stalin through Zhukov.

Then he said, "Please tell General Patton to be on guard. He is at the top of the NKVD list to be killed." I promised to try to warn General Patton.

As I left the building in Regensburg where Shandruk had met with me, I noticed two men across the street looking at me. I figured they were the General'speople. They were not.

They followed 'me as I drove my jeep back to Schlichtern. I should have confronted them, but I wasn't spoiling for a fight.

SECOND REPORT TO CIC ON PATTON

Again I reported the story told me about an attempt to be made by the NKVD to kill General Patton. Lt. Gillespie told me to write a memo to him about my interview with Shandruk. I did. He read it and made no comment.

I went to have dinner with the other C.I.C. agents. I spoke of the warnings about Patton. Agent Ralph May said, "Steve, the Ukrainians are trying to use you to get us mad at the Russians. I don't see how the NKVD can get to Patton. He's too well guarded." "I guess you're right, but I wouldn't count on his guards." With that I took a glass of schnapps and went to the library.

SOVIET ARROGANCE TOWARD AMERICANS

I had the responsibility to assist the Military Government find a person with proper credentials to become the Mayor (Ober Burgomeister) of Zwickau. I interviewed Germans on the street, asking them who their choice would be for Mayor of Zwickau.

One name which came up most often was that of Fritz Weber, a former school teacher, a Social Democrat who had been imprisoned by the Nazis. He was released only after his son was killed in protecting a German army general.

Fritz Weber was very competent in putting together the kind of Germans who would make Zwickau into a safe place not only for the American troops there but for the German civilians.

It was in Zwickua that I had my first run-in with the

Russians. I had received an urgent message carried by a young lady that Mayor Weber was being harassed by a Russian Colonel and held virtually at gun point by six armed Russian soldiers in his office.

I took over the conversation. I told the Colonel that he had no authority in the American controlled area. I suggested that he and his soldiers leave in peace, that he should order his soldiers to bring down their tommy guns.

He started to give me some lip. He said that all of Zwickau would soon be turned over to the Soviet control. I said that may be so but as of now we Americans were in charge. I also said that I didn't appreciate his using guns on Mayor Weber. I then said, "It seems to me that you communists are no different than the Nazis. You want to have your way by using threats and gun power against decent people."

The Colonel was furious with me. He objected to be compared with the Nazis. I said that if he stopped acting like a Nazi, I would stop making such a comparison. At that he ordered his soldiers to bring their guns down and marched them away to his waiting truck.

The Russian made a complaint to General Finley about me. I wasn't reprimanded, instead was congratulated by Lt. Gillespie for standing up to the Russian Colonel. The other CIC agents in my unit came to me and shook my hand.

GERMAN NKVD CHIEF WALTER ULBRICHT

But the worst was yet to happen. I ran into a German communist by the name of Walter Ulbricht. The communists under his command became nasty people.

From the hospital he ran his NKVD operation. He took over the prisons where we had put the Nazis whom we had arrested. He replaced my appointed Chief of Police and he replaced all the prison guards with communists. He was forcing communism onto the Germans.

This made me furious. I went to the prisons with GIs and kicked out the communist guards. I was angry when I found out that Ulbricht's guards made deals with the Nazis to the effect that if they'd join the communist party by signing a membership card, they would be released.

I had it with Ulbricht and arrested him. When the Russians found out that I had arrested their guy, Ulbricht, they again protested to General Finley. Again, I was not reprimanded, but congratulated.

When the Yalta agreement went into effect, the town of Zwickau became part of the Russian zone. The American troops had to evacuate by June 1.

Before leaving, I arranged transportation for all refugees from Eastern Europe to leave Zwickua and head for the American zone if they so desired. I also arranged for a freight train to haul, out of Zwickau, car loads of gold

paint, ceramic kilns and supplies, factory machines, tooling machines, and thousands of gallons of German wines.

ULBRICHT FORCED TO COME WITH ME

I suppose the worst thing I did to the soviets, up to that time, was to take arrested communist leader Ulbricht with me as I headed to the new American zone.

Special Agent Harry Toombs of our CIC unit came with me with his gun on Walter Ulbricht. About ten kilometers out of Zwickau, Harry asked me to stop the jeep. I did, and asked why. He said, "I want to show this son—of—bitchin' communist what fear means, I want to give him some of his own medicine." I asked him what he was going to do. He told me that he wanted to take Ulbricht into the woods and shoot the bastard.

I looked at Ulbricht, he understood what Harry wanted to do. I suggested to Harry that he take him into the woods, but that I wanted no part of murder.

Harry laughed, he put his forty five to the guys head and pulled the trigger. Harry laughed and said," Damn it, must have been a bad bullet." He fired again, this time Ulbricht collapsed. We put him back into the jeep and drove on for Hof.

RUSSIANS RESCUE ULBRICHT

Before we got into the American zone we were met by two or three Russian trucks carrying at least 24 armed soldiers. One truck came up behind us and the other blocked us in front.

A Russian Colonel gave us a hard look. I spoke to him in Russian and told him that Ulbricht was our prisoner for violating our laws in Zwickau. He had his soldiers point their guns at us, he said, "Now he belongs to us. "I began a meek protest, but a look at the guns convinced me to accept the Russian Colonel's point.

Harry and I drove off and we felt stupid but lucky to be alive. When we arrived at Hof, Harry bragged about the way we almost got Ulbricht away from the Russians.

I wasn't in the mood to talk. Harry almost got both of us killed. His tricks with his forty five took up time for the Russians to catch up with us.

I suppose that Walter Ulbricht, who later became the Communist Party boss of East Germany, never forgot Harry and me. I later found out that Ulbricht was the head of the Russian NKVD operating in Germany and was one of "Wild Bill "Donovan's recruits.

No wonder my name was mud with the OSS General.

THE PROFESSOR

As I continued to do my job of interviewing East Europeans to find Nazi collaborators among them, I interviewed a Professor Roman Smal-Stocki. There was something special about the professor whom I interviewed at Offenbach. Everyone seemed to like him. I could understand why he was appointed Ambassador to Britain by the Ukrainian Independent Government in 1918.

He was a true intellectual who chose his words most carefully. He asked me what I wanted from him. I told him that the U.S. Army was under orders to cooperate with the Soviet request to return East European citizens back to their native lands.

It was in late May. We were sitting in my jeep at the UNRA camp in Offenbach. I asked him to tell me about himself. (I didn't tell him that I had the NKVD list of collaborators on which his name appeared among the most wanted).

He started out by telling me about his father who had been titled as a Count in Bukovina by Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph. He said his father was an author of many books, a professor scholar who was one of the leaders for Ukrainian autonomy and independence during the latter part of the 19th Century.

He kept talking about his father, his mother, his family. I finally broke in and asked, "Could you please tell me about yourself." He apologized for talking so much about his family.

Professor Roman Smal-Stocki told me that he had been primarily a philologist. He had mastered more than a dozen languages by the time he was sixteen. I interrupted him, "Professor tell me about the time when you were involved with the Ukrainian government between 1917 and 1922."

He explained that because of his father's good friends in the newborn government, that President Hrushevsky asked him to represent Ukraine in London. He accepted the post but he also taught philology at Cambridge and Oxford. He left London after the Communists took over Ukraine. He went to Warsaw University as a professor in 1923 and he held seminars at Charles University in Prague. He was a visiting professor at universities in Germany, France and Egypt.

I asked what he did after the Germans invaded Poland. He told me he stayed on at the university in Warsaw. He was arrested by the Gestapo. He was only under house arrest after the Ukrainian Catholic Archbishop Sheptytsky intervened on his behalf.

All the while, the Gestapo had him under house arrest. They escorted him from home to class and back. There was always a member of the Nazi police attending his classes.

"Okay," I said. "Thanks for telling me of your ex-

perience. But Professor, why do the Soviet NKVD want you ar rested?" He said, "Perhaps because I am the President of the Shevchenko Scientific Society or because of my involvement with the Promethean League."

"What's that?" I asked. He explained that after the newly independent nations of the old Russian Empire were reconquered by the Communists, certain political, academic, military and intellectual leaders formed a secret society with twelve captive nations involved.

PROMETHEAN INTELLIGENCE

He was made President. He added, "We had the very best intelligence or ganization in all of Europe, perhaps the world. The Soviet NKVD tried to destroy us, the Nazis also. Even the British tried to put us out of business. But we survived because we had many superior minds working with us."

He then told me, "My best intelligence tells me that the NKVD will soon attempt to kill General George Patton. Stalin wants him dead."

I told him that American intelligence leaders just don't believe the Ukrainians, they think the Ukrainian rumor about Patton is a provocation, that Ukrainians want to destroy the relationship between the Soviet Union and the U.S. He said, "God help America."

REFUSE TO DO SOVIET DIRTY WORK

I didn't have any reason to arrest Professor Smalstocki nor Shandruk nor Bandera. The Russians wanted these three and many others so that they could eliminate their opposition. They wanted me and other Americans to hand these people over to them for execution. I was opposed to doing the Soviet's dirty work.

THE BASILIAN MONK

Aside from Smal-stocki, the most interesting person among the Ukrainian refugees at the UNRA camp at Offenbach was Father Stephen Reshytylo. He too was on the NKVD list.

He was to become a true savior of hundreds of thousands of lives. I marveled as he called on God for help for the endangered people.

As I talked with him he told me of the outrageous way American soldiers were forcing men, women and children onto U.S. Army trucks to be transported against their will to the Soviet troops waiting for them in the Russian zone. I was appalled to learn that even nuns and priests were among those being forced to return to their homelands now occupied by Communists.

Father Reshytylo and others begged me to do some-

thing to stop this forcing at gun point innocent refugees to return to sure death or imprison ment.

GO TO HIGHER AUTHORITY

In exasperation, I said, "Father I can't do much except complain to my superior officer, but you can go to higher authorities." He said he couldn't get a pass out of the UNRA camp.

On May 28, I offered to drive him in my jeep to SHAEF Headquarters in Frankfurt. He took my offer and accompanied me to SHAEF.

MEET EISENHOWER

As we were walking toward the administration building, I saw Generals Eisenhower, Bradley and Clark walking toward us. I snapped a salute and all three returned it. As we were about shoulder to shoulder, General Eisenhower asked, "Who's the Padre, soldier?"

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Father gave General Eisenhower a hug. Then he said, "General Eisenhower I am glad to meet you. You are a hero to my people. bless you."

"What brings you here?" Eisenhower asked the priest. At that Father spoke very slowly. "I have come in the name of God to try to help the innocent people you are

forcing to return to the land from which they fled." Then he added, "God will never forgive the Americans. The blood of these innocent people will be on your hands."

General Eisenhower's face turned a deep red. He stood in awe of this giant man of God. Then it was that General Mark Clark spoke. "See Ike, I told you we were making a serious mistake." Bradley added, "Ike, I think we should do something. I don't like forcing innocent people into the hands of the Russians."

THE MIRACLE HAPPENED

General Eisenhower looked at me. He said, "Soldier take the Padre to see Colonel Tony Biddle. Tell the Colonel that I want him to arrange a conference call with Secretary Stettinius at 900 tomorrow morning." I said, "Yes, sir."

Father asked, "Tony Biddle, was he Ambassador to Poland?" "Yes he was. He is now my aide for Eastern Europe." Father was pleased. "Ambassador Biddle is a good friend of mine. He will understand the problem".

Eisenhower looked Father Reshytylo in the eyes. He smiled. Father said, "Thank you General, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, I thank you." As he blessed the Generals.

Eisenhower took Father's hand and said, "Good luck. Thank you for coming here. I'm sure we can do something for your people." All three Generals shook Father's hand as they took leave. Each saluted me as I saluted them.

VISIT WITH TONY BIDDLE

Father and I were excited. A miracle had happened. I said, "God works in mysterious ways." He said, "Stepan, I'm very pleased with you." We hurried into the building. I saluted the Captain and told him that General Eisenhower wanted the Father and me to see Colonel Tony Biddle.

The Captain called Biddle. He escorted us to the Colonel's office. When we entered, Colonel Biddle was waiting and immediately he and the priest embraced in a hug. Tears came to his and Father's eyes. They were old friends. They spoke with excitement. Ambassador Biddle asked many ques tions. Asked about mutual friends and about conditions in Poland.

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Colonel Biddle immediately came to me. I told him that Eisenhower asked that he arrange a conference call with Secretary Stettinius for 900 tomorrow.

He excused himself and went into the security room. He closed the door. In about 20 minutes he returned. "The conference call is all set." Then he asked me about my work. I explained. He asked me what I saw at the UNRA camps. I said, "A lot of scared people."

He nodded and turned to Father Reshytylo. He asked Father to join him for lunch at the camp the next day at noon. Father and he exchanged a few more words. They embraced again. They shook hands and said goodbye. Father made the sign of the cross. I returned the Colonel's salute and we departed.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

It was an exciting trip back to Offenbach. Mission accomplished beyond expectations.

I left Father off at the camp and returned to Schlichtern. I reported to Lieutenant Gillespie what happened. He said, "Nice work, Steve." I smiled in appreciation.

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It was a glorious day. Thousands of refugees gathered in the courtyard at the camp. Colonel Biddle was going to make an announcement. Father Reshytylo, the lady camp director and I were on the platform with Colonel Biddle.

The director asked Father to give a prayer. After the prayer, she introduced Colonel Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, former Ambassador to Poland. The people cheered their welcome.

Tony Biddle was a marvelous speaker. He started by saying hello to his many friends whom he singled out. He

thanked the crowd for waiting patiently. He thanked the director and he said, "I am pleased to inform you about a great decision made yesterday in Washington, D.C. The President of the United States, Harry Truman, has ordered that no refugee would be forced to return home against his or her will." Everyone applauded, shouting "God bless President Truman."

Tony Biddle put up his hands waiting for the refugees to settle down. The director had her hands up signaling the crowd. Finally the Colonel could continue.

It was done. Father Reshytylo had used the power of God to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of refugees. One man alone, Father Stephen Reshytylo, O.S.B.M., had convinced General Eisenhower to get a change in U.S. Policy toward the refugees.

He had invoked the name of God. God's will be done, was done.

NO MORE DIRTY DUTY

I went back happily to my duties. I was glad that the C.I.C. was no longer to do dirty work for the Russians, my role in taking Father Reshytylo to SHAEF became known to the NKVD. Bad news for them. Bad for me too. I was now an NKVD problem.

The Ukrainian leaders at Offenbach persisted in

warning about the NKVD's plan to kill General Patton. I saw Major Stone at O.S.S. a number of times during which I repeated the rumor.

CIC INFORMANTS

My work as a counter-intelligence agent was full of danger. I had recruited some informants from among Germans who were former Gestapo or SS people.

THE JEWISH UNDERGROUND

I had two Jewish kids helping me. The Jewish kids were Audi and Lilli Weil. These two children regarded me as their savior. I really wasn't. But they thought they owed me their lives. They were most ready to do anything I asked of them. They gave me access to the Jewish underground operating in Europe, particularly in Germany and Austria.

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VISIT THE SHOENBERG CASTLE

went under a flag of truce to the castle. It was surrounded by SS men in black uniforms of the SS Corps.

Harry and I wondered if we had been suckered into a trap. We couldn't turn back. I stopped the jeep. I saluted the SS soldiers which they returned. An SS Colonel approached me. I explained my mission. He allowed that I could visit with the princess.

She was standing at the door with her husband and three girls. Prince Von Shonberg invited Harry and me into the parlor. The princess thanked me for coming and explained her concern that the SS presence around the castle could provoke a US attack which could endanger the 16 innocent people living in the castle.

She added that among the staff were Lilli and Audi Weil, Jewish children who have lived with her since 1938. She said very quietly, "The SS must not know. We would all be shot." The princess and I went outside to talk to the SS Colonel to get his permission to let the 16 people leave with us. He very cordially agreed.

Harry and I took the young princesses in our jeep with some luggage. The others followed in three cars. As we left, Harry and I saluted and the Colonel snapped a Nazi "Heil Hitler" at us.

We were glad to be back in Weimar. We stopped at a fancy hotel. The Prince and Princess were most grateful. The young princesses gave Harry and me kisses.

CAMP FOLLOWERS

Lilli and Audi asked if they could stay with us. We allowed them to join our entourage of camp followers. Camp followers were happy to share our billets, happy to enjoy good food, they did the cooking, cleaning and were generally useful.

One of the camp followers was my chauffeur. I had commandeered a large Horche car which had been General Hermann Goering's staff car. It was a real beauty, grey with red upholstery. It was bullet proofed.

MY CHAUFFEUR SPY

The chauffeur was a Yugoslavian Jew named Alfred Schoenstein. He also acted as a spy for me. I used him to help me get civilian credentials and to get certain information about the Russian intelligence people who spied on U.S. troops.

The credentials he gave me were tainted, thus I learned that Schoenstein was a Russian spy. He was a double agent. I used him and he used me. He threw me a lot of curves. He inadvertently helped me catch two Russian spies with U.S. military information in their possession.

I CAPTURE RUSSIAN SPIES

I arrested these spies only to learn that our chief intelligence officer had them released.

I complained to Lt. Gillespie. He and I went to talk

with Colonel Leo Rodin. We were told by him that it was he who had the Russian spies released. I asked why. He said he had his reasons, that I didn't need to know.

Sure as shootin', again these same two Russian spies came into my hands. Again the bastards were released. I got mad. I explained to Lt. Gillespie that the information these spies had on them could be very useful to the Soviet military. It compromised our codes.

SON OF A GUN, DONOVAN

I went to O.S.S. and saw Major Stone. He was very appreciative. He suggested I talk to the General. I did and that was a big mistake. The previous time I talked with him was when I informed him about Bandera's warning that the NKVD was going to kill General Patton.

He told me that Bandera was on the list to be arrested. That his rumor about Patton was a provocation. He ordered me to arrest Bandera. (Which I couldn't do without killing twenty or more of his body guards.)

When I talked with the General about the two Russian spies I caught, I got into big trouble. I was angry that the spies who compromised our codes were released by Colonel Rodin.

Donovan told me that it was my duty to do what Colonel Rodin said. I argued that he was not my superior officer, that as a C.I.C. agent I had my duty to protect

NKVD MAD AT ME

The Russian NKVD and their American OSS friends were furious with me. They said I was an UPA agent, working for Bandera.

THE PATTON ACCIDENT

The rumor about the NKVD's plan to kill Patton became a reality. General Patton was murdered. I was convinced. I asked to be assigned to investigate. I was sharply ordered to stay away, that others had been assigned the investigation. ### THE ARREST OF SCHOENSTEIN, DOUBLE AGENT A few weeks before the December 9th accident, I was ordered to arrest double agent Alfred Schoenstein. When I went to his room, I learned that he had flown the coop, that he drove off in my grey Horche. He had apparently learned from someone that I was ordered to arrest him. I was angry. I especially hated his stealing my car. I talked with Audi and Lilli about Schoenstein. I asked if they could help find out where he might be hiding. I explained that he was a Russian spy and that he must have gone over to them for safety. Audi promised to go to the Jewish underground to get their help. Three days later Audi came with information that Schoenstein had been spotted in Regensburg going into the head quarters of Russian Colonel Sergeivich. The Horche was parked in the back. Audi and I jumped into the jeep and drove quickly to Regensburg. I jumped out and ran up stairs to the Russian Colonel's office. I knocked on the door. I waited a few minutes and Colonel Sergeivich unlocked the door letting me in. I suspected that he had let Schoenstein out through another door. I asked him about Schoenstein. He said he didn't know anyone named Schoenstein. I described him. I told the Colonel that he had stolen a car and it was my duty to arrest him. "Sorry, "he said. "I don't know anything that could be useful." I thanked him and left. When I came out, Audi ran to me saying that Schoenstein had driven out at full speed in the Horche, that he was heading for the autobahn. I made the jeep fly but the Horche could move at 120 miles per hour. There was no way for the jeep to catch up. Audi was angry at himself. He said he should have disabled the Horche. He said he should have let the air out of the tires. I told him that he did right to stay with the jeep. We might have had to walk home if the jeep had been stolen. #### **AUDI LOCATES SCHOENSTEIN** He promised to find Schoenstein. In a few days, Audi reported that Schoenstein and the car were at SHAEF, at the Russian compound in Frankfurt. I hurried to Frankfurt, parked my jeep and knocked on the huge doors of the castle headquarters and residence of General Davidov, Chief of the Russian compound. #### MEET SOVIET NKVD GENERAL DAVIDOV I suddenly realized how stupid I was going alone into the den of the Russian bear. Only Audi and the Jewish underground knew where I was. Shortly the huge door was opened. A Major let me in after I told him that I was with the Criminal Investigation Division as I flashed my badge. He asked me to wait in the foyer. After 10 minutes he said General Davidov would speak with me. He led me up a spiral staircase to a large dining room. The dining table must have been 20 feet by 10 feet, shining mahogany. Across the table already seated was General Davidov, next to him was a young lady. I saluted and I said "Hello." He answered, "Hello" in English and in Russian he said, "Please be seated." The young lady spoke in English saying that the General would speak in Russian. I said I would speak American. "Yes, that is why I am here." Standing behind the General were 24 Russian officers with various rank. All had bald shaven heads, no eyebrows and tan uniforms. Apparently they were NKVD officers who disguised themselves with wigs, etc. when in the field. I wasn't too happy to have all that company. I also thought if Schoenstein told them I was a C.I.C. agent, they knew I lied when I said I was C.I.D. Oh well, I thought, I still had to arrest Schoenstein. The General had a half smile on his plastic face. I smiled back. He asked, "How can I help you?" "You know why I am here, I presume," I answered. He changed roles with me. He asked about my family. I told him they were American citizens of Ukrainian descent. He asked if I had made contact with Ukrainians here in Germany. I said, "With some." He kinda grunted. It was my turn to ask questions. "What do you think of the atom bomb?" His response was, "Oh, we have it." I quickly said, "Bull, if you had it you would have used it." He said, "Not so, after all we are too civilized to use such terror, such destructive force." He smiled. He had played a neat trick. Finally I said, "You know I am here to arrest a criminal, Alfred Schoenstein. I know he is here and I'd like you to turn him over to me." He stated that he did not knowSchoenstein. "But sir," I said, "I have on very good information that he is here in your headquarters." He again changed roles. He began questioning me about my sources. I laughed, "You really don't expect me to tell you." #### NKVD PLOT TO KILL PATTON I asked him to tell me if he had heard of the rumor that his NKVD was ordered to kill General George Patton. He stared at me. How dare I ask such a question? His answer was that the questions was ridiculous. "Why should our government be involved in murdering a fellow comrade in arms?" I knew instinctively that I had scored well with that question. His answer was evasive but it told me that he knew of the NKVD plot because he and his dogs were all NKVD. I looked squarely at the General, he blinked. I looked at his men behind him. They didn't. Their stone faced stares were intimidating. I decided to get back to the matter of Schoenstein. #### MY HORCHE FOR SCHOENSTEIN I took a bold gamble. "General, Schoenstein is a criminal, a black market thief, wanted by the United States Government. I know for a fact that you are negotiating with him to buy Goering's Horche." He again denied knowing Schoenstein I said, "I am sure that your superiors in Moscow would not take kindly to your negotiating to buy a car stolen from the United States Government." "To save you from a lot of trouble, I am willing to make you a deal. Give me Schoenstein and I will give you the Horche with official papers." He glared at me. He was uncomfortable with me and all those NKVD guys behind him. I asked, "Is it a deal?" Within 2 minutes, Schoenstein was brought to me. Before he could say anything, I said "You no good bastard, you son of a bitch, you damned crook. Don't you say a word." Schoenstein stood there amazed at my tirade. I had spoken rapidly and angrily. The General asked "Shcho ohn skazzo? Shcho ohn skazzo?" "What did he say? What did he say?" The interpreter blushed. She said, "Suki sin" (son of a bitch) and that I called Schoenstein a crook. I spoke, "Thank you General. You can keep the Horche. I will get you official transfer papers in a few days." #### DA SVIDANYA MEANS I'LL SEE YOU AGAIN I was glad to get out alive, glad I had Schoenstein. I really never wanted to see Davidov again. As we drove to Hof, I gave Schoenstein hell. I said he made a lot of trouble for me. He cost me Goering's Horche. I told him that he was under arrest, that if he tried to escape I'd kill him. I also explained that I still had use of his services. I asked him not to tell about my deal with Davidov. I turned him over to Lt. Gillespie. That was that. I made my report. I wrote of my discussion with General Davidov about the atom bomb, about the threat on General Patton's life and about Goering's car. #### HELL BREAKS LOOSE Next day all hell broke loose. I was ordered to C.I.C. headquarters in Hochst. NKVD General Davidov had complained to O.S.S. General Donovan. He wanted the papers to the car and he wanted my hide. Colonel Leo Rodin tore into me. He said my report is a bunch of crap. He told me that I'd had no authority to contact General Davidov. "Damnit!" I said. "I risked my life to get Schoenstein. My orders didn't say where or how I should catch Schoenstein." Colonel Rodin said that I was a damned fool, that I really made General Davidov angry. Then he said he had no choice but to put me under house arrest. He said Donovan insisted that I be arrested. I was fuming. I did one helluva job. I arrested a mighty slick spy. But my reward was being arrested. I sat in my room without windows. My door locked from outside. I was a prisoner. Later a guy came to my room with a bottle of whiskey and a pack of cigarettes, compliments of Colonel Rodin. He said Lt. Gillespie calls me a hero. Then he put his hand on my knee. I said, "Why you no good fairy. Get the hell out of here before I knock your head off." He was scared. He virtually ran out of the room. His tape recording was used against me. Rodin had tried to discredit me as a homo. I was kept on ice for 6 nights and released by a Captain. He walked with me to his office. He gave me back my credentials and badge. He told me that Schoenstein had spilled the beans. He had told them about his working for the Russians all the while he worked with me. I said, "I knew that." Then he added that Schoenstein said I was an agent working for the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) that I had been seen with Stepan Bandera. I said, "That's a crock," and asked "who do you believe him or me?" The Captain handed me a photo. He said that he wanted me to arrest Joachim Myers, who manages a factory in Wurzburg. Myers was a Nazi who used slave labor for many years. I said, "Captain since you question my loyalty, I don't think you ought to give me orders to carry out." "Are you refusing my orders?" "Not really," I said. The Captain was angry. He said, "Cut your bull, I can have you up for insubordination." I arrested Myers, made my report to the Captain. He thanked me and told me to go back to Hof. "Say hello to Gillespie." Good! Now I can go back to catching Gestapo agents and big time Nazis.

