Collection of 18 letters, all signed “G. S. Patton, Jr.,” and one ALS signed the same way. Each letter is accompanied by its original mailing envelope, with seven bearing Patton’s censorship signature in the upper left, and one other envelope bearing a Patton franking signature. Letters date from October 28, 1944, to December 21, 1945, with seven sent before the German surrender, and accompanied by two letters from Patton’s secretary, Sue Lynch, postmarked the day of Patton’s death. All the letters are written to Mary Jane Kriger. A selection from the letters follows:
December 29, 1944: “We are having quite a war, but have certainly stopped the Germans, and I think before you get this will have driven him back—if you are not a very polite young lady I might even say, ‘Driven him back to Hell,’ but I will not say so. Owing to the fact that we are having a battle, you will have to forgive this short, dictated letter.”
May 4, 1945: “At this moment the war seems practically extinct.”
August 6, 1945: “I am glad you don’t have to take swimming lessons over here, because the water is always extremely cold…However, the Germans seem to enjoy it. Yesterday, Sunday, I saw hundreds of them lying on the grass or splashing in the water with just as few clothes on as the law allows.”
November 1, 1945 (ALS): “Thanks for the quotations from Bill Cunningham they are most interesting. I think ‘Postwar Picture’ is really a swell poem and very sadly true. Your Christmas box has come but like a good boy I shall not open it until Dec. 25, ’45.”
In overall fine condition. RR Auction COA.
For more information on the remarkable correspondence between Patton and Krieger, click here. Please be advised the seven images at the bottom of the page are for reference purposes only and not included with the item.
