Major General Edwin Davies Patrick (January 11, 1894 – March 15, 1945) was an American

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

who was the commander of the 6th Infantry Division during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

He was born January 11, 1894, in Tell City

Perry County, Indiana Perry County is a County (United States), county located in the Southwestern Indiana, southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 19,170. The county seat is Tell City, Indiana, Tell City. It is the hilliest co ...

, was the son of John Thomas Patrick and Anna Elnore Menninger, sister of Carl Frederick Menninger, founder of the

Menninger Clinic The Menninger Foundation was founded in 1919 by the Menninger family in Topeka, Kansas. The Menninger Foundation, known locally as Menninger's, consists of a clinic, a sanatorium, and a school of psychiatry, all of which bear the Menninger name ...

. Patrick was raised in

Tell City, Indiana Tell City is a city in and the county seat of Troy Township, Perry County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. It is located along the Ohio River. The population was 7,506 at the 2020 census. History Tell City traces its 150+ year old roots to a ...

, and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the

Indiana National Guard The Indiana National Guard (INNG) is a component of the United States Armed Forces, the United States National Guard and the Military Department of Indiana (MDI). It consists of the Indiana Army National Guard, the Indiana Air National Guard, a ...

in 1915, following his graduation from college. With the US intervention in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Patrick joined the 14th Machine Gun Battalion of the 5th Division and fought in France with the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

in the

Saint-Mihiel Saint-Mihiel () is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in Northeastern France. Geography Saint-Mihiel lies on the banks of the river Meuse. History A Benedictine abbey was established here in 708 or 709 by Count Wulfoalde ...

and Meuse-Argonne offensives. For heroism during the war, Patrick received a Silver Star Citation, which was converted to the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

when the decoration was established in 1932.

World War II

During World War II, Patrick served on the staff of

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

William Halsey William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (30 October 1882 – 16 August 1959) was an American Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star fleet admiral of the United States Navy, the others be ...

for a brief period and then became chief of staff of general

Walter Krueger Walter Krueger (26 January 1881 – 20 August 1967) was an American soldier and general officer in the first half of the 20th century. He commanded the Sixth United States Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. He rose fro ...

's 6th Army. He was the commander of the task forces in the battles of

Wakde Wakde is an island group in Sarmi Regency, Papua, Indonesia, between the districts of Pantai Timur and Tor Atas. It comprises two islands, Insumuar (the larger) and Insumanai (much smaller). History Occupied by Japanese forces in April 1942, th ...

and Noemfoor. Afterwards, he was given command of the 6th Infantry Division. During the Philippines campaign of 1944-45 Patrick was inspecting troops near Mount Mataba, south of Montalban, east of

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

on March 14. A Japanese soldier, who had remained in hiding behind American lines, opened fire from with a machine gun, mortally wounding Patrick, who died the next day. General Patrick was buried in the

Manila American Cemetery The Manila American Cemetery and Memorial is a military cemetery located in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig. It can be reached most easily from the city via EDSA to McKinley Road, then to McKinley Parkway inside the Bonifacio Global City. The Lawton A ...

on 26 November 1945. Edwin Patrick was one of only three American division commanders to die in combat action in World War II. The other two were

Maurice Rose Maurice Rose (November 26, 1899 – March 30, 1945) was a career officer in the United States Army who attained the rank of major general. A veteran of World War I and World War II, Rose was commanding the 3rd Armored Division when he was kille ...

and James Edward Wharton. Patrick was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation, state or country. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in act ...

Legacy

A Navy transport ship, , was named in his honor.

Awards

* Distinguished Service Cross *

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or ...

* World War I Victory Medal *

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a United States service medals of the World Wars, military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recogniz ...

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had per ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two

campaign star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or service period. T ...

s *

World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal was a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. Histo ...

Philippine Presidential Unit Citation The Philippine Presidential Unit citation BadgeThe AFP Adjutant General, ''Awards and Decorations Handbook'', 1997, OTAG, p. 65. is a unit decoration of the Republic of the Philippines. It has been awarded to certain units of the United States ...

Philippine Liberation Medal The Philippine Liberation Medal is a military award of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by an order of Commonwealth Army of the Philippines Headquarters on December 20, 1944, and was issued as the Philippine Liberation Ribbon. Th ...

with two stars

Dates or rank

*2nd Lieutenant, Indiana National Guard - 11 February 1915 *2nd Lieutenant, Regular Army - 21 March 1917 (accepted 25 March 1917) *1st Lieutenant, Regular Army - 15 April 1917 *Captain (temporary) - 5 August 1917 *Captain, Regular Army - 11 December 1917 *Major, Regular Army - 11 December 1929 *Lieutenant Colonel, Regular Army - 12 June 1939 *Colonel, Army of the United States - 14 October 1941 (accepted 18 October 1941) *Brigadier General, Army of the United States - 26 April 1943 *Major General, Army of the United States - 5 September 1944U.S. Army Register, 1944. pg. 717.

References

Bibliography

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Edwin D. 1945 deaths 1894 births United States Army Infantry Branch personnel Military personnel from Indiana United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) United States Army generals United States Army personnel killed in World War II People from Tell City, Indiana Deaths by firearm in the Philippines United States Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Indiana National Guard personnel Phi Delta Theta members