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Growing Up Patton: Reflections on Heroes, History, and Family Wisdom
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Growing Up Patton: Reflections on Heroes, History, and Family Wisdom
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Overview
In revealing personal correspondence written between 1939 and 1945, General Patton Jr. espoused his ideals to Benjamin’s father, then a cadet at West Point. Dispensing advice on duty, hero'sm and honor with the same candor he used ordering the Third Army across Europe, Patton shows himself to be as dynamic a parent as a military commander.
Following in those famous footsteps, Benjamin’s father became a respected and decorated hero of both the Korean and Vietnam wars. Ironically, as he rose to major general, he also proved himself just as brave, flamboyant, flawed and inspiring as his father had been.
A study of a great American original, Growing Up Patton features some of the pivotal figures in Benjamin’s father’s life, including Creighton Abrams, the WWII hero who became his greatest mentor; Charley Watkins, a daredevil helicopter pilot in Vietnam; Manfred Rommel, the son of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel; Joanne Patton, the author’s mother and a resourceful fighter in her own right; and Benjamin’s mentally challenged brother, George. Growing Up Patton explores how the Patton cultural legacy lives on, and in the end, reveals how knowing the history of our heritage—famous or not—can lead to a deeper understanding of ourselves.
INCLUDES NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED LETTERS BETWEEN GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON AND HIS SON DURING WORLD WAR II
INCLUDES NEVER-BEFORE-PUBLISHED FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780425255940 |
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Publisher: | Penguin Publishing Group |
Publication date: | 11/06/2012 |
Pages: | 368 |
Sales rank: | 646,490 |
Product dimensions: | 5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d) |
Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
A former editor at Elle and Vogue, Jennifer Scruby has also written for GQ; O. The Oprah Magazine; Lucky; Elle Decor; and the Financial Times.
Table of Contents
Foreword Bob Woodruff ix
Part 1 Father To Son 1
Introduction 3
Chapter 1 Family History 11
Chapter 2 Wartime Correspondence between George S. Patton Jr. and George S. Patton IV 31
Part 2 Students, Doers, Teachers 85
Chapter 3 Creighton Abrams 87
Chapter 4 Manfred Rommel 107
Chapter 5 Geasung "Sammy" Choi 127
Chapter 6 Julius Becton 141
Chapter 7 Vera Duss-Lady Abbess 157
Part 3 The Young Commanders 183
Chapter 8 Jim Dozier 185
Chapter 9 Dave Palmer 205
Chapter 10 Glenn Finkbiner 217
Part 4 Spiritual Inspirations 231
Chapter 11 Glenn Myers and Lamar Hunt 233
Chapter 12 Tom Bowers 249
Part 5 Scenes From a Marriage 267
Chapter 13 Joanne Patton 269
Chapter 14 Wartime Correspondence between George and Joanne Patton (1968-1969) 285
Part 6 Moving Forward 299
Chapter 15 Charley Watkins and my brother George S. Patton Jr. 301
Epilogue 319
Interviews Conducted 325
Acknowledgments 327
Notes 331
Index 343
What People are Saying About This
With the assistance of former Elle and Vogue contributor Scruby, the grandson of George S. Patton Jr. chronicles the relationship between his father and grandfather in this mélange of memoir, correspondence and biography. The book opens with the fascinating correspondence exchanged between Gen. Patton and his son, George Patton IV, then a new cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point. The selected letters highlight the close relationship between father and son. Straight from the battlefront, Patton’s letters are solicitous and enthusiastic about the daily concerns of a cadet, while his son’s letters express encouragement for his father’s battle campaign and an eagerness to begin his own military career. Documentary filmmaker Benjamin Patton continues with a series of character studies of a wide array of people who figured prominently in his father’s life, including his wife, his developmentally disabled son (the author’s brother), a commanding officer and a nun. One such significant figure is Manfred Rommel, son of Patton Jr.’s chief military rival during World War II, Erwin Rommel, who was executed by Hitler for alleged disloyalty. These two sons of military legends began a friendship later in life when George Patton IV was stationed in Germany, and their mutual admiration for their fathers served to cement their unlikely friendship. An attentive consideration of the deep affection between a military legend and his son, of particular interest to those already enthralled by Patton’s larger-than-life shadow. Kirkus Reviews