Remembering a Legendary Leader:
James “Jimmie” Leach, 1922-2009

Leach was born in Houston, Texas on April 7, 1922, the son of David W. Leach, Jr. and Ellen Curry Leach, both of Houston, and the grandson of Sergeant D.W. Leach of the 8th Louisiana Heavy Artillery, CSA.

General Leach entered the Texas National Guard in 1938 at 16 and at 22 became the platoon commander in a tank company under General George Patton during World War II. Leach was a five-time Purple Heart recipient and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his service during the war.

General Leach’s other decorations include: Croix de Guerre of Luxembourg; Virtuti Militarie – Poland; Two Silver Star Medals awarded during Vietnam; and the Legion of Merit – Two Bronze Star Medals with “V” device. Honors include: OCS Hall of Fame, Ft. Benning, GA; First recipient of the Order of St. George, US Armor Association; Professor of Military History, Ft. Knox, Kentucky; President of Military Officers of America Association; and President of the Veterans Cemetery Committee of Beaufort (VCCOB).

Leach was an undergraduate of the University of Omaha and held a Master's degree in International Relations from Georgetown University. “Colonel James H. (Jimmie) Leach was a great American soldier. He was a true warrior, a hero as indicated by his many awards for bravery. But he was a hero in another very important way, never forgetting his soldiers regardless of their rank.” said Thomas H. Tait, MG(R), Cavalry, US Army.

Leach stayed in the US Army as a career Army Officer, rising to the rank of full Colonel. He served in Korea and Vietnam, where he was the 40th Commanding Officer of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment of the Blackhorse Regiment.

Leach retired from the Army in 1972 and eventually settