''General George S. Patton, Jr.'' (Patton Monument) is a bronze statue of George S. Patton, Jr., by James Earle Fraser. It is located at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. 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 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 ...

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

. He commanded armored forces in North Africa after

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 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 securing victory in North Africa whil ...

, then commanded the Seventh Army for the invasion of Sicily. But his greatest fame came as commander of the United States Third Army. 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 liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

, 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 re ...

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 a ...

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 Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and at the General Patton Memorial Museum

Ettelbruck Ettelbruck ( , ) is a Communes of Luxembourg, commune with list of towns in Luxembourg, town status in central Luxembourg, with a population of inhabitants. History Until 1850, both Erpeldange and Schieren were part of the Ettelbruck commune a ...

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. 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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External links