Alexander Patch
Alexander Patch | |
|---|---|
LTG Patch, new commander of Fourth Army, August 1945 | |
| Birth name | Alexander McCarrell Patch |
| Nickname | "Sandy" |
| Born | 23 November 1889 Fort Huachuca, Arizona Territory, U.S. |
| Died | 21 November 1945 (aged 55) Fort Sam Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Service years | 1913–1945 |
| Rank | General |
| Service number | 0-3589 |
| Unit | Infantry Branch |
| Commands | 3rd Machine Gun Battalion, 1st Division 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment 47th Infantry Regiment Task Force 6814 Americal Division XIV Corps IV Corps Seventh Army Fourth Army |
| Conflicts | Pancho Villa Expedition World War I World War II |
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal (3) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Bronze Star |
Alexander McCarrell Patch (23 November 1889 – 21 November 1945) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both world wars, rising to rank of general. During World War II, he commanded U.S. Army and Marine Corps forces during the Guadalcanal campaign in the Pacific, and the Seventh Army on the Western Front in Europe.
With an invasion of Japan still an apparent likelihood, Patch returned to the U.S. in August 1945 to take charge of the Fourth Army headquartered at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. He died three months later in November 1945 at age 55, his health having been ravaged during his time in the Pacific early in the war. "Sandy" Patch and Lucian Truscott were the only two U.S. Army officers on active service during World War II to command a division, corps, and field army.
In July 1954, he was posthumously promoted from his rank of lieutenant general to four-star general.