Description:

Patton Jr. George 1885 - 1945 Just weeks before the Invasion of Sicily, Patton writes to the Top Doc at D-Day, who also attended him on his deathbed after his fatal accident. Ironically, he assures his old friend that Eisenhower disapproved of a perceived demotion. A month after Sicily, Patton would be demoted and reprimanded by Ike for the famous "slapping incident."
Typed Letter Signed "G S Patton Jr.," 1 page, 8" x 10.5". APO #758, NYC, June 4, 1943. To Brigadier General Albert Kenner, Fitzsimmons General Hospital, Denver, Colorado, USA. On lightweight stationery. Fine condition.


In full, "There is no use crying over spilt milk. Both you and I have had the experience of being temporarily gyped. But I am very sorry to hear that you are in the clutches of your own profession. I feel sure though that as husky a man as you are has really nothing the matter with him, and you will shortly be out.

"You know without my saying it that any time you feel like coming backing to anything I may command, you will be the head surgeon of it. In this I am perfectly sincere and while I cannot offer a great deal at the moment, things may change any time.

"Again, I wish to tell you how dreadfully sorry I am, and to assure you that the Big Boss, who visited me the other night, is deeply cut up. I am sure that everything will straighten out in the end, and that there is plenty of time in this war for all men of your rare quality to gain the recognition they deserve‰Û_"

A graduate of the George Washington University School of Medical School in 1915, Dr. Albert Kenner (1889-1959) joined the Army in 1916 and served in France with the 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st. Infantry Division, American Expeditionary Force. He was wounded in combat and received the Distinguished Service Cross. In 1936, Kenner became Post Surgeon at Fort Myer, Virginia, and physician to the Post Commander, then-Colonel George S. Patton. In the early phase of World War II he was at Fort Knox, Kentucky, then was transferred to Morocco where he was the medical officer for Operation Torch, the 1942 invasion of Casablanca. Advanced to Brigadier General on December 1, 1942, he was promoted to Major General on October 7, 1943. Dr. Kenner was chief medical officer for Operation Overlord, the D-Day invasion, and was later Third Army Surgeon making him once again Patton's doctor.

As Chief Surgeon for Army Service Forces in the European Theatre, Major General Kenner was in Frankfurt on December 9, 1945, when he heard that General Patton was injured in an automobile accident near Mannheim, Germany. He was there within hours to take charge. General Patton had broken his neck and was paralyzed from the neck down. He slowly showed signs of improvement and on December 19th was said to be making "very satisfactory progress" but on the 20th, he suffered a pulmonary embolism that virtually destroyed one of his lungs. General Patton died in his sleep on December 21, 1945, of acute heart failure when another embolism struck his remaining lung. After Patton's death, Dr. Kenner wrote to a fellow Army surgeon, "The service lost its best field commander and I lost a damn good friend."

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