In what has now become an iconic and widely acclaimed photo, revealing with clarity the emotional bond that, through the ages, has tied canines to soldiers, and humanity in general. Willie, the English Bull Terrier, lies morose next to the personal belongings of U.S. General George S. Patton – a few days after Patton’s road accident and death from severe cervical trauma in December 1945.
Named after a starving young boy, the three-star U.S. commander had once brought in and fed at his barbecue during the Depression of 1929, Willie was known to many as William the Conqueror.
Willie’s former owner.
The Bull Terrier initially named Punch was the pet of a Royal Air Force Pilot but after whose disappearance during a bombing run over Germany, was put up for adoption by his widow and subsequently acquired by the Third Army for the General – who at the time far from home and family had yearned for the love of a canine, and is known to have personally requested the wife of British army general, Oliver Leese, to help him find a suitable companion.
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Purchased on the 4th of March 1944 and introduced to the General the very next day, the bond between the two had been instantaneous. A sentiment Patton later revealed in a letter addressed to his wife Beatrice, dated 6th of March 1944, gushing with tender fondness over how the year-old pup had taken to him like a duck does to water.
Though Patton and Willy’s friendship had lasted for barely over a year. It was, nevertheless, one of happiness for both. While Willie, with the true heart of a canine, had focused all his love and devotion on the General, happy to have found a new home, and with canine attachment, followed him around everywhere.
For the General, who had often found himself humiliated and overlooked for his controversial statements in public, despite his brilliant victories, the pup had provided the comfort he longed for. As an ardent animal lover with a particular fondness for English Terriers, Patton had spared no effort in pampering his newfound best friend as best he could.
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Birthday party for Willie.
Shortly after Willy’s arrival, the General had arranged for a belated birthday party and gradually taken to fatten up the undernourished pup by feeding him from the army mess hall and his plate. Later, he had even gone to the extent of having the metal-rimmed stairs of his armoured van encased with wood so as not to hurt the terrier’s paws.
As George Patton’s second in command, Willie had enjoyed unrestricted access at Third Army Headquarters. He had strolled in and out of high-level conferences and been privy to top-secret plans. He had also been issued his own U.S. Army dog tags, which an August Edition of Life Magazine, dated 1944, featured in an article titled: The Coming Battle for Germany.
Willy had greeted guests sitting on a couch next to Patton, and shared his bed, farted and snored much to the amusement of the General. The only occasion he had been grounded was when he had picked a fight with Eisenhower’s dog underneath the dining table. Eisenhower was Patton’s commanding officer, and out of respect for the chain of command, the General had sent Willie out of the room.
Willie’s separation anxiety.
After Patton’s sudden death in 1945, the devoted Willie, naturally, had suffered from a few days of separation anxiety. He had eventually been transported along with the General’s belongings back home to his family and widow Beatrice – to live out the rest of his life as a member of the Patton family.
Both George and Beatrice Patton were devoted animal lovers. Their home had harboured seventeen canines of different breeds, horses, white mice, kittens, and rabbits. As well as fish, turtles and even a duck named Lemoyne. Whose escapade on a stormy night had led the couple to abandon entertaining guests at a dinner party to go on a search and rescue mission in the pouring rain. The Pattons’ motto was that pets were no good unless treated like family.
This poignant photo of Willie, which was produced by an unknown U.S. Army photographer, is archived by the National Archives and Records Administration. Its caption reads: A Faithful friend mourns American hero. Along with the many millions to mourn the passing of American hero, General George S. Patton, Jr., is his dog “Willie,” the late general’s pet bull terrier. Bad Nauheim, Germany. International News Photos, 1/1946.
Willie’s year of birth is recorded to be 1942. He died at the age of 13 in 1955, outliving both George and his wife, Beatrice Patton. Willie and the General were so close that they are said to have resembled each other in countenance and gaze.