I requested release from the service on points, Gillespie told me I was indispensable, which meant my points weren't of any value. General Pavel Shandruk came to see me. He asked me to come to his place. He wanted to show me something. I didn't really want to go with Shandruk. We arrived at Shandruk's place in Regensburg. I noticed we had been followed by a guy in a red Farrari. I told the General. He said it was one of his men. The General offered me some brandy. I sipped the stuff but didn't like it. Shortly, he opened a cabinet and pulled out four volumes of thick notebooks. He explained that the books contained photos and dossiers on a couple thousand Communist/Soviet spies. He said "Professor Smal-Stocki and I want you to deliver these to the head of U.S. Intelligence, General George V. Strong in Washington." I told him I might be held back for at least a year. He said he might be able to arrange for me to fly home for Christmas. Then he pulled out four dossiers, put them in an envelope and asked me to deliver them to the OSS General. I objected. I said I'd had nothing but trouble with him. He said, "I know that, but please show him these files." What could I say? I took the envelope and headed back to O.S.S. I again spoke to Major Stone. He was glad to see me. He congratulated me on getting Schoenstein and making General Davidov so angry. "Yeah," I said, "Big deal, sure made a peck of trouble for me." I told him that I had put the finger on Davidov and his NKVD dogs. That they killed Patton. He asked if I could prove that. "No, I'm not allowed to investigate the case." I then told him about the Shandruk dossiers. He said, "Great!" I showed him the envelope. He took it to the General. He came out. He told me the General wanted to see me. ### **DONOVAN AGAIN** There I was once again with that angry S.O.B. who believed all Ukrainians were Nazi collaborators, anti- # Semitic and trying to cause a war with Russia. He believed I was an UPA agent. "Soldier, what kind of crap is this you're bringing me? Why did General Shandruk ask you to deliver this to me?" I was upset. I put my hands on the table. I said, "This stuff is not crap. It's reliable." Then it happened, "Stand at attention, Private," he shouted. I said, "Sir I'm a Special Agent, C.I.C. not a Private." He said, "Take this stuff to the British. They're dumb enough to believe the Ukrainians." He added, "Tell Lieutenant Gillespie that I reduced your rank to Private." He stood up, threw me a salute and walked out. I drove back to Regensburg with the files. General Shandruk was upset. He promised me that my rank would be reinstated. I went back to my unit. Gillespie said, "Steve, you sure did this time. The General called me to tell me that you were improper and insubordinate with your remarks. He said he busted you down to Private, but I told him he didn't have the authority to do that to you." "Gee thanks," I said My last visit in Offenbach was on Christmas Eve. That party with the Ukrainian leaders was very special. Father Reshytylo called me "an agent of God." Professor Smal-Stocki called me a "hero." General Shandruk called me "Colonel Skubik." I went to Badnauheim. Lt. Gillespie told me my orders were being cut. I would leave for Bremerhaven on the 5th of January, as a Private. "Great!" I said. I never cared too much about military rank anyhow, so I didn't mind being a Private again. #### GOING HOME TO GOOD OL' U.S. OF A I was going home. I was being honorably discharged. I was given a Bronze Star by Lt. Gillespie. He had tears in his eyes when he read the citation to me. He was a damned good friend. He said, "Steve, I'm sorry for all the trouble you've had. I want you to know that I consider you a real fine C.I.C. agent." Then he added, "I'm glad you nailed Davidov." #### A GUN TO MY BELLY I thought my worries were over. As I walked toward the hotel, a Captain walked up to me, put a gun to my stomach, put me under arrest and threw me into a German jail. He said he was with the Military Government, that I had been fraternizing with Germans. He took my keys, my credentials, badge and money. Two nights in jail was enough. I asked the German guard to call Lt. Gillespie and tell him that I was in jail. Gillespie himself came to get me. I sure was glad to see him. "Gee Steve, why can't you stay out of trouble?" "Gillie," I said, "The buggers are out to get me." The Military Government Captain had turned in my money, my credentials and my badge. Lt. Gillespie had the Military Government Captain on the phone. He really chewed him out saying, "C.I.C. agents are not subject to your authority. I'll have you up for court martial if you ever touch another agent." He slammed the phone and said, "Steve, I'll have that Captain investigated. He smells fishy to me." ### HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN I left for Bremerhaven. I arrived in Brooklyn on February 19th and was home in Canton, Ohio on February 22nd. I left Canton on February 23rd for Washington, D.C. where my girl friend, Ann Davis, met me at the train station. #### WASHINGTON, D.C. I roomed at a rooming house on Connecticut Avenue. Then I moved in with a tank Sergeant who was a friend of Ann's best girlfriend. Things were coming back to normal except I had problems with shell shock and amoebic dysentery. But I was coping with Ann's help. I took a job as an accountant, but I didn't like it. Then I took a job selling food products to wholesalers and chain stores #### TO GET MY RANK REINSTATED I decided to try to get my rank reinstated. I knew that my reduction in rank was not properly handled. I was directed to an office to talk to a personnel officer. Damnation! I was tricked into talking to OSS Colonel MacIntosh whose name appeared on the papers that the General had filed against me. Colonel MacIntosh greeted me like an old friend. He took me by cab to lunch at the Mayflower Hotel. He recognized J. Edgar Hoover at his usual table. I was introduced to the Director of the FBI. Colonel MacIntosh asked me to call him "Mac." I was "Steve" to him. Nice lunch. We walked and talked the 14 blocks back to his office. He told me that General Davidov was in some kind of trouble. That General Shandruk had visited the O.S.S. office. He said that Shandruk spoke very highly about me. Shandruk refused to turn over his intelligence dossiers. He said he would only trust Colonel Skubik. Then he said General Mark Clark needs a Liaison Officer. Would I be willing to go back as a First Lieutenant to work with General Clark. I asked, "O.S.S. or C.I.C.?" neither. We are now S.S.U." I said I'd think about it if he raised the rank to Captain. He said, "OK, Captain it is." I promised to call him in a few days. #### LUCKY ME What a coincidence. I was walking in front of the White House, on Pennsylvania Avenue and coming toward me was OSS Major Stone. "Steve," he called. "Stoney" and I talked. He was in Washington on an assignment. He asked me what I was doing. I told him that I was a food broker but that I was considering the offer by Colonel MacIntosh to go back to Germany. He said, "Don't do it, they want you back in uniform in order to kill you." "What? Why?" I asked. "Because you are political dynamite. You've got the Russians mad as hell. You accused General Davidov and the NKVD of murdering Patton. He was called to Moscow. He hasn't been seen around. Just disappeared." "Good God!" "What am I supposed to do." "Why can't they kill me here." He said, "They can, only it would be neater if you were in uniform." "Thanks, Stoney." He said, "Steve, go underground for a few years." "I will," I promised. I sort of did, I always was on the alert and I never stayed near the area from which I made telephone calls. But I had an office in D.C. and I had a job. I sold food products along the Eastern Coast, from Boston to Miami. alert. Ann McCarrol Davis with her associate Olga Mickwitz were cryptographers with the Army Security Agency in Arlington, Virginia. The two were commended for breaking the Russian code. Ann was a cryto analyst and was privy to many secret documents. She never discussed her work. She was aware of the problems created by OSS General Donovan's communist agents. #### SENATOR ROBERT A. TAFT I felt free to roam the streets in Washington after Ohio Senator Robert Taft recruited me to work at the Republican National Committee in 1951. He was going to run for President. Since I was from Ohio and I was a Democrat with many friends in Canton, he had me checked out after one of his staff secretaries recommended me. Taft promised me that when he became President, he would call for an investigation of Patton's charges about the mistreatment of German prisoners of war and the murder of General Patton. ### CONGRESSIONAL INVESTIGATION ABORTED Eisenhower defeated Taft at the 1952 convention. I was a Taft man. I was kicked off the Eisenhower campaign team but not before I had a chance to convince John Foster Dulles to adopt the Policy of Liberation which I had written for Taft # Eisenhower was opposed to a Congressional investigation called for by Patton before he was killed. I never asked the Eisenhower team to request Congress to make the investigation. #### NOT TOO LATE TO LEARN THE TRUTH I believe that General George S. Patton, Jr. was murdered by Davidov's NKVD. The accident off the autobahn near Mannheim was the NKVD's modus operandi. Even here in the United States people were murdered by the NKVD. Dymytro Halychyn was mysteriously killed in the subway station in New York. Many other Ukrainians who had been in the Ukrainian Insurgent Army were killed by the NKVD. Lev Rebet, a prominent Ukrainian leader and editor of Ukrainian Independence, was assassinated by the KGB, in Munich in 1957. Patton's death should be reinvestigated. Soviet and U.S. Military files should be carefully examined. My nemesis in Germany, Colonel Leo Rodin was a Polish Communist spy. I know because he tried to recruit me in 1949. The Military Government Captain who threw me into a German jail was arrested by the FBI as an NKVD spy. His home was in Clifton, NJ. Also the FBI arrested a Robert Thompson as a Soviet spy. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in May, 1965. This story is 98% true. Only some names differ. Some names I can't remember, some dates may be wrong. #### **EPILOGUE** December 9, 1945 was on a Sunday. Traffic was light on the autobahn near Mannheim where General Patton was going hunting for pheasants in the Kaeferthal. His Cadillac was on Route 38. with him was General Hap Gay and his driver PFC Horace L. Woodring. Sergeant Joe Spruce was in a quarter ton truckcarrying the guns and the dogs. The time was 11:45 a.m. when the Cadillac was passing over the railroad track after waiting for a train to pass. A big GMC truck was coming in the opposite direction when it suddenly took a sharp turn into the Cadillac. Tech Sergeant Robert Thompson was the driver of the truck. The collision was heard by military policemen Lieutenants Peter K. Babalas and John Mertz who had also waited for the train to pass. They were immediately on the scene of the accident. The MP's noted that the GMC truck had hardly a scratch. The Cadillac's left front fender and the radiator were pushed back. They thought it to be a minor fender bender. PFC Woodring and General Gay were not hurt. They saw that General Patton was bleeding about the face. They thought him to be only slightly injured. But he complained to them that his neck hurt. Patton asked General Gay to rub his fingers. He was showing signs of paralysis. The MP's called for an ambulance. Thirty five minutes later the ambulance was on its way to the hospital at Heidelberg where it arrived at 12:45 p.m. At 1:00 p.m., Dr./Colonel Paul S. Hill Jr.began to examine General George Smith Patton, Jr. He found that Patton's neck had been broken. His thorax, his abdomen and his extremities were paralyzed. The chances for survival were slim. In spite of all the fine doctors and nurses who treated him, the General died at 5:45 p.m. on December 21, 1945. I learned of the accident at about 3:00 p.m. on that Sunday afternoon, December 9, 1945 while at my office in Hof. We discussed the accident. I remarked that the NKVD finally did it. I was sure that Russian General Davidov somehow had staged the accident. I asked Lieutenant Gillespie to get me assigned to investigate the probability that General Patton had been set up for the accident. He called Colonel Rodin about my request and was told to give me strict orders to, "Stay the hell out". He said that others were assigned to the case. I stayed away but I was kept informed by my Ukrainian sources. First I learned that General Patton was to have left for the states on December 10. That the NKVD had to move onto Patton before he left Germany. Also I learned that the driver of the GMC truck which rammed Patton's Cadillac was Tech Sergeant Robert Thompson who had not been authorized to drive the truck he took from the Signal Corps. Also that T/5 Thompson was allowed to drive away after being interviewed by Lt. Babalas. No one knew where to find Robert Thompson, he was allowed to leave though he had admitted stealing the truck from the Signal Corps. I was certain that Thompson was an NKVD agent who had known exactly where General Patton would be on the morning of December 9. I believe that it was someone in the Signal Corps who got word from someone in General Patton's Headquarters that the General was going hunting for pheasants in the Kaeferthal and that he would take route 38. Thompson was on the way to get Patton and he made the hit just as the Cadillac was going over the railroad track. Who was T/5 Robert Thompson? What outfit did he belong to? Where is the accident file? Where did Robert Thompson come from? Why didn't the military police cite Thompson for driving a vehicle without authorization? Why did the MP's just let Thompson drive away? Where was the GMC truck found? There are too many unanswered questions to satisfy me. Why wasn't a thorough investigation conducted? Why did the MP's allow Patton to be moved before the ambulance came? Why the 35 minute delay before the ambulance left for the hospital? Also, who drove the ambulance? Who was the medic? Stephen J. Skubik, (c) 1993 Former Special Agent U.S. Counter Intelligence Corps, 89th Infantry Div. Third Army Patton Murder # PART 2 PATTON, THE BOY, THE MAN #### PATTON, THE BOY, THE MAN A son was born to George Smith Patton and Ruth Wilson on November 11, 1885 in Old Lake Vineyard, California, twelve miles northeast of Los Angeles. He was named George Smith Patton, Jr. The little boy Georgie was fond of playing soldier with his sister Nita. Out of a sense of chivalry, he allowed that she was the major and he the private. But in his mind he saw himself as the general. His grandfather was his source of inspiration. He had fought in the Civil War, a gallant officer of the Confederacy. George Smith Patton, his grandfather was his tutor in many ways besides the art of warfare. Georgie absorbed the history of the Pattons. He accepted his role as a continuation of the family tradition of warriors. Little Georgie spent much of his childhood dreaming of himself as a heroic military leader. He studied history, especially the role played by generals. #### **DYSLEXIA** Early in his life, it was learned that he had a reading problem. His dyslexia was to hound him and embarrass him in the classroom where his classmates laughed at him. He became determined to be in every way superior to others. He read of his aristocratic heritage. He saw himself as above the commoners, destined to be their leader He was enrolled in Stephen Clark's private academy at age twelve. Previous to that he received private tutoring. He finished his high school with a sound education. #### COLLEGE When it came time for him to go to college, it was decided that he would apply to West Point. However, obtaining the support of a Member of Congress to endorse him was not an easy matter. His grandfather did all he could to get George an appointment to West Point. However, the endorsement of Republican Senator Thomas A, Bard of California became a serious stumbling block because his family were Democrats. In order to be sure that George Smith Patton, Jr. would become a military leader, he was enrolled in the Virginia Military Institute where many of his ancestors received their education and training before him. At VMI he came into his own. He was obviously above average. His relatives who were teachers and administrators at VMI helped him in every way they could, but it was his personal dedication and determination, along with hard study, which brought him to be admired by his classmates. At VMI he also learned how important it was to be a team player. Patton engaged in sports, in the use of firearms and in polo. His horsemanship and his fierce competitive spirit became his trademark. His strict obedience to the rules did not go un-noticed. It was then that Senator Bard decided to endorse George for West Point. #### PATTON AT WEST POINT His VMI experience came in good stead for him at the Point. He was head and shoulders above the many who were not so endowed. Besides, George just knew that he was destined to the very best of his class. He saw himself at the Point as he had seen himself from his earliest years. His aristocratic bearing, his knowledge of history and his devotion to strict military discipline were immediately noticed by his instructors and his classmates. When he was just seventeen, he met Beatrice Banning Ayer. No other young lady interested him after that first encounter. Therefore, girls were not a distraction from his studies. His letters to Beatrice revealed his innermost fears and concern about his being able to fulfill his ambition to become even a cadet corporal, let alone to become a general. More and more, Beatrice became his most needed support. Her letters to him and his to her were cherished by both young lovers. For all of his dedication and study, his dyslexia was still a serious problem. Even as much support his family could give him with their love and encouragement, George Smith Patton, Jr. was in serious trouble. Because his grades in French were so poor, he had to take an exam. Had he passed he would not have to take any other exam, but he failed the French exam and had to take the mathematics exam which he also failed. He was devastated. How could he face his family? George was determined to return to West Point, to try again. He knew that he had to try even harder. He drove himself and others around him mad with a fire of anger at himself. He could not tolerate his failure. He returned to West Point after a few weeks with his family at Catalina. While at Catalina he studied continuously and spent hours with his tutor. He also saw much of Beatrice there. He promised to escort her to all of the dances and football games. She was his inspiration to fight on. Experiencing failure in his studies was followed by his breaking his arm in trying out for the football team He took up fencing and tried out for the track team. But his main goal was to be appointed first cadet corporal. He studied like a demon possessed to achieve outstanding academic standing. He also became the ultimate in military bearing. He completed the year with flying colors in grades and he was appointed second corporal for the following school year. He spent a few weeks at home in California. He returned to summer camp at West Point to introduce the plebes to their lowly status. He enjoyed the power of being second corporal and his authority when the first corporal was away. When he commanded his company or the battalion he was extremely happy. He was a strict disciplinarian. The plebes hated him. He reported them for the slightest infraction of the rules. He was in tears when at the end of the camp he was demoted to sixth corporal. He was too harsh, he had demanded too much of the men was the opinion of the officers. Needless to say, Patton didn't accept the demotion lightly. He just knew that he was right to expect the best of the men under hiscommand. He didn't make excuses for the way he handled the men and himself. As sixth corporal he had very little opportunity to exercise power. He concentrated on his studies. He also tested himself as a warrior who would some day have to face enemy fire. He actually rose up on the firing range where he was in the pits to learn if he could face the bullets as they were being fired at the target. Luckily he wasn't hit. In the spring of his sophomore year he was promoted back to second corporal. For his third year he was promoted to cadet sergeant major which put him in line for a higher position in his senior year. The senior year surprised him with a promotion to adjutant of the cadet corps. As adjutant he was the class leader. He had the power of appointment for rank and honors. He was very pleased with himself. His confidence soared. Success had come to him as a result of hard work and striving for excellence. Completing his studies at West Point in five years, he graduated in June 1909. #### **MILITARY CAREER BEGINS** He won his athletic letter in track setting the record in high hurdles. He became very proficient in the use of the sword and became a sharpshooter with the rifle and pistol. His bearing as a military man, graduate from West Point, caused heads to turn, especially that of young ladies. Aside from Beatrice, he had dated other girls, one interested him because she was from a very rich family whose money might be helpful to him in his ambition to become a general. However, it was to Beatrice that he always returned. He had no idea how rich her family was, but he should have. His pride in his achievements gave him a sense of superiority and a certainty that he would succeed in becoming a truly great general. While at West Point he overcame his dyslexia problem. #### FRIENDSHIP He was apprehensive about making friends because he felt that they might encumber his way of life whereas being alone allowed him the time and freedom he needed to pursue his burning ambition to succeed in becoming the great general he yearned for since early childhood. This attitude also extended toward becoming too much involved with Beatrice, even though he loved her very much. He knew that she loved him too and that one day they would marry. Fortunately for him, Beatrice had the patience to wait until he was ready. He had on occasion mentioned to her that he wanted to marry her, but he stopped at making the commitment by proposing. #### MARRIAGE While stationed at Fort Sheridan and Highland Park he was considered one of the most attractive bachelor. His popularity with the girls ended abruptly as he and Beatrice married in May, 1910 at Beverly Farms, Mas sachusetts. Beatrice Ayer Patton became a model military wife. She devoted herself to her husband. Her gracious manners and gentility made her very popular with the officers and their wives. She transformed the rough and tough soldier into a true gentleman. She taught him how to use flattery, to control his anger and to be diplomatic in dealing with others. She insisted on proper dress at dinner. Patton 's career as a military officer was certainly advanced by having at his side such a charming lady. It was at the time of the birth of their first child that George Patton took up writing. #### **POWER** Patton felt that it was time for him to move onto a more promising scene than Fort Sheridan. He consulted with the commanding officer on how he might obtain a transfer to Fort Myer, Virginia. He made use of all his and Bea's family connections to obtain the transfer, he wanted to be near the generals in power. Patton made every effort to be seen with men of power. He joined the Metropolitan Club in Washington because there he could mingle among the men of power. #### RECOGNITION It became clear to Patton that the path to becoming general was to be known, to standout from the crowd. He did all he could to bring favorable attention to himself. He entered into the competition for the 1912 Olympics pentathlon. The event was perfectly suited for his talents, horsemanship, pistol firing, fencing, swimming and running. He was chosen to represent the U.S. Army at the games in Stockholm. His fifth place showing was credible and brought him some glory, but most important his reputation was enhanced. #### THE PATTON SWORD He was especially noted for his swordsman ship. He learned from the French the fine art of using the sword. He rewrote the U.S. Army manual on the use of the sword. This brought him considerable attention from his superiors. He designed a new sword to support his theory of swordsmanship. The sword became known as the "Patton sword." The year 1913 was to be fateful for him. Twenty thousand Petter awards were ordered by the Chief of Army and Navy Journal. Also he wrote a piece for the Cavalry Journal describing the history of the sword in combat. Patton became the U.S.Army's foremost authority on the use of the sword. Thus he also gained the attention not only of his immediate superior officers but that of even the Secretary of War and the Chief of Staff. His formula for success was working very well. #### THE PRESS He learned the importance of the press and used it skillfully to create an image of himself as a man of talent and a man with connections. #### FORT BLISS He had been a student at the Mounted Service School in 1913 - 1915, he was declared eligible for promotion. He returned to his regiment which was soon to leave for the Philippines. Patton did not want to leave the Washington seat of power. He used his influential contacts to get him an assignment to the Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas, close to the border with Mexico, where trouble was brewing. Patton hoped that America would fight a war with Mexico so that he could get combat experience. When he came to Bliss, he studied for his exam for promotion. Not to leave anything to chance, he befriended members of the promotion board. He passed the exam and was certified for promotion. #### THE MEXICAN WAR On March 9, 1916, Pancho Villa crossed the border into New Mexico where his troops killed seventeen U.S. soldiers. General John Pershing took American troops into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa. Patton petitioned his superiors to have him appointed to be Pershing's aide. Patton was selected by Pershing and thus it was that he was able to convince Pershing of his superior qualities. It was in Mexico that Patton gained a measure of fame as a daring fighter, He had engaged in a fire exchange with some of Villa's men, killed a few and returned to camp with all of his men unharmed. This foray into the enemy camp was highly publicized in the press. The foray was written into the official record by General Pershing. He wrote about the bravery of Lieutenant George S. Patton, Jr. The fact that Pancho Villa was not captured even after deployment of over 15,000 troops and equipment didn't matter. It was the deeds of Lt. Patton which made the headlines. As aide to General Pershing, he had the duty to handle the news reporters. This experience was to become important to his future. were to be the future of the army and Patton was to become a major player in their development. ### **GENERAL JOHN PERSHING** His relationship with General Pershing was that of a family friend and officer. Under him, Patton had the opportunity not only to learn mechanized warfare, he learned the importance of logistics, the use of aero squadrons for reconnaissance and the significance of mobility of cavalry and how to maneuver the various elements in battle. Pershing became the role model for Patton. He copied Pershing in many ways, especially in obtaining loyalty from his men and the emphasis on discipline as well as knowing their personal needs. #### **WORLD WAR 1** It was in April, 1917, that the United States declared war on Germany. In June, Patton was on his way to France with General Pershing as acting aide. World War 1 was made to order for Patton. When General Pershing was appointed Commander in Chief of the American Expeditionary Force, he called Patton to join him at headquarters. Mobilization of two million men to fight the Kaiser would mean many green civilian soldiers who had to be trained to become warriors in combat. General Pershing's marriage to George Patton's sister Nita was postponed. There was a war to be fought. Patton was more than willing to do chores for General Pershing. He also was a good listener as Pershing talked about the war and about Nita. Paris was where Patton got to know many of the generals who came to speak with Pershing. He was to meet Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, the British Commander who requested Patton to be his aide-de-camp on his inspection tour of the troops. Patton was Pershing's aide and in short order he was promoted to Captain. When the Allies decided to install the American troops on the front at Lorraine, Patton became the post adjutant at Chaumont. Patton was not happy to be assigned a safe and soft spot. He hankered to get into action on the front. #### TANK WARFARE Even though the Americans had no tanks, whereas the British had some large tanks and the French light ones, Patton asked to be assigned to the tank service, if and when it was organized. He spelled out his qualifications for such assignment as the first American officer to employ a motor vehicle in attacking an enemy force in Mexico. He also gave his credentials as a cavalry officer. It was decided that the Americans would start a tank school at Langres with Patton in charge. He had been promoted to Major and was away from head quarters where he was identified as a Pershing protege. Patton was glad to be on his own even though the risks to his career became much greater than if he had been on the front leading infantry into battle, He was convinced that tanks could be very effective in combat support of infantry. He accepted the challenge of eventually commanding a tank battalion. Since he was the only American officer who had extensive knowledge about tank warfare, gleaned from the French and the British, he was the focus of the news reporters covering the war. Pershing appointed Colonel Sam Rockenbach to be the chief of Tank Service at the American Expeditionary Force. He became Patton's immediate superior to whom Patton had to report. One of the first problems that Patton faced at Langres was the lack of tanks. He and Colonel Rockenbach had counted on the French promise of tanks which never came. It was going to have to be the American production of tanks which would allow Rockenbach and Patton to show the effectiveness of tanks in battle. But while waiting for American tanks to arrive, Patton acquired ten French tanks. Because production of American tanks was in disarray, General Pershing persuaded the French to deliver 15 more tanks to Patton. A battalion of 25 tanks, 900 men and 50 officers was placed under Patton's command. #### PATTON'S TANKS ATTACK It was in late August that Patton received his orders to launch an American tank attack against the enemy in early September, 1918. Patton's battalion was to have been joined by 150 American heavy tanks from Britain. An unexpected delay of arrival brought a change of plans. Instead the Americans were joined by 225 French light tanks. Patton's tank battalion was augmented to 144, forming a brigade, including one French battalion under his control and another which was under French control. On September 12, at 5:00 A.M., his tanks moved into action near the village of Nonsard. The 1st Division and the 42nd Division attacking came under fire. Patton's tanks were with the 42nd Division. His tanks reached St. Baussant under shelling. It was on the way to Essey he saw Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur standing on a hill watching the battle as artillery shells were exploding around him. Patton came up to MacArthur and stood there with him. The two braved the fire as a show of courage to the fighting forces under their command. During the first day, tank casualties were two lost to artillery, three to engine failure, two with broken tracks, forty stuck in trenches and thirty out of fuel. In the ensuing battle, the American forces captured 15,208 German prisoners and 449 pieces of artillery. Patton's tank losses were three destroyed, twenty two ditched and fourteen broken down. Five men were killed and 19 wounded. Pershing called the battle off. Patton's tankers were proven in battle and came through in triumph. Colonel Rochenback rebuked Patton for leaving his command post, but after he received congratulations from General Pershing, Rochenback praised Patton and his men for their valiant victory. #### VERDUN General Pershing's First Army moved onto Verdun to initiate the Meuse-Argonne attack with three corps. The tanks were attached to Eye Corps. Patton observed the terrain, inspected the French units and planned his tank attack to break through the German defenses followed by pursuit. The 42nd Division would lead off followed by the 1st Division with the French coming up behind. His 140 tanks to be employed were well stocked with petrol in a depot just behind the lines. On September 26 at 2:30 A.M., American artillery commenced firing. Three hours later the troops moved forward. The morning fog hid Patton's tanks from the enemy. By 9:A.M. the tanks had captured the village of Varennes and were approaching Cheppy. At Cheppy the enemy opened fire with machine guns. Many of the soldiers ran toward the rear. Patton was furious. he gathered about 100 men which he led into battle. The trenches were good places to hide from enemy shelling but these same trenches were a hindrance to the move- ment of his tanks. He took up a shovel and with his men tore down the trenches. His tanks were able to move forward and he followed them on foot walking with the soldiers. As the enemy fired, many of the soldiers fell face down onto the ground. When the enemy firing ceased, he and a half dozen men moved forward. ### PATTON INJURED IN BATTLE Patton was hit in the leg and the bullet came out of his behind. Patton was attended to by one of the soldiers who bandaged his wounds. Several tanks appeared on the scene. The soldier ran over to the tanks and pointed out where the machine guns were. Patton told another soldier to get word to Battalion Commander Bret to take over command and report to him that he, Patton, was wounded. A medic came by. He changed Patton's bandages and put Patton on a stretcher. When the firing again ceased, the medic and a soldier carried Patton to an ambulance company about two miles away. Patton insisted on being taken to Division Headquarters to make a verbal report of the action at the front. He was taken to the evacuation hospital where he stayed for three days. While there he shared his tent with two tanks officers who had also been wounded. He was called the "Hero of the Tanks" by newspaper writers. He was transferred to the base hospital at Dijon. He did not return to combat but returned to teaching. He was pleased that his tanks had contributed so much to the final victory. He was proud of the legacy that he created. Colonel Rocken bach recommended Patton for promotion to full colonel. General Pershing spoke of Patton's gallantry. His words of praise meant a lot to Patton as a officer. Rockenbach also put Patton in for the Distinguished Service Cross and the Commandant of the tank school at Langres put Patton in for the Distinguished Service Medal. He received both only after having the citations re-written to give better detail obtained from eye-witnesses. #### RECOGNITION AND PROMOTION Patton's promotion and the honors made him proud of his achievements as an officer. But most important for his career was the notice of his superiors. Patton stood out and became a legendary hero. His future in the military looked like "General". Peace brought frustration. Demobilization and arms reduction meant a smaller army and with it opportunity for advancement was reduced. Patton did not look forward to playing a waiting game. Peace, or the time between wars, just didn't suit the warrior who trained himself to fight and win battles. #### GERMANY AND JAPAN Patton watched the world developments. His study of history made him certain that Germany would rise up again to be a military power. He also watched the Japanese movements into China. The military build-up of those two nations was clearly a sign of war about to happen. He also kept his eyes on the Soviet Union. The shake up of the military by Joseph Stalin didn't make sense to him. Stalin's execution of his best officers was suicidal in light of the events in Europe and Asia. As he watched, he studied. He became the foremost American authority on tank warfare. He was also very interested in airpower. He could foresee the importance of coordination of armored vehicles with foot soldiers. His love of the cavalry never faded, but he knew that horses and horse drawn vehicles were of the past. Patton and Eisenhower joined together as exponents of armored vehicles as the major element of the battles to come. The two were close friends. They spent many late night hours discussing tactics and strategy that used airpower, naval power, armored vehicles along with manpower. The problem was that the U.S. Congress refused to allocate sufficient funds for the military. Also the number of men in the all volunteer services numbered less than 300,000. The country was suffering from an economic depression which hardly allowed for expenditures for military build up. #### WAR IN EUROPE AND ASIA When the German military began operations in Europe and the Japanese in Asia, the politicians in Washington were talking peace. The isolationists were saying that Americans should not get involved in the affairs of other nations. Hitler was given a free hand by Stalin in Western Europe. He promised Hitler to stay neutral while German armies invaded the low countries and France. However, American politicians began to respond to the call for help, especially from Britain. Fifty naval vessels were loaned to Britain. President Roosevelt made some speeches about the need to help our allies. Congress finally agreed to mobilizing manpower through the passage of the Selective Service Act. American industry was gearing up for production of military equipment and supplies. Finally, and not too soon, America awakened to the reality that the wars in Europe and Asia were a matter of serious concern. #### PEARL HARBOR On December 7, 1941, Japanese naval and airpower struck a horrible blow against the American forces in the Pacific.Pearl Harbor, the Hawaiian naval base was bombed. The U.S. Navy was crippled. The U.S. Army was unprepared to respond. War had come to America as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt declared war on Japan. In quick succession, war was declared against Germany and Italy. Patton knew that he would achieve great victories in the war for which he had prepared himself so well. Patton would become a general of whom historians would write about, of great battles won by him. Destiny was in his hands. It took almost a full year before America could wage war in a meaningful way. In the meantime Germany and Japan were virtually destroying and conquering nation after nation. There was great fear that Britain would fall before America could help. Hitler attacked the Soviet Union with such a mighty force that Germany was on the verge of conquering that nation. #### CIVILIANS IN UNIFORM I, along with about 14 million men and women, were in uniform. We trained with wooden guns, we learned to fly planes which were unsafe and we didn't even know whom to salute. Our uniforms didn't fit, our bunks were too hard, and our feet hurt. We weren't really soldiers or sailors, we were civilians in uniform. But, there was the cadre of men who had been in the military for a few years, and there were officers who had some experience. Generals were putting together armies and Admirals were gathering ships. Americans were put to work in idle factories, making munitions, tanks, airplanes, jeeps, trucks, blankets, uniforms, bunk beds, and K rations. America was at war, but not quite ready to engage in battle. Logistics alone overwhelmed the military planners. But, how to make a fighting man out of a store clerk or tank driver out of a school teacher, was a challenge. However, how to make a combat officer out of a ninety day wonder, was the responsibility of men like Patton and Eisenhower. General George Smith Patton, Jr., rose to the occasion. He knew the importance of discipline, of morale and of training, in making a man into a combat soldier. Patton was the officer that his fellow officers knew as a truly great military genius and leader of troops. Generals Dwight David Eisenhower and George Marshal had the responsibility to select officers to lead armies. Naturally, Eisenhower wanted Patton on his team. Eisenhower called Patton to take command of an army on the field of battle. Patton responded with enthusiasm and with gratitude to Eisenhower's call. ### PART THREE # WORLD WAR TWO PATTON, THE GENERAL #### PATTON AND EISENHOWER Since Patton served most of World War two under General Dwight D. Eisenhower, I have chosen to quote General Eisenhower from his book, CRUSADE IN EU-ROPE, published by Doubleday, 1948, in order to explain Patton's triumphs, tribulations and eventual demise, as seen by his friend and superior. I also borrow from observations made by others who wrote about Patton and some who told me of their personal experiences with Patton. My own experiences while serving in the Third Army as a counter intelligence agent only deal with circumstances which lead me to conclude that General George S. Patton, Jr. had made numerous enemies of men with great power, men who might have wanted him dead. Patton was a suitor, who made use of men of power. The fact that he refused to be a suppliant, refused to beg for favors or mercy, made him vulnerable and even dangerous to his superiors, the men of real power. Certainly making himself a personal antagonist of men like Stalin, Harry Hopkins, Henry Morgenthau, and even some of the top Generals like Alexander, Montgomery, Marshall Zhukov and George Marshall didn't make life easier for him. ### NORTH AFRICA, 1942-43 "The idea was to ship one of our Armored Divisions to reinforce the British army in the Egyptian desert... ". For commander of such a unit my mind turned instantly to one of my oldest friends, Major General George S. Patton, Jr., who was not only a tank expert but an outstanding an outstanding leader of troops. "With the approval of the Chief of Staff (George Marshall), I called Patton to Washington, though I knew the answer in advance, I asked him if he would be willing to step down from command of his training corps to take a division in battle. His answer was pleasing...". "We would attack Casablanca, Oran and Algiers...I notified General Marshall of my desire to have General Patton command the Casablanca expedition and within a short time George reported to me in London, where he was thoroughly briefed on his portion of the plan.... Hardly had he returned to Washington before I received a message stating that he had become embroiled in such a distressing argument with the Navy department that serious thought was given to his relief from command. Feeling certain that the difficulty...was nothing more than a result of a bit of George's flair for the dramatic... I knew well that Patton delighted to startle his hearers with fantastic statements... But he was essentially a shrewd battle leader who invariably gained devotion of his subor dinates...From early life his one ambition was to be a successful battlefield commander. Because of this he was an inveterant reader of military history, and his heroes were the great captains of past ages. "Darlan stopped fighting on the Western coast (Morocco) where the United States forces had been concentrated against the (French) defenses of Casablanca and were preparing to deliver a general assault. General Patton's earlier experiences in Morocco indicated this would have been a bloody affair...In Morocco alone, General Patton believes that it would require 60,000 Allied troops to keep the tribes (Arab) pacified..." "The principal factor in the situation was the Arab population and its explosive potentialities, The French General in Morocco, Nogues, was untrustworthy and worse, but he was the Foreign Minister to the Sultan. All reports indicated that he enjoyed the full confidence and the friendship of the Moroccans. The fierce tribesmen of that area were a force to be reckoned with; General Patton was fearful of the whole situation and adhered to his estimate that if the Moroccans were to grow antagonistic to us it would require 60,000 fully equipped Americans in that region alone...Patton strongly urged to leave Nogues alone..." Since the Arabs outnumber the Jews forty to one, it became local policy to placate the Arabs at the expense of the Jews..." (BERT GOLDSTEIN, an American soldier, body guard to General Patton told me that after Arab terrorists attacked General Eisenhower, it was decided to remove all Jewish-American soldiers serving with Patton in the area. Bert states that the Jewish-American soldiers protested. They assumed the action by Eisenhower as a sign of his anti-semitism. But the Arabs believed that General Eisenhower was a Jew, that's why the attack on him. Bert knows from his personal relationship to General Patton, that Patton was not anti-semitic. He states that the pro-Soviet press gave Patton a bum rap. Patton was not pro-Nazi, he was a strong anti-communist.) #### **TUNISIAN CAMPAIGN** "By the evening of the twenty first it was apparent that the enemy had stretched himself to the limit and his supply was becoming difficult. More than this, his line of communications ran through vulnerable Kasserine Gap. His troops to the West of that point were becoming precariously exposed to attack by ant forces we could bring up....The enemy's advance by the twenty-second, was completely stalled. George Patton, who always liked to bring up historical precedent, remarked, "Well, Von Amin should have read about Lee's attack at Fort Stedman. " There outside Petersburg, the last desperate Confederacy counter-attack was stopped and driven back in bloody retreat...". "Just after he first of March (1943), I replaced Fredendall with Patton as commander of II Corps... General Patton's buoyant leadership and strict insistence upon discipline rapidly rejuvenated the II Corps and brought it up to fighting pitch..." "Alexander instantly concurred in my determination that the corps should be used in its entirety as a unit... This involved a nicety in staff work in order to avoid entanglement with the British First Army's supply lines, but Anderson's and Patton's staffs worked out the details so efficiently that no confusion resulted...clockwork schedules and effective traffic control at crossroads characterized the whole movement.. At this time I made another change in the command at II Corps, Major General Omar N. Bradley reported to me in late February as an "inspector."...he had gained much experience during the March and early April fighting. The compelling reason for the change was to give General Patton the opportunity to go back to the Seventh Army Headquarters and finish preparations for the Sicilian invasion, which was to take place as soon as possible after the completion of the African campaign. #### SICILY "With considerable quantities of improved equipment in sight, the supply staffs agreed that their estimates could be markedly revised upward, and plans were crystallized on the basis of the British forces moving against the eastern coast and the American against the eastern part of the southern coast....To conduct the British portion of the attack General Alexander designated the Eight Army under General Montgomery, while on the American side General Patton,...was placed in command of the U.S. Seventh Army. General Alexander was to be in immediate charge of the ground assault, his headquarters was designated Fifteenth Army Group." "I began the conference by telling the reporters that we would assault Sicily early in July, with the Seventh Army under General Patton attacking the eastern beaches south of Syracuse....The attack was carried out in exactly this fashion on July 9 (1943). "..it was evident that the enemy had been badly deceived. His best formations were located largely on the western end of the island.. He pushed east and south with his most mobile forces to attack the American 1st Division at Gela. The gallant action of the 1st, supported steadfastly by an airborne formation with assistance from naval gunfire, repulsed the counterattack...Believing that the enemy might persist in his counterattacks on this portion ofour forces, ..The point we wanted to capture at the earliest possible moment was Messina, the enemy port on the northeastern end of the island, directly across the narrow strait from the Italian mainland. Through this port almost all enemy supplies would have to flow, and once it was secured the position of the garrison on the island would be hopeless. The enemy of course saw this simple truth as we and rapidly gathered to bar the progress of Montgomery who was closest to Messina. "Montgomery's attack initially proceeded swiftly and quickly overran the eastern beaches to include the Nazi port of Syracuse, most important to out supply plan. From there toward Catania opposition grew increasingly stern. From July 17 onward the Eight Army lay in the Catania plain facing the Mount Etna bastion with small prospect of penetrating the passes northward. Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada Akada ..." Patton in the meantime pushed vigorously toward the center of the island, while with his extreme left flank he threw mobile columns around the western perimeter of the island, entering Palermo within twelve days after the initial landing. His rapid move- ment quickly reduced the enemy ports to the single one of Messina; it broke the morale of the huge Italian garrison and placed Patton's forces in position to begin the attack from the westward to break the deadlock on the eastern front..." ... "Patton was a shrewd student of warfare who always clearly appreciated the value of speed in the conduct of operations. Speed of movement often enables troops to minimize any advantage the enemy may temporarily gain but, more important, speed makes possible the full exploitation of every favorable opportunity and prevents the enemy from adjusting his forces to meet successive attacks...Speed requires training, fitness, confidence, morale, transport and skillful leadership. Patton employed these tactics relentlessly, and thus not only minimized casualties but shook the whole Italian Government so forcibly that Mussolini toppled from his position of power in late July..." ... "As the Seventh Army approached the western slopes of the Mount Etna highlands fighting became more and more severe. The Battle of Troina, conducted largely by the 1st Division, was one of the most fiercely fought smaller actions of the war...In the advance eastward from Palermo the left flank of the Seventh Army, following the coast line made a series of small amphibious operations,...A small naval task force ..and the troops advancing along the rocky coastal cliffs of Sicily achieved remarkable co-ordination of efficiency in carrying out these attacks... The advance along the coast line toward Messina by the Seventh Army was a triumph of engineering, seamanship, and gallant infantry action...by the time that the Seventh and Eight armies had closed up into position for their final assault against the Mount Etna bastion the Germans saw the game was up and began evacuation across the Strait of Messina..." ..." Early on August 17 the U.S. Third Division pushed into the town of Messina. A detachment from the (British) Eight Army soon after arrived and on that date the last remaining element of the enemy forces on the island was eliminated." (There was much praise for General George S. Patton, Jr. and for his Seventh Army's brilliant victories in the battles for control of Sicily. These laurels were added to those he earned in the North African campaign. In Eisen hower's mind there was no doubt that Patton was the very best battlefield commander. However, it was Major General Omar Bradley who General Eisenhower recommended to Chief of Staff, General George Marshall, to be the commander of the United States troops in Britain, with future implications for Patton. But the first real trouble for Patton came as a Also BERT GOLDSTEIN, Patton's body guard told me what he knew about the slapping. He said that Patton tried to use a well known method of bringing a soldier out of hysteria or freeze in action by slapping. BERT believes that Patton got a bum rap from the press.) "It was during this campaign (Sicilian) that the unfortunate 'slapping incident' involving Patton took place. Patton was on a visit to base hospitals to see the wounded, encountered in quick succession, two men who had no apparent physical hurts. Of the first one he met, Patton inquired why he was a patient in the hospital. To this the man replied, "General, I guess it's my nerves." Patton flew into a rage. He had himself been under terrific strain for a period of many days. Moreover, he sincerely believed that there was no such thing as true "battle fatigue" or "battle neurosis." He always maintained that any man who began to show signs of breaking under battle conditions could by shock be restored to a sense of responsibility and to adequate performance to duty. At the moment, also, Patton was in a highly emotional state because of the sights he had seen and the suffering he had sensed among the men in the hospital. He broke out in a torrent of abuse against the "..throughout his visit he continued to talk in a loud voice about cowardice of people who claimed they were suffering from psycho neuroses and exclaimed that they should not be allowed in the same hospital with the brave wounded men..". (probably meaning they belonged in other facilities where mental cases could be treated, Eisenhower appears to understand and he is sympathetic to Patton's battle weary strain...) "I soon received unofficial report from the surgeon commanding the hospital and only a few hours thereafter was visited by a group of newspaper corespondents who had been to the hospital to secure the details...the question became, what to do? In forward areas it is frequently necessary, as every battle veteran knows, to use stern measures to insure prompt performance of duty by every man of the organization, In a platoon or a battalion, if there is any sign of hesitation or shirking on the part of any individual, it must be quickly and sternly repressed. Soldiers will not follow any battle leader with confidence unless they know that he will require full performance from every member of the team. When bullets are flying and every man's safety and welfare depend upon every other man in the team doing his job, men will not accept a weakling as their leader. Patton's offense, had it been committed on the actual front, within an assaulting platoon, would not have been an offense. It would merely have been an incident of battle - no one would have even noted it, except with the passing thought that there was a leader who would not tolerate shirking.".. ..." But because of the time and place of his action Patton's offense was a serious one, more so because of his rank, and standing. Thus to assault and abuse an enlisted man in a hospital was nothing less than brutal, except as it was explained by the highly emotional state in which Patton himself then existed...All this I well understood, and could explain the matter to myself inspite of my indignation at the act. I felt that Patton should be saved for service in the great battles still facing us in Europe, yet I had to devise ways and means to minimize the harm that would certainly come from impulsive action and to assure to myself that it would not be repeated. I was then working on plans for the invasion of Italy, and could not go immediately to Sicily...I sent to Sicily three different individuals in whose judgement, tact and integrity I place great confidence....I only wanted independent reports from several sources...As a result I determined to keep Patton..." ..." I first wrote him a sharp reprimand in which I informed him that repetition of such an offense would I demanded also that he apologize to all the personnel of the hospital present at the time of the in cident. Finally, I required that he appear before officers and representative groups of enlisted men of each of the divisions to assure them that he had given way to impulse and respected their positions as fighting soldiers of a democratic nation. Patton instantly complied and I kept in touch with results again through a series of observers and inspectors..." "After the incident was all over my old friend George sent me a long letter in which the following appeared, "I am a loss to find words with which to express my chagrin and grief at having given you, a man to whom I owe everything and for whom I would gladly lay down my life, cause to be displeased with me. " General George S. Patton, Jr. was in the dog house. He was kept in Sicily without serious duty while the Italian campaign was fiercely fought by other generals such as Mark Clark. Patton's career was in jeopardy. His having to break up the Seventh Army by sending units to fight under General Clark's Fifth Army caused Patton to become jealous of Clark. He sat in Sicily waiting for his next assignment. While Patton was being punished for the slapping of the two soldiers, OVERLORD plans were being developed which would include him in the conquest of Germany. The German high command, had come to respect and fear Patton, was anxious to know where Patton would show up. They just knew that Patton was being prepared for the onslaught against them somewhere. Eisenhower decided to use Patton as a decoy. Patton's whereabouts were a torture to the German high command and especially to Hitler. During the months before the invasion, Patton was busy putting together the Third Army. He called on a good number of officers who served with him in the Seventh Army in North Africa and in Sicily. He also called on his buddies who had served with him in the first World War. He even called on officers who he knew by reputation only. He was determined to have the most competent and loyal officers around him to help mold a great army. The Third Army was going to be the greatest army ever assembled. It was going to engage in monumental battles and it would win great victories. The men were trained to be the best and they were going to be a disciplined force ready to respond without question. The Third Army would become famous and would receive honors for valor, for great achievements. would be proud to say that they served with the Third Army. The moment of truth arrived on June 6, 1944. Operation Overlord moved in force from the British Island to the European mainland across the English channel. Patton's Third Army was engaged in the South at Avranches, Fougeres, St. Malo and Rennes. The German High Command had prepared the defenses well, but they placed their main force to the North. They had been decoyed by Eisenhower into believing that Patton would attack from the North. Patton's forces attacked from the South. #### THE BREAKOUT "On August 1, General Patton, with Third Army Headquarters, was brought up into the battle to take charge of operations on the First Army's right flank." "Bradley and I, aware that the German counter attack was under preparation, carefully surveyed the situation...Another factor that justified the very bold decision was the confidence Bradley and I now attained in our principal battle commanders. In Patton, who took command of the Third Army on the right immediately after the breakout was achieved, we had a great leader for exploiting a mobile situation". "On General Bradley's directive, General Patton had sent the XV Corps, commanded by Major General Wade H. Haislip, straight southward to the town of Laval." THE STORY OF PATTON'S BRILLIANT VICTORIES IN THE WAR AGAINST HITLER IS ELSEWHERE REPORTED BY MILITARY HISTORIANS. MY STORY DEALS WITH HIS MURDER AT THE HANDS OF HIS ENEMIES, THE NKVDANDTHE OSS. THE FACT THAT HE MADE MISTAKES IN BEING SO OUTSPOKEN AND IN CALLING FOR A WAR AGAINST THE SOVIET UNION IS ALSO A MATTER OF HISTORICAL RECORD. HOWEVER, HISTORIANS DO RESEARCH, THEY ARE NOT TRAINED INVESTIGATORS. AS A TRAINED COUNTER INTELLIGENCE AGENT I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON, JR. WAS MURDERED. #### Patton Murder ### PART FOUR #### THE MURDER GENERAL PATTON - 1. The End - 2. The General - 3. The Hero - 4. The Villain - 5. Friends - 6. Enemies - 8. The Destruction of Patton - 9. The Accident - 10. The Hospital - 11. The Murder - 12. The Funeral - 13. The Cover-up - 14. Conclusions ### THE MURDER OF GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON, Jr. #### THE END General George Smith Patton, Jr. died at 5:45 P.M., December 21, 1945 in the U.S. Military Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany. He had been in the hospital since 12:45 P.M., December 9, where he was being treated for a broken neck supposedly sustained in an auto accident earlier that day. His death certificate read, "Pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure." No autopsy had been ordered by the attending physicians. In 1992, an O.S.S. agent, Douglas Bazata, claimed that in 1945 he was paid, by General "Wild Bill" Donovan, the head of the O.S.S., to kill General Patton. In 1945, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) leader Stern Pard and Advantage of the U.S. Arms Country There were others who have said that Patton was murdered by the U.S. Third Army soldiers who were threatened with arrest by Patton for looting Nazi stolen gold and other treasures they found. The many tons of gold and jewels and other treasures which the Nazis had looted from other countries were discovered by the Third Army, which General Patton commanded. He insisted that the treasure be properly accounted for and turned over to the authorities. Many of his officers and enlisted men had helped themselves, and these looters weren't about to give up their loot. These men were capable of murder. Soviet troops and the NKVD were the most dangerous of the looters. They killed anyone in their way to gold, diamonds, coins, jewelry, art and sex. Patton was in their way, so he had to be killed. The NKVD had more reason than just Stalin's order to kill him. I had seen the hijacking of American looters by the Russian looters. Shots were exchanged between the looters. Soldiers were killed in battles for loot. German communist looters were also actively involved with the Soviets in the deadly pursuit of treasure. They tortured Nazis to find the loot. I had attempted to arrest some of the American and Soviet soldiers who had killed for loot. My life was in serious danger the time when I stopped an American tank sergeant and his Russian friend at 1:00 A.M., as they drove away from the storage area where Nazi treasure was kept. I had my machine gun on them and they had their's on me. Thank God, they didn't shoot. The death of General Patton has been the subject of much speculation. Numerous books have been written about General Patton, but the official reports have disappeared from the files. Who stole the files and why?, is a mystery. As a Special Agent of the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps assigned to the Third Army's 89th Division in Germany from January through December, 1945, I had been informed about the death threats against General George Patton. After the accident, I had asked to be assigned to investigate the accident to determine if there had been a deliberate attempt to kill General Patton. I was told that I was not to be involved in any way in the investigation. I was also told that others were assigned to do the investigation. I subsequently learned that there is no record of a CIC investigation of the accident or of the death of Patton. I am inclined to believe that the records of the CIC investigation have been removed by the same people who stole the other files. Historians have accepted the official story that Patton died of heart failure caused by a broken neck suffered in an unavoidable accident. But since the official files have disappeared how can there be an official story? I shall bring forth information, which, I believe, proves the historians wrong. #### THE GENERAL General George S. Patton, Jr. was a highly decorated combat officer who had served under General John Pershing in Mexico and in France in 1917-18. Patton was a cavalry officer who was a strong advocate of mechanized warfare. He was the foremost authority in the U.S. Army on the use of tanks in cooperation with the infantry, artillery and air power. General Pershing was an important friend for the future General Patton. Pershing was a close Patton family friend. He was engaged to be married to George Patton's sister Nita. George Patton had wanted to be a combat General from very early childhood. He grew up dreaming of the great battles that he would fight and win as a general in command of an army. He had been a close friend of army officer Dwight David Eisen hower who became his superior officer during the war against the Italians and the Germans in Europe from 1943 through 1945. General Eisenhower admired his friend George Patton and asked Patton to join him in the North African campaign. It was there that General Patton proved himself to be an outstanding troop commander. His Seventh army was principally responsible for the defeat of the famous Desert Fox, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The Tunisian campaign victories brought fame and glory to him and his army. General Patton's Seventh Army captured Messina in the Sicilian campaign. However, this achievement brought British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery to become angry at Patton. Montgomery and Patton became bitter rivals. But the worst thing that could have happened to Patton's reputation occurred when he slapped the faces of two mentally disturbed soldiers. The soldiers were in field hospitals in Sicily. The slapping incidents caused such furor that Eisenhower forced Patton to make a public apology to the soldiers in the presence of the hospital doctors and nurses and the troops. Eisenhower also punished Patton by not giving him command of the Seventh army in the Italian campaign. Patton's troops were put under General Mark Clark. It can be said that the Sicilian campaign was Patton's bitter sweet victory. His reputation was seriously damaged. He was onsidered emotionally unstable, unfit for the highest command. General Eisenhower understood why Patton slapped the soldiers but he had to respond to the fury of the press and of the politicians who were so harshly critical of Patton. They demanded that Patton be relieved of his rank. Since Patton was too valuable as an army battle commander, Eisenhower decided to put him on ice instead. Eisenhower convinced General George Marshall that Patton would be needed for the forthcoming battles against the Germans in France and Germany. Patton was called to Eisenhower's London headquarters where he was informed that he was to put together the Third Army for eventual use in the invasion of the continent, across the English channel. Patton was most grateful to Eisenhower for giving him the opportunity to again command an army. General George S. Patton, Jr. had gained the reputation, within the German high command, as the very best American battle commander. The respect for Patton by the Germans helped Eisenhower to plan Operation Overlord, using Patton as a decoy. The whereabouts of Patton was of intense interest to the Germans who were planning their defense against the invasion across the English channel. Patton's exact location in Britain seemed important to the Germans. Eisenhower made it a point to let Patton become the diversion needed to deceive the Germans The Germans were fooled into believing that the main thrust of the invasion forces was coming to the north, led by Patton. Thus, on June 6, 1944, "D" day, the German defenses were concentrated away from the actual invasion forces. Patton's Third Army was joined in the Battle for Europe as it forged forward from the south, opposite from where the Germans had expected him to be. It was during the Battle of the Bulge, from December through February, that Patton's Third Army was to prove itself. There was no question in the minds of Generals Marshall, Eisenhower and Bradley, that Patton was indeed the great general, the heroic figure about whom legends are written. As Patton's Third Army moved across the Rhine river into the heart of Germany, he enjoyed victory after victory. The German armies were decimated. Millions of German soldiers surrendered. These surrendered German soldiers were to become a serious problem for Patton. The Geneva Convention on the treatment of prisoners of war was strictly adhered to by Patton, this conflicted with a newly promulgated policy designed by General Eisenhower's Chief of Staff, General Bedell Smith. The new policy regarding the surrendered troops was to designate them as "Disarmed Enemy Forces" or DEFs, not entitled to being treated as Prisoners of War, thus circumventing the Geneva Convention. Even as the war was raging, politics was being practiced which was deciding the course of the war. The effect of the political decisions often negated the battlefield victories. It was not Patton's wont to be silent, to accept the inevitability of the decisions of the political leaders. He especially resented the decisions made at Cairo, Yalta, Teheran, Casablanca and Potsdam. To him it appeared that too many of the decisions favored the Soviets. Patton agreed with Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, that Europe should not be allowed to come under domination of the Soviet Union. Patton also agreed with Churchill to disagree with the Morgenthau Plan, which called for the total destruction of the German armies and the nation. Killing German soldiers was preferred over taking prisoners of war. Also killing millions of German civilians was acceptable as a way of punishing them for supporting Hitler's treatment of the Jews. The Morgenthau Plan was to destroy German industry and deliver the factories to the Soviet Union, thus assuring that Germany would never again rise as a military power. Germany was to become an agrarian state. Its people would be dependent on imports for everything except food. The genesis of Patton's demise was political. There was no question that Patton was a great military hero, a genius in battlefield command, but he was apolitical and not diplomatic. He inveighed against those who would allow the bloodshed of battlefield soldiers to be for naught. He begged Generals Eisenhower and Bradley to allow him to liberate all of Czechoslovakia so as to preclude that nation from becoming a Soviet dominated state. Eisenhower gave Patton permission to take all of Czechoslovakia. On May 4, 1945, Patton's Third Army along with the Fifth Corps under General Hodges rapidly advanced against the Germans and were at the approaches to Prague where they met the Soviet forces. Patton was pleased to see the Russians and was fully prepared to push the Soviet troops out of Czechos lovakia. A few skirmishes ensued in which some Soviet troops were killed or wounded. Eisenhower received a phone call from the Soviet Chief of Staff, General Alexei Antonov, telling Eisenhower to stop Patton or else there would be a full scale war between the United States and the Soviet Union. Eisenhower feared the consequences of such prospects and called Patton to withdraw to the Karlsbad-Pilsen line of demarcation, which had been agreed upon. The agreement called for the Soviet Union to take Slovakia, Moravia and Eastern Bohemia while the United States would take Western Bohemia at the Karlsbad-Pilsen line. Patton's plans for Czechoslovakia incurred the wrath of Stalin. Patton spoke to news reporters and to visiting politicians on the need to go to war against the Soviet Union, now rather than later. This provoked Soviet Dictator Marshal Joseph Stalin to order the Soviet NKVD to kill Patton. Also Stalin asked his General Georgi Zhukov to insist that Eisenhower fire General Patton. The Soviet orchestrated clamor from the press and from important Washington politicians for Patton's hide put overwhelming pressure on Eisenhower. But it was Patton's furlough visit to the United States which further exacerbated Patton's foes. His triumphant return as the greatest hero among all the generals didn't sit well with Generals Marshall, Eisenhower and Bedell Smith. He was hailed by the American people and the press as the dragon slayer who single handedly vanquished Hitler's Nazis. Many of his very important friends were urging him to run for President of the United States. Even though he denied interest in running for any political office, his opponents became activated to ruin his reputation. His talks with members of Congress infuriated General Marshall. General George Marshall asked for a psychiatric evaluation of Patton. He wanted the army's leading psychiatrist to attend a press conference where Patton was invited to speak and to submit to questions and answers. The very presence of such a distinguished psychiatrist would have alerted the press to question Patton's mental health. The last minute intervention by Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, prevented the press conference from becoming a slaughter of Patton. It was the intention of Patton's foes to undo the hero image of Patton. They were determined to have him portrayed as a villain, a general gone mad. Patton never forgave Marshall for trying to set him up as a mad man. General Eisenhower was besieged with complaints about Patton's attitudes toward the Jewish Displaced Persons, toward the denazification program and for his calling for war against the Soviet Union. It was reported in the press that Patton was organizing German armies to join the Allies in a war to force the Soviet Union out of Europe. The press was constantly goading Patton to make statements which could and would be used against him. He obliged a reporter who asked him if he considered the Nazis and the communists as similar to Republicans and Democrats. His agreeing that they were similar brought on a fury from American political leaders. Whether the news stories about Patton were true or not, the damage to his reputation overwhelmed his heroic deeds. The hero was portrayed as a Jew hater, a Nazi lover. a war monger and a womanizer, unfaithful to his beloved wife, Beatrice. Eisenhower was forced to take action. The press and powerful men in Washington and Moscow called for the firing of General Patton as commander of the Third Army. On October 7, General Lucian Truscott, Jr. replaced Patton as commander of the Third Army. Patton was obliged to turn over command to his very good friend Truscott, and he did so with grace. General Eisenhower had little choice. He couldn't continue to defend his good friend. In a heated exchange with Patton, he demoted him. He assigned Patton to the Fifteenth Army headquarters to compile the history and lessons of the war against Hitler. Patton preferred that assignment over being the Proconsul of Bavaria which brought him nothing but grief and dishonor. He was happy to fire the Military Governor of Bavaria, Colonel Charles Keegan. It had been Keegan who hired Nazis into administrative positions under him. Charles Keegan, a New York City politician, became another foe of Patton's. Since Patton was a four star general he was entitled to the perks of that rank, but to further humiliate and punish Patton, his chauffeur Sergeant John L. Mims was released from the service. Mims was not replaced, thus Patton had to rely on motor pool drivers. Also Patton's body-guards were removed. These actions by Eisenhower, indicated that the friendship between them was finished. The ranking officers in the theater got the message. They soon realized that it was dangerous to their careers to associate with Patton. He was virtually shunned by officers who once had been his friends. Patton's disgrace was continued by Eisenhower's replacement at SHAEF, General Joseph T. McNarney. Four star General George Smith Patton, Jr. was finished and he knew it. He thought that he might just as well be dead. His wish to have been killed in battle was not to be. ### PATTON'S FRIENDS PATTON'S ENEMIES The list of friends is quite impressive. Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman had admired Patton and he regarded them as his friends. Prime Minister Winston Churchill remained Patton's friend throughout his days of glory and his disgrace. GeneralDwight David Eisenhower had been a friend for a long time. There were hundreds of other friends who were less powerful, who were loyal to him. But the loyal friends couldn't protect him from his powerful enemies. Patton regarded General Walter Bedell Smith as his enemy. Bedell Smith was Eisenhower's Chief of Staff, and as such lorded over Patton. The two hated each other but Smith had the upper hand. Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery disliked Patton with a passion and resented his friendship with Churchill. Patton made it a point to win major battles which Montgomery thought should have been his to win. His victory over Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in Tunisia and Patton's taking of Messina in the Sicilian campaign rankled Montgomery, but his heroics in the Battle of the Bulge, made him loath Patton. Marshal/Dictator Joseph Stalin, of the Soviet Union became Patton's most dangerous enemy. Stalin could order the assassination of his enemies, and Patton was regarded by Stalin as his personal enemy. Patton was informed by the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps that the Soviet NKVD was ordered to kill him. He didn't seem to worry about the threat. He enjoyed the fact that Stalin wanted to kill him. Stalin's Generals Georgi Zhukov and Alexei Antonov led in the effort to have Patton fired as commander of the Third Army. Lt. General Pavel Sudoplatov, the head of the Soviet NKVD's external assassinations, was charged with developing a plan to kill Patton. General Pavel Fitin, head of the NKVD was charged with carrying out the murder. These powerful men of the Soviet Union were not to be denied. It was Patton's death or their's. Stalin did not tolerate failures. The man on the scene in Germany was NKVD General S. Davidov. He was in charge of the Soviet compound in Frankfurt. He had hundreds of NKVD and OSS communist agents at his disposal. General "Wild Bill" Donovan, the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was considered a friend by Patton. It turns out that Donovan became Patton's most dangerous friend. Donovan's right hand man, Duncan Chaplin Lee, was the head of the OSS's NKVD agents. Patton made Donovan a dangerous enemy over the Hoettl affair/code books, which were returned to the Soviet NKVD. It was General Donovan's folly that brought the OSS to be a hotbed of NKVD agents. He had come up with plans to use communist agents to carry out OSS spy activities behind the German lines and to develop cooperation between the NKVD and the OSS to exchange of intelligence information. Soviet NKVD General Pavel Fitin was delighted with Donovan's plans. Thus his agents were given access to OSS intelligence information, methodology, names of agents, equipment, etc. The OSS was denied by the NKVD the same privileges. Despite J.Edgar Hoover's opposition to Donovan's plans, the NKVD infiltrated its agents throughout the U.S. Government in Washington and the U.S. Military through out the world. German communist leader, Walter Ulbricht was recruited as an OSS agent by Donovan. He was the head of the German NKVD. Ho Chi Min was another communist recruited into the OSS by Donovan. Especially useful to the Soviets was their friend in the White House, Harry Hopkins. He was such a highly regarded friend of President Franklin Roosevelt, that he actually lived in the White House as a permanent guest and close confidant of the President. Roosevelt had sent Hopkins, as his special emis- sary, to London, Moscow and elsewhere. He was at Roosevelt's side at the important summit conferences with Stalin, Churchill, etc. His influence on Roosevelt was exploited by Joseph Stalin. Another critically placed NKVD agent in Washington was Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, Harry Dexter White. He was very effective in many ways in helping the NKVD, but his most important role was that of confidant to Henry Morgenthau, the Secretary of the Treasury. Dexter White helped write the Morgenthau plan to please Stalin. The plan called for the complete destruction of Germany's military and making Germany an agrarian nation. The plan included the dismantling of German industrial plants to be shipped to the Soviet Union. Needless to say, these NKVD agents and the OSS's communist agents were more than willing to help carry out Stalin's plans to destroy and murder Patton. There were other important men in Washington who wanted Patton out of the way. Bernard Baruch and Felix Frankfurter were men of great power and influence with the President and other government officials. They were influential with the American press as well. Baruch and Frankfurter were Jewish-Americans who were incensed at Patton's pro German and anti-semitic remarks. These powerful men caused Generals George Marshall and Dwight D. Eisenhower to move against Patton. Also their opposition to Patton, caused Presidents Roosevelt and Truman eventually turn against Patton. #### THE MURDER PLAN The destruction of Patton, the hero, was part of the plan. His new reputation was to become that of a villain who deserved everything that happened to him, including his assassination. General Zhukov was the man who could influence Eisenhower best. After all, he and Eisenhower were the very best of friends. Zhukov saw to it that Eisenhower was invited to Moscow where he was to stand next to Stalin at the top of Lenin's tomb, during the celebration of the great revolution, October 1945. Eisenhower was feted as the great American general who helped the Soviets to defeat Hitler. Zhukov presented Eisenhower with the highest military decoration, the Suvorov Medal. Eisenhower accepted the medal without realizing that General Suvorov's place in history was that of "The Butcher of Poland". It was Eisenhower who had the power to destroy Patton's military career, and Stalin knew it.. It was Lt. General Pavel Sudoplatov who devised the plan to kill Patton. He was the head of NKVD external assassinations, and as such it was his responsibility to see that Patton was killed. The problem was that Patton always had a team of body-guards around him and he was himself an expert in the use of weapons. Therefore, it was important to the plan to have the body-guards removed. BERT GOLDSTEIN, one of Patton's bodyguards, told me that had the bodyguards not been removed, the NKVD could not have killed Patton. #### ATTEMPTED MURDER Sudoplatov decided to make the assassination appear to be an accident. The first attempt to kill him was made as he was returning to Germany from Paris. A British Spit fire, piloted by a Polish communist, firing its machine guns as it made three passes against Patton's light plane. Patton's pilot took evasive action at very low levels, causing the Spitfire to crash and burn as it hit the ground. Another attempt was made while Patton was he was being driven by Sergeant John Mims to visit a camp. This near miss was very close. An oxcart suddenly appeared in front of Patton's car. Mims was able to avoid the cart by mere inches. Patton would have been decapitated, buy he only sustained a scratch on his face. These two suspicious events made a believer out of Patton. Previously he had refused to believe the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence agents who warned him of the NKVD plot to kill him. #### THE THIRD ATTEMPT General George S. Patton. Jr. applied for leave on December 7 to take effect on December 10. The NKVD learned of Patton's plan to leave Germany for good. It was decided to make the attempt to kill him before he left. An Ukrainian Insurgent Army's intelligence agent had learned that an attempt would be made on December 9. He did not know the exact details of the plan, he only knew it would be an auto accident. NKVD chief of assassinations, General Sudoplatov had been seen by the Ukrainian UPA agent at the Soviet compound in Frankfurt. He informed me about the presence of the chief of assassins at SHAEF. The UPA agent had infiltrated the Soviet NKVD unit in Frankfurt, headed by General S. Davidov. #### THE HUNTING PARTY General Patton had decided to go bird hunting in the Kaeferthal, near Mannheim. He planned it for early Sunday morning, December 9. He wanted Generals "Hap" Gay and Geoffrey Keyes to join him. However, General Keyes was not available because he had been called to attend a conference. Was the conference an excuse to avoid being a witness to murder? It was learned that General Keyes never made it to the conference. His car had broken down on ## the way. Was he deliberately trying to avoid being a witness to murder? Sergeant Meeks, Patton's orderly, made arrangements for transportation, guns and dogs. Patton's car would be from the motor pool. It was a Cadillac, well marked with four stars of the general. Also there was a half-ton truck to be driven by Sgt. Joseph Spruce. It would carry the guns and dogs. # With Patton in the back seat was General "Hap" Gay, who disliked Patton. (Enough to want Patton dead?) There has been a question as to who was actually the driver of the Cadillac. Pfc. Horace Woodring and Cpl. A.D. Atchinson, both claim to have been the driver that day. This question has been compounded by subsequent contradictions in statements made by Woodring. Pfc. Woodring had been shacking up with a Polish NKVD girl the night before. He had admitted tohaving had too much too drink which gave him a hangover. He was hardly fit to drive the general's car. He was scheduled to be the driver, but was he? Cpl. Atchison claims that Woodring begged him to take his place. Neither Patton nor Gay knew that Atchison had replaced Woodring. Atchison didn't give his name since he was using Woodring's ID. No wonder that Woodring's statements were contradictory, they were lies. The word of Patton's hunting trip had been passed through the Signal Corps. It was from the Signal Corps that the GMC truck, driven by OSS/NKVD agent Robert Thompson, was stolen. The Signal Corps knew that Patton would be arriving at 11:30 at the Mannheim exit off the autobahn. He would be on route 38 on the way to the Kaeferthal. The Signal Corps soldiers would also have known that a freight train would be crossing route 38 at the time that Patton was due to arrive. Someone at the Signal Corps received information from Patton's head quarters as to time and place where Patton would be that Sunday morning. The train passed by on schedule. Patton's Cadillac was stopped at the railroad crossing. Across the track, the GMC truck waited for the train to pass. Sgt. Spruce's half ton was directly behind the Cadillac. A jeep carrying Military Police officers Peter K. Babalas and John Mertz was behind the truck. As the traffic began to move, Sgt. Spruce decided to pass Patton's car. Did he do so in order to avoid being a witness to a murder attempt? Just as Patton's car passed the tracks, Robert Thompson suddenly veered sharply left ramming into the front left fender and radiator. The hit caused, what the Mps said, was a minor fender bender. A Pfc. Woodring took the blame for the accident. Lt. Babalas reported that neither General Gay nor Pfc. Woodring were hurt. He noted that General Patton had sustained a head injury, which was bleeding. Military Police Lieutenant Peter K. Babalas noted that Sgt. Robert Thompson was driving a GMC truck taken without authority from the Signal Corps. For some reason Robert Thompson was allowed to leave the scene of the accident. Robert Thompson, OSS/NKVD agent disappeared. He most likely went into hiding. He could have changed his identity or he could have gone to Moscow. When Patton's injury appeared serious, the Mps called for an ambulance. Captain Ned Snyder was the ambulance driver. For some reason the ambulance stayed at the accident scene for more than 30 minutes. The ambulance left with Patton headed for a hospital. Neither General Gay nor Pfc. Woodring went to the hospital with Patton. Captain Snyder chose to take Patton to the Military hospital at Heidelberg even though there were four other hospitals closer. If he knew that Patton had a broken neck and time was important, why did he choose Heidelberg. Was Heidelberg a setup? It was 12:45 P.M. when the ambulance arrived at the Heidelberg Hospital. No one at the hospital seemed to know that four star General Patton would be arriving. The military police claim that a radio message was sent to the hospital. Which hospital received the message? Was there a deliberate attempt to delay delivery of Patton into the care of competent doctors? Was there an attempt to have Patton die before he could get medical attention? #### **HEIDELBERG HOSPITAL** The highest ranking American general in the European theater was not admitted to the hospital'semergency room until fifteen minutes had passed. Finally Doctor/Colonel Paul S. Hill came to attend Patton's seriously bleeding scalp. Dr. Hill was concerned about the lacerated scull, not the broken neck. Four soldiers volunteered to give their blood for transfusion to their general. Dr. Hill's diagnosis confirmed the opinion of Captain Snyder, the ambulance driver, that Patton's neck sustained a serious injury at the third vertebrae. An hour and fifteen minutes had elapsed between the time of the accident and Patton's admission to the hospital. Also another forty five minutes passed before Patton's neck injury was attended to. Shouldn't the neck injury have received priority attention? The two hour time lapse could have had fatal consequences. Patton was paralyzed from the neck down, yet medical attention was delayed. Was this deliberate? Dr. Hill had put Patton in traction using the zygomatic hooks. The general was first placed into a small room in the emergency section of the hospital. Later he was given a room adjacent to Dr. Lawrence Ball's office. Dr. Ball was the commanding officer of the Heidelberg Military Hospital. Doctors Ball and Hill made a number of telephone calls in which they informed their superiors in the theater and in America. Dr. Ball spoke with the chief surgeon in the European theater, Major General Albert W. Kenner. Dr. Hill spoke to Dr./Colonel Earl Lowry at Lawson General Hospital. He requested the transfer of Dr. Captain William R. Duane from the Frankfurt Hospital to Heidelberg. Doctors Kenner and Duane arrived at Heidelberg at 2:45 P.M. that afternoon. They both confirmed Dr. Hill's diagnosis that General Patton's spinal column behind the neck was fractured or dislocated at the third vertebrae. The doctors, nurses and hospital staff did everything they could to make Patton comfortable. #### **VISITORS** General Geoffrey Keyes was the first of twelve generals to visit Patton. The press had been informed of Patton's accident and of his condition at the Heidelberg Hospital. Swarms of news reporters and photographers arrived. The hospital corridors were crowded. Sentries were stationed at the door to Patton's room. #### OPPORTUNITY FOR MURDER Visitors and news reporters and photographers made it difficult for the doctors and nurses to move to and from Patton's room. Bedlam reigned. Newsmen begged or bribed the attendants for entry into Patton's room. Some of the press were antagonistic toward Patton. Some were NKVD agents of the Soviet Union. Undoubtedly the OSS had its agents there disguised as reporters or photographers. Most of the hospital attendants were Germans who were more than willing to provide hospital garb to the news people. They were paid in American dollars. The situation was perfectly suited for murder of Patton in his bed. #### THE DOCTORS Dr. Kenner had called the Surgeon General in Washington, D.C. requesting that Dr./Colonel Glen Spurling be assigned to the neurosurgeon team attending General Patton. Since Dr. Spurling was on leave, he could not be located immediately. Therefore, Dr. Kenner decided to ask the British for help. Dr./Brigadier Hugh Cairns, eminent Professor of Neurosurgery at Oxford University, was temporarily sent to Heidelberg Hospital. He was accompanied by Dr. Gilbert Phillips, one of the most outstanding neurosurgeons in the British army. These two British neurosurgeons made their examination of Patton. They concluded that Patton's condition was not as hopeless as the American team of doctors had said. Dr. Cairns was not satisfied with the Zygomatic hooks being used for traction. He had the hooks removed and replaced them with Crutchfield tongs. He ordered the room in which Patton was bedded to be cooled down and that Patton be given large amounts of water to bring down his fever. In very short order Patton's condition was improved dramatically. The nurses and doctors attending Patton were smiling. Hope for Patton's recovery was in the air. The hospital staff was exhilarated. Everyone was talking about the near miracle that Dr. Cairns had brought about. That evening, Dr. Paul Hill, read a telegram sent to Patton by President Harry S. Truman. "I am distressed at the painful accident you have suffered. I want you to know that I am thinking about you at this time. You have won many a tough fight and I that faith and courage will not fail you in this one. I am thankful that Mrs. Patton will be at your side to strengthen and sustain you." Beatrice Ayer Patton arrived the next day. She was accompanied by the surly Dr. Glen Spurling and others. visit a dying man. He was displeased with being reactivated into service to attend to General Patton, whom he did not admire. Dr. Spurling was certain that Patton was going to die. He seemed to want to get the ordeal over with as soon as possible. He was hoping to be back in the States for the Christmas holiday. Dr./Brigadier Hugh Cairns, whose experience helped Patton so much, was replaced by Dr./Colonel Glen Spurling. He and Dr. Hill were convinced that Patton was as good as dead. It seemed to them that it was just a matter of time when death would strike, so why waste the time and money to even try to keep Patton alive? This attitude makes one wonder about their dedication to Patton's survival. #### THE MURDER Patton's prognosis was "excellent". His temperature was normal. He could move his arms and legs better. The Crutchfield tongs were removed. He asked for his favorite scotch. He was kidding around with the nurses and doctors. His spirits were a joy to all. Beatrice was delighted with his progress and the prospects of having Patton home for Christmas. Doctor Spurling was seemed amazed at Patton's chances for full recovery. With Patton's recovery so well advanced, plans were being made by General Geoffrey Keyes to have Patton flown to the Beverly General Hospital in Massachusetts. Master Sergeant Meeks was being trained in nursing duties. He was to accompany Patton on the plane to Boston. Colonel Harkins, a close friend of Patton's, was to join Mrs. Patton on the trip to Beverly. A group of doctors, including Dr. Spurling, were being prepared to attend to him on the plane. Nurses and attendants were all set to make the trip with Patton. The idea of being back in the states for Christmas was exciting for all except Dr. Spurling who didn't like the thought that he would have to stay in military service just in order to care for Patton. Beatrice Patton was pleased to let General Keyes make the arrangements for the removal of Patton from Heidelberg Hospital to Beverly General. She consulted with him on numerous occasions in his office. As she left the side of Patton to visit General Keyes, she was besieged by the news reporters and photographers. She was more than happy to tell them of the plans to move Patton. The news reporters were not all friendly. Some of them had written stories about Patton which were very damaging to his reputation. Some of them were communists who were more than willing to keep the NKVD informed about Patton's progress and about the plans to move Patton to Beverly. The NKVD agents were pleased to learn the details. The murder would have to take place before Patton boarded the plane taking him out of easy reach. It was now or never for the NKVD. Was a lethal type of medication substituted? Was there a lethal shot given him? Did someone new, dressed like a doctor or nurse, come into Patton's room? Perhaps an OSS or NKVD agent? Was the assassin in the room when Mrs. Patton had gone to see General Keyes? General Sudoplatov's trained assassins could have easily killed Patton at the hospital. The situation was perfect. The security was lax. Who would have even thought that a killer was waiting for the opportunity to strike? #### SUDDEN TURN FOR THE WORSE It was afternoon on December 20, while being visited by Colonel Harkins, who came to discuss the trip to Beverly, that Patton complained about feeling very weak. He said that he had a terrible headache and that his stomach and chest were painful. That evening he went into coughing spasms. The nurses and doctors were concerned about the sudden turn from excellent condition to critical. The next morning, Patton's condition became worse. He was coughing up blood and was having convulsions. His fever was very high and his blood pressure rose as his pulse became erratic. Doctor's Spurling and Hill were sure that the end was near. They gave up on him. There was nothing they could do to save him. #### DEATH General George S. Patton, Jr. died at 5:45 P.M. on December 21, 1945. The plans to move him to Beverly General Hospital were canceled. The death certificate read, "Pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure". Neither doctor Spurling nor doctor Hill ordered an autopsy. They convinced Mrs. Patton not to insist on an autopsy. Dr. Spurling said that an autopsy would delay the funeral arrangements being made by General Keyes. She was told of the problem that so many of his mourners would have if they had to wait for an autopsy report. So many friends would miss being with their families for Christmas. Would an autopsy have revealed the true cause of death? Dr. Glen Spurling didn't stay for the funeral. He left immediately to be with his family for Christmas. #### THE FUNERAL Dignitaries of France, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Britain and other once free countries like Poland, Lithuania, etc. came. High ranking officers from the European countries joined the American ranking officers Mrs. Patton was furious when she was shown the list of pall bearers chosen by General Geoffrey Keyes. The list contained the name of General Bedell Smith, an enemy of Patton's. General Keyes was a special friend of General Bedell Smith. This connection worried Mrs. Patton. Beatrice Patton was normally a gentle lady, but she really gave General Keyes holy Toledo for putting Bedell Smith on the list. She had him remove Smith and replace him with Master Sergeant William George Meeks, the black orderly who was a dear friend of hers, loyal to his General. Reverend/ Colonel Edwin R. Carter, the Episcopal Chaplain of USFET, conducted the funeral service at the Christ Church at 3:00 P.M. on Sunday, December 23. There were two cars on the train from Heidel berg to Hamm, Luxem bourg. One car carried the body of General Patton, Beatrice, her brother Fred Ayer, Jr., Sergeant Meeks and other members of the family. The second car carried the generals and dignitaries. The American Military cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg was chosen by General Keyes. He told Mrs. Patton that it would not be appropriate to have Patton buried in Beverly, Mass. He convinced her that the General should be buried with his Third Army soldiers who had died in battle. It was in a dreary drizzle of cold rain that the thousands of soldiers marched to the cemetery at Hamm on that day before Christmas, December 24, 1945, to bid farewell to their fallen chief. As Patton's body was lowered into the grave, Generals and dignitaries, royalty and commoners joined Mrs. Patton and Patton's soldiers in a seventeen gun salute. Eulogies and bugles provided an atmosphere of solemnity. Tears filled the eyes of the mourners. The honor of presenting the flag, which had draped the coffin, to Mrs. Patton was given to Sergeant Meeks. Earth was cast upon the grave as prayers were spoken. The last rite was charged with emotion. The hero was laid to rest in an inconspicuous grave not different from those of his men. However, General Keyes was quick to respond to the request from the Royal Family of Luxembourg to have the liberator of their country be buried in a more prominent location. The grave site chosen was at the entrance to the cemetery. The road leading to the cemetery was renamed after Patton. Though General George Patton was disgracefully fired from command of the Third Army, his soldiers by the thousands have come to visit his grave each year. To them he remains the true hero of the Battle of the Bulge. Patton's name in history is besmirched by his detrac- #### THE COVER-UP Quietly his enemies have died, their secrets buried with them. The military files pertaining to the so-called accident have mysteriously disappeared. The testimony of Pfc. Woodring, which had been altered, has also disappeared. The Heidelberg Hospital records are lost. Nothing in Patton's medical files explain the sudden turn for the worse on December 20, 1945. Without an autopsy, there is no way to learn the true cause of Patton's death. Yet historians write with certainty that he died of a broken neck resulting from an auto accident. The writers on the life and death of General Patton fail to mention the rumor about the NKVD plot to kill Patton. Historians discredit any suggestion that Patton met with foul play. There seems to be a desire on the part of the historians to make the accident as the official record of what happened on December 9. Yet there are no files in the military archives pertaining to the accident. The hospital records were altered and removed to where? The records can't be located. It seems strange that the historians are prone to accept the word of those who might well have been part of the plot to kill Patton, and are part of the cover up. #### THE SUSPECTS There were many suspects who would have had to been interviewed if a serious investigation had been undertaken. As a trained Counter Intelligence agent, I would have ruled out coincidences. My training would have reminded me to be suspicious of what appeared to be merely a coincidence. #### STRANGE COINCIDENCES The so-called accident took place one day before Patton was due to leave Germany. Death occurred a few days before Patton was to leave the Heidelberg Hospital. His prognosis had been "excellent" condition, fit to travel to Beverly, Mass. A Robert Thompson was the OSS recruiter of communists to become agents for the OSS. A Robert Thompson was the driver of the GMC truck which rammed Patton's car on December 9. He was allowed to leave the scene of the accident. No one has been able to trace Robert Thompson, the truck driver. Robert Thompson the OSS agent was seen by the Ukrainian UPA agent at NKVD headquarters with Davidov. The FBI arrested a Robert Thompson as a Soviet spy in 1963. "Wild Bill" Donovan was fingered by Douglas Bazata, an OSS agent, as the one who paid him to kill Patton. Donovan worked under the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He reported directly to General George Marshall. Donovan gave me a hard time as I arrested Soviet spies and as I reported the information from the Ukrainian intelligence that Stalin had ordered the NKVD to kill Patton. Donovan was fired by President Harry Truman. It is a fact that Truman admired Patton. Did Truman learn of Donovan's deal with the NKVD to kill Patton? Duncan Chaplin Lee, OSS/NKVD agent, Donovan's number one assistant emigrated to the Soviet Union immediately after Patton's murder. He disappeared. General "Hap" Gay was not questioned by General Geoffrey Keyes who conducted an inquiry regarding the accident. Why not? Neither generals liked Patton. Robert Thompson was not questioned by General Geoffrey Keyes. Why not? Soviet NKVD chief of assassins, General Sudoplatov, disappeared shortly after the Patton murder. These strange coincidences and happenings are just the kind of events to lead any investigator to be suspicious. I have always dug into coincidences when I was on an investigation. The fact that the accident took place one day before Patton was to leave Germany for good would have given me reason to believe that the accident could have been planned. Thus, I would have interviewed all of the people on the scene or near the scene of the accident. I certainly would have talked with Pfc. Woodring, Cpl. Atchison, Sergeant Thompson, General Gay, Sgt. Spruce, Lt. Babalas, Lt. Mertz, Lt. Shanahan, General Keyes and his driver. I would also have interviewed in depth the Ukrainian UPA agent, Ivan Malij. After talking with the known people on the scene, I would have inquired about any bystanders who may have seen the accident. Captain Snyder, the ambulance driver, would have to explain why there was the delay of more than thirty minutes before leaving the scene of the accident and why he chose the Heidelberg Hospital as opposed to a hospital nearby. I would have talked with the medics who accompanied Patton in the ambulance. I would have checked with the Signal Corps to find out who permitted Robert Thompson to drive away with the GMC truck. I would have wanted to interview all of the radio operators at the Signal Corps and at Patton's HQ. At Heidelberg Hospital, I would have interviewed the attendants in the emergency room when Patton arrived. I would have indeed talked with Dr. Paul Hill to deter mine why it took so long for him to come to attend to Patton. I would have asked if Patton's broken neck was in any way unusual. Also whether the ambulance medics had properly immobilized Patton to prevent further damage to the spinal column. ...................................... My prime suspects would have been the news reporters and photographers. I would have wanted to know a great deal about this group. I had known a very distinguished American journalist who served as a spy for the NKVD. I knew that the NKVD and the OSS used the press as a cover for their agents. I would have been especially interested in talking to any reporter who had bribed any of the German attendants at the hospital. There would probably have been hundreds of people to interview. Certainly I would have not been the only counter intelligence agent on the investigation. It would have been important to read the reports of the military police, the security officers at the hospital and the intelligence officers in Patton's HQ. I would have secured all reports. Had I been assigned the investigation, I would have talked with General Davidov, the head of the NKVD in the American zone at SHAEF. Because no thorough investigation was ever made and I was threatened and discredited by General Donovan's OSS and NKVD General Davidov, I would have been suspicious of the OSS's involvement. My own Counter Intelligence Corps officers would not have been excepted as suspects. At this time, forty seven years after Patton's death/murder, I still think that it is possible to find the truth. It would take time and money to travel to Moscow, to Washington, to London and elsewhere. There must be someone who was directly or indirectly involved in the murder, and is still alive. The fact that a former OSS agent, Douglas Bazata, came forth in 1992, with the story that "Wild Bill" Donovan gave him \$10,800 to kill Patton encourages me to believe that there are others like Bazata who could be induced to talk. There must also be the stolen records. Somebody stole the records. That person could be found by a serious investigation of those who had access to the records at the time of their disappearance. I am convinced that the records of the KGB and/or NKVD have not been destroyed. The assassins would have received high praise and medals from Stalin and Sudoplatov. Though such an investigation launched at this time might bring out the sordid truth about American and Soviet high level officers and politicians involvement in the murder of General Patton, it is worth doing for the name of Patton. Such an investigation could prove that Patton was not the villain that he was made out to be. #### CONCLUSIONS There is no doubt that General George S. Patton, Jr. was a highly controversial person. He had very high ambitions for fame and glory. He was a historically significant combat general. His military genius cannot be denied. He was needed in an important way to help defeat the German military machine. He didn't hate the Nazis in the same way that I did, but his defeat of Hitler's forces cannot be undervalued. He alone did more to eliminate the Nazis than any other individual. It had to be a military victory to force the political defeat of Hitler. Patton's heroic victories in Sicily brought down Mussolini, the fascist leader of Italy. He brought down Hitler with his victories in the Battle of the Bulge. No one, for any reason, should take away from Patton's achievements. He was indeed a true hero. Politicians do not win wars, they start them. Soldiers die while politician quarrel. Widows cry, mothers and fathers hearts are broken, sweethearts have memories of love, while politicians take credit for victories won. There are a number of versions about the death of Patton, they are: - 1. His death was purely accidental, an act of God. The official version. - 2. His murder, planned in moscow. The accident was carried out by the NKVD assassins. - 3. His murder was a joint effort of the Soviet NKVD and the American O.S.S.. My version. - 4. The murder was planned in Washington, they had him killed in the hospital at Heidelberg by an OSS agent, paid by Donovan. Douglas Bazata's version. - Third Army looters killed Patton for gold, diamonds and other hidden Nazi treasure. They worked with the NKVD and the OSS. - 6. Members of the Patton family believe that Colonel Keegan had Patton killed. Patton's death was murder. I have no doubt about that. I have tried to convince you to accept the facts as I present them. My personal experience in the matter of the Patton murder put me in danger of being killed by Patton's murderers. They thought I knew too much. I am glad to be alive to write this story. #### Patton Murder #### BIBLIOGRAPHY Andrews, Christopher & Oleg Gordievsky, KGB, (Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bespasnosti) THE INSIDE STORY, 800 p., Harper-Collins, 1990 (Connect Hopkins, Lee, White and others to NKVD) Ayer, Frederick, Jr., BEFORE THE COLOR FADES, 266 p., Houghton Miflin, 1964 Barron, John, KGB, 640 p., Bantam 1974 Barron, John, KGB Today, The Hidden Hand, 496 p., Readers Digest Pr., 1983 Blumenson, Martin, PATTON, THE MAN BEHIND THE LEGAND, 325 p., Morrow, 1985 Bradley, Omar N., A SOLDIERS STORY, 618 p., Holt, 1951 Bradley, Omar N., A GENERAL'S LIFE, 752 p., Simon & Schuster, 1983 Brown, Anthony Cave, WILD BILL DONOVAN, THE LAST HERO, 841 p., Time Books, 1982 (Connect Thompson to OSS) Coit, Margaret L., "MR. BARUCH", 748 p., Houghton Miflin, 1957 Dallek, Robert, ROOSEVELT DIPLOMACY & WORLD WAR II, 132 p., Krieger, 1979 Divine, Robert A., ROOSEVELT & WORLD WAR TWO, pap, Viking Penguin, 1970 Eisenhower, Dwight David, CRUSADE IN EUROPE, 559 p., Doubleday, 1948 Farago, Ladislav, PATTON: ORDEAL & TRIUMPH, Aston-Honor, 1964 Hoover, J. Edgar, ON COMMUNISM, 158 p., Random House, 1969 Lowenstein, Francis, et al, ROOSEVELT & CHURCHILL, Their Secret Wartime Correspondence, 840 p., 1 Capo, 1990 Nisbet, Robert, ROOSEVELT & STALIN, The Failed Courtship, 160 p., Regnery Gateway, 1988 (Connect Hopkins and others to Stalin) Province, Charles M., PATTON'S THIRD ARMY, 320 p., P. Hippocrene, 1991 Romerstein, Herbert & Stanislav Levchenko, KGB Against the "Main Enemy", 384 p., Free Pr., 1989 Roosevelt, Eleanor, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF, 454 p., Harper & Bros, 1961 Shevchenko, Arkady N., BREAKING WITH MOS-COW, 378 p., P. Knoph, 1985 Troy, Thomas F., DONOVAN & THE CIA, 614 p., Greenwood, 1981 U.S. News and World Report, FAMOUS SOVIET SPIES, 223 p., 1973 (Murder of Bandera p. 100-101) (FBI arrest of Robert Thompson) Yost, Graham, KGB (World Espionage Set), 160 p., Facts on File, 1989 #### THE AUTHOR STEPHEN J. SKUBIK, is retired, living in Bennington, New Hampshire, with his wife Virginia Dutton-Skubik. Steve had personal experiences with the NKVD, the Soviet Union's State Security Agency, during his work as a Special Agent with the United States Army Counter Intelligence Corps, in Germany from January through December, 1945. He also dealt with the O.S.S., the Office of Strategic Services, led by General William "Wild Bill" Donovan, with whom Steve disagreed on a number of occasions in Germany. He objected to the O.S.S. recruitment of Communists such as Walter Ulbricht and Ho Chi Minh into the agency. His arrest of Walter Ulbricht and his accusing NKVD General Davidov of plotting the murder of General George S. Patton, Jr., caused him much trouble with the O.S.S. and his superiors in the Counter Intelligence Corps. His story about the murder of General George Patton in Heidelberg, Germany in December, 1945 is his recount of events which lead him to believe that the NKVD and the OSS colluded in the murder. He describes the coincidences such as the auto accident near Mannheim on December 9 just one day before Patton was to leave Germany: the death on December 21 at the Heidelberg Military Hospital as he was about to be moved to Beverly General Hospital: the presence in Germany of Soviet General Pavel Sudoplatov, head of the NKVD's external assassins during the time of the accident: and his being denied the authority to investigate the accident. Steve's contention is that such coincidences are highly suspicious. Beside the suspicious coincidences, Steve had been informed by the Ukrainian intelligence that Stalin had ordered the death of Patton because Patton was calling for war against the Soviet Union to force the Soviet armies back to Moscow. Patton's incursion into Czechoslovakia in early May caused the Soviet Military High Command to threaten General Eisenhower with all out war. Steve Skubik tells of how after General Eisenhower stood with Soviet Dictator Joseph Stalin on the tomb of Lenin, Eisenhower fired Patton as the Commander of the Third Army. Steve became involved in national politics when he lived in Alexandria, Virginia from 1947 through 1981. He wrote the Republican Policy of Liberation in 1952, which called for the dissolution of the Soviet Empire.