TLS signed “G. S. Patton, Jr.,” one page, 7.5 x 6, Headquarters, Third United States Army letterhead, July 24, 1945. Patton writes to the Rev. Cornelius Greenaway in Brooklyn. In full: “I am inclosing a signed copy of General Orders Number 98, 9 May 1945 [not present] which you ask for in your letter of 8 July 45.” Patton’s final General Orders (No. 98), issued two days after the German surrender and directed to “Soldiers of the Third Army, Past and Present,” reads, in part: “During the 281 days of incessant and victorious combat, your penetrations have advanced farther in less time than any other army in history. You have fought your way across 24 major rivers and innumerable lesser streams. You have liberated or conquered more than 82,000 square miles of territory, including 1,500 cities and towns, and some 12,000 inhabited places. Prior to the termination of active hostilities, you had captured in battle 956,000 enemy soldiers and killed or wounded at least 500,000 others. France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia bear witness to your exploits…. In proudly contemplating our achievements, let us never forget our heroic dead whose graves mark the course of our victorious advances, nor our wounded whose sacrifices aided so much in our success…. During the course of this war I have received promotions and decorations far above and beyond my individual merit. You won them; I as your representative wear them. The one honor which is mine and mine alone is that of having commanded such an incomparable group of Americans, the record of whose fortitude, audacity, and valor will endure as long as history lasts.” Cornelius Greenway (1896–1968) was a prominent collector whose collection was dispersed by Parke-Bernet in 1971. Tear to left edge (touching one word of typed text; neatly repaired from the reverse), otherwise fine, clean condition. R&R COA.
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