General Patton Museum – Fort Knox, Kentucky
While many think of the gold by which we judge the value of our money when thinking of Fort Knox, there is another treasure there as well just waiting for your visit. The General George Patton Museum of Leadership offers insight into this famous general that pushed and pulled his way through World War II and life in general. One of my favorite Patton quotes is, “I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.”
My husband loves World War II history and this was one of the visits he wanted to make when we traveled down south. He was not disappointed. While there we saw several artifacts owned by General Patton, even down to his famous pistols.
George Patton was born on November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California. As a young man, he attended the Virginia Military Institute and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point on June 11, 1909.
The General Patton Museum website http://www.generalpatton.org. states, “Patton’s passion for armor was evident from the early days of tank warfare. Patton was the first member of the United States Tank Corps in 1917 (it was abolished in 1920). Patton went on to organize the American tank school in Bourg, France.”
He is so famous for World War II that we often forget that this was not his first fight; he also was a major player in WWI where his Armor corps achieved victory at the first major American offensive at St. Mihiel in September 1918.
During WWI Patton was shot in the leg and from this wartime wound he received the Distinguished Service Cross for Heroism. In World War II Patton served in North Africa and the Seventh Army in Sicily.
The website adds, “His crowning achievement was his command of the Third Army, which swept across Europe, covering 600 miles across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. By the time WWII was over, the Third Army had liberated or conquered 81,522 square miles of territory.”
While my husband reveled in the military history, I myself enjoyed the personal history shared about General Patton. There was one place on the wall where he advised his wife after having a child to get back to horseback riding to retain her youthful shape. While I may not have wanted him as a spouse, he was an amazing commander that brought victory our way! The website wraps it all up with the comment, “Soldier, liberator, leader, General George S. Patton’s accomplishments were many and his legacy is lasting.”
Located 4554 Fayette Avenue, Fort Knox, Kentucky 40121-0208, call (502) 624-3812 for information. The museum is open weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday – Friday (Eastern Standard Time). The museum is closed Mondays and Sundays and on Saturdays and Federal Holidays is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Admission to the General George Patton Museum is free. The museum is open to the public. You can enjoy a self-guided tour or to book a group tour with a tour guide, please call 502-624-6350.
