http://www.grolier.com/wwii/wwii_patton.html GEORGE S. PATTON, JR., (1885-1945), American general and tank commander, whose bold armored advance across France and Germany in 1944 and 1945 made a significant contribution to Allied victory in WORLD WAR II . He was born in San Gabriel, Calif., on Nov. 11, 1885, into a family with a long tradition of military service. He attended the Virginia Military Institute and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1909, when he was commissioned a 2d lieutenant in the 15th Cavalry. He graduated from the Mounted Service School, Fort Riley, Kans., in 1913, and a year later from the Advanced Course at the Cavalry School, Fort Riley. In 1916 he went as acting aide to Gen. John J. Pershing in the Mexican expedition, and in 1917 Pershing took him to France as commander of his headquarters troops. In November 1917, Patton was one of the first men detailed to the newly established Tank Corps of the United States Army and was assigned the task of organizing and training the 1st Tank Brigade near Langres, France. He led this unit in the St. Mihiel drive in mid-September 1918 and was wounded later in the month at the opening of the Meuse-Argonne offensive. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal and promoted temporarily to the rank of colonel.
Here is a site about George Patton's pistols. "Only a pimp in a New Orleans whorehouse or a tin-horn gambler would carry a pearl-handled pistol." Bob Tuley
