''General George S. Patton, Jr.'' (Patton Monument) is a bronze statue of

George S. Patton, Jr. George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a General (United States), general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, Mediterranean Theater ...

, by James Earle Fraser. It is located at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. Patton was a prominent cavalryman during the early 20th century and was a founding father of the US Army's Tank Corps, seeing action in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and commanding a tank brigade. He achieved his greatest fame as during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He commanded armored forces in North Africa after

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

, then commanded the Seventh Army for the invasion of Sicily. But his greatest fame came as commander of the

United States Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

. After a swift drive across France after the

Normandy invasion Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norma ...

, his forces made a famous relief of the trapped American forces in the

siege of Bastogne The siege of Bastogne () was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge. The goal of the German offensive was the harbor at Antwerp. In order to r ...

during the German Ardennes counteroffensive. The statue was originally dedicated in 1950 by Patton's widow Beatrice and faced the old Cadet Library. It was briefly placed in storage for the construction of the new library, Jefferson Hall, in 2004. The monument was then rededicated in 2009 in a temporary location near

Eisenhower Monument The Eisenhower Monument at the United States Military Academy is a monument to former General of the Army and the 34th President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The subject As a member of the famed West Point Class of 1915, (known ...

where it remained for the next three years while renovations were completed on the Cadet Library and Bartlett Hall. Other examples of the statue are at the Charles River Esplanade, Hatch Memorial Shell, Boston, Massachusetts, and at the General Patton Memorial Museum

Ettelbruck Ettelbruck ( lb, Ettelbréck , german: Ettelbrück ) is a commune with town status in central Luxembourg, with a population of inhabitants. History Until 1850, both Erpeldange and Schieren were part of the Ettelbruck commune as well, but both ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

. In the monument's previous position, Patton faced the old Cadet Library. It was often joked that the statue was positioned facing the library with binoculars in the officer's hands so that he might find the building which he neglected to visit as a cadet. Image:Patton_Monument_in_its_original_location_in_front_of_old_cadet_chapel_circa_2003.jpg, Patton Monument in its original location, circa 2003

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External links

*https://www.flickr.com/photos/west_point/sets/72157618181686887/ *https://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyg/4890118647/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Patton Monument (West Point) Monuments and memorials at West Point 2009 sculptures Bronze sculptures in New York (state) George S. Patton Statues in New York (state) 2009 establishments in New York (state) Works by James Earle Fraser (sculptor)

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