Who Murdered General George Patton?

Who murdered General George Patton?

“Did you see this morning’s paper, Tom? The Russians are threatening to bomb Washington, D.C.; intelligence says there are ten Russian submarines in the Atlantic. They are headed toward the East Coast with nuclear-tipped missiles.” Tom Reed turned toward Peter Manning: “What can we do? We are scientists, not military people.” Peter took a deep breath: “Tom, I am going to use the time machine we built. There was one general who was decisive and willing to stop the Russians in their tracks before they could start another war.” “Who was this wonder man, Peter?” Peter smiled: “My great-grandfather, General George Patton.” Tom peered over his glasses: “You’re related to Patton?” Peter smiled at Tom: “Yes, and I know from family stories that he wanted to go to war with the Soviets before they could start another war. I hope I can prevent his accident, or at least stop Stalin’s orders to kill him.” Peter began to pull out military gear from World War Two. He pulled on the uniform, with the steel pot. He then walked toward the time machine: “Tom, set it for December 8th, 1945; that gives me a day to meet my great-grandfather.” Tom, set the time machine, the place...Heidelberg, Germany. Peter tumbled through a black hole. Once through the black hole, Peter found himself standing on German soil, jeeps, trucks, and cars with stars. Peter noted devastation wherever he looked. A truck came to a halt: “Major, do you need a lift?” Peter smiled: “Yes, I need to find ‘ole blood and guts.’ The driver returned his smile: “I am on my way to pick up the general; he has a meeting this morning with Ike. I hopped into the backseat of the 1938 Series 75 Cadillac Limousine; it looked familiar to me. The driver dropped me off at Headquarters, I had to stow some gear until I had my orders to proceed to my next post.

Stalin screamed in fury to his NKVD henchman, Lavrentiy Beria. “I want George Patton dead; his obnoxious comments are bad enough, but he also attempted to take all of Czechoslovakia and Eastern Europe. I want him murdered, gone!” Beria stood silently; how did Stalin expect him to murder a public hero? He sighed and returned to his office. Beria began to form a plan. Patton was going home on December 9, 1945, which meant his timetable for the deed was short. He contacted an NKVD agent in Germany. The plan was simple: a collision with a truck; there could be no suspicion of foul play, just an accident. I read about the conspiracy from Russian files; I had seen the order issued and completed. I had less than twenty-four hours to stop the accident. I began to inquire among NKVD agents I knew to be in the area. I learned that General Patton had contacted dissident Russian General Vlasov, Ukrainian General Shcherbina, Stepan Bandera, and guerrilla fighters. The idea occurred to me that I could find no clear evidence that Patton wanted to begin a war against the Soviet Union. Yes, he favored a war against the Soviets immediately instead of waiting. I did have suspicions about the coincidence of the accident on December ninth, one day before the General was going home on December; the NKVD's greatest fear was that he would convince the OSS and General Donovan that a war with the Soviet Union was inevitable. The sooner the United States saw the Soviets for what they were, the safer the world would be in the long run.

December 9th, 1945

The sun was already up as Patton and Gay waited for the General’s limousine to arrive. Pheasant hunting was about the only enjoyment that Patton had. The car, with PVT Horace Woodring driving, halted as Patton and Gay climbed in. They had their hunting rifles, and Patton was looking forward to the day of hunting. As the limousine rumbled down the pitted street, Patton noticed the hunting guide’s dog was in an open jeep; he asked Woodring to stop. He got out of the limousine, removed the dog from the jeep, placing him in the front seat; Patton then got in the back. The sun was shining, a perfect day to hunt. The car continued straight toward Mannheim when a truck driven by T/5 Robert L. Thompson collided with General Patton’s limousine. I was to late to prevent the car crash, but I did investigate some newly released Soviet papers; one ordered the murder of Patton. I continued and found there was no T/5 Robert Thompson. This was strange; there were no army records. General Patton knew he was paralyzed; he asked his friend “Hap” Gay to rub his fingers as they waited for the ambulance to arrive. The ambulance sirens blaring pulled up to the accident site. The general was quickly taken to the 130 Station Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany. X-rayed his neck, two vertebrae were crushed. The general was placed in traction to keep his head from moving. As a precautionary measure was taken, fish hooks were implanted into his cheeks on either side of his upper jaw. He took it in stride; he began coughing and complained that his chest hurt. Patton’s wife, Beatrice, made arrangements to fly to Germany to be with her husband. She arrived and was transported to the hospital. She was there almost the entire time.

December 21st, 1945

5:55 pm General George S. Patton Jr died as a result of his injuries sustained in an automobile accident. The strange thing was, he was doing well and in good spirits. I once again began asking questions; I still could find nothing about Robert Thompson, the driver of the truck. It was as if he vanished; I thought he might have been an NKVD agent. There was a report sent to Josef Stalin that the act was done. Stalin was rid of Patton. Patton was correct that within five years the Soviets would start another war; the Cold War began in 1948. The General’s body was embalmed late that evening. Beatrice was heartbroken. She wanted the body returned to the United States for burial in their hometown in Massachusetts. The French informed the United States that as a thank you to the general, he would be buried in Napoleon’s tomb. General Patton made a request; he wished to be buried in among the men he fought with during the war, the ones who did not come back.

December 24, 1945

I stood in the rain with soldiers from the third army, my cheeks wet with tears for my great-grandfather. I stood at attention and saluted the coffin. He was buried among the soldiers he fought with, as per his request. Soldiers were the pallbearers. The army band played Eternal Father Strong to Save, as they placed the casket on a specially made half-track. The honor guard was soldiers from the United States, France, Belgium and Luxenbourg. His grave marker, a simple white cross, that reads:

George S. Patton Jr.

General, Third Army,

California December 21st, 1945

I am still confused about the accident, and I do believe it is possible that Stalin did order General Patton’s death. The truck hit the limousine; it appears to have been T-boned. Why did everyone else involved walk away from the accident, while Patton was paralyzed? Did Josef Stalin in fact order the murder? Why did Patton, who was healthy, die? Did someone perhaps cause the embolism that took his life? The NKVD could have had someone dress as a doctor and administer a needle with air bubbles. Anything is possible.