MONROE, La. (AP) – An exhibit about Gen. George Patton — including the boots he was wearing in the wreck that killed him — will be on display through March 3 at Chennault Military and Aviation Museum.
The News Star reports that other memorabilia include a photograph of the wrecked car in which Patton was a passenger, a toy soldier he played with as a child and a photograph of Patton and his grandsons John and Pat Waters.
The items are on loan from Patton’s grandson, George Patton Waters, who spoke to a crowd of 200 museum supporters and military buffs at a recent Friends of Chennault Museum.
Museum director Nell Calloway says the exhibit is small, but the museum is “honored to be able to display historical items that belong to the family of an American hero.”
The museum is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
Patton died Dec. 21, 1945 — 12 days after the car in which he was riding hit a 2 1/2-ton Army truck.
The front of the 1938 Cadillac 75 was smashed, and Patton’s head hit the partition between the front and back seats. His neck was broken.
His chief of staff, in the rear seat next to him, was unhurt.
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