TLS signed “GSP, Jr.,” one page, 8.25 x 10.5, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Office of the Commanding General letterhead, September 16, 1945. Letter to Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes, in full: “Young Count Rudolph Czernein, who is connected by marriage with the Grand Duchese of Luxembourg who has been very helpful to the Americans, is anxious to attend college in Heidelberg. Could you please have somebody inform me whether or not it is possible for him to do so and what papers, if any, he needs from here? He lives with his mother on an estate in the vicinity of Munich.” In fine condition, with stray ink to lower left corner, faint area of dampstaining to right edge, and a pair of punch holes to top. Accompanied by the following insignia owned by General Keyes: a 2.25 x 2.5 metallic seal of the United States, a US metallic collar insignia, two metal buttons depicting the seal of the United States, a light brown 4 x 1.25 swatch bearing two woven “U.S.” gold patterns, and a dark brown 1.75 x 1.75 swatch bearing a woven star.
On December 17, 1944, a day after Germany launched their last great offensive of World War II, Patton rerouted his Third Army northward to the Nazi-controlled borders of Belgium-Luxembourg with a primary objective—relieve the besieged US 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne. Spearheaded by Patton’s 4th Armored Division, the counter-offensive surged through Luxembourg roads snow-clogged by the worst winter Europe had seen in years and reached the encumbered troops on December 26th. Considered a pivotal turning point in the Battle of the Bulge, and a maneuver that cemented Patton’s legend as a seminal military leader, the Third Army’s descent upon Bastogne opened corridors for support and supplies, quickly turning the tides of war in favor of the Allies. Following the conflict’s end on January 25, 1945, Prince Felix, the Consort of Grand Duchess Charlotte, honored Patton with the Croix de Guerre for his bravery and military virtue. Less than four months after the end of World War II, Patton was involved in a fatal automobile accident while in Germany and was later buried in the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial in Hamm, the very churchyard he helped establish during the Battle of the Bulge. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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