Beschreibung:

PATTON, George S. (1885-1945), General . Autograph letter signed ("George S. Patton, Jr.") to George S. Patton, Hotel Continental, Paris, 20 June 1917. 3 pages, 8vo, matted and framed with a period photo of Patton in front of tank . "EVEN YET I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY AT WAR. IT ALL SEEMS UNREAL AND DISTANT." A HORSE-RIDING, TANK-FIGHTING YOUNG OFFICER IN PARIS. A chatty, even jumpy letter from young George S. Patton, Jr. to his father, reveling in his looming participation in the war, speaking about the sites of wartime Paris, and offering instructions on the breeding of his horses back home. He tells his "Dear papa" that he is "getting well settled now and going to fewer dinners, hence doing more work. Today I called on Genl. Gerard who is in charge of all the autos in France. He sent me to the big depot at Paris....I talked Auto French for two hours with an expert and got on fine, really I can do quite well with it and can talk on any subject with ease and considerable fluency so that I feel at home. Even yet I can't believe that we are actually at war. It all seems unreal and distant." Turning to the grimmer aspects of the conflict he observes "There are a good many cripples but few of them when you think what a war it really is [ sic ]. We have adopted the Sam Brown or English belt, which you admired in Washington. It is very comfortable and good looking. General Pershing is making a wonderful impression. He is such a splendid soldier and so much on the job....The talk of food shortage is all talk. We have fine food and plenty of it and in fact it costs less than in Washington. The weather has been terribly hot but is now better as it rained today." In spite of his zest for being in the war zone, the horseman in Patton is still concerned with his mares and colts back home. "I suppose my horses have arrived from El Paso. Have any colts come? If they do the mares should be bred in seven days and tried every day till they take them. They should be tried every two weeks till they refuse the horse." He signs, "your devoted son, George S. Patton, Jr." Patton served with Pershing in the 1916 Mexico expedition against Pancho Villa, and became his aide-de-camp in France. But as a descendant of Civil War officers, Patton made sure he got into the front line fighting and led the first American armored unit into battle at Langres in November 1917. He also fought at St. Mihiel and the Meuse-Argonne, where he was wounded. He received the Distinguished Service Cross.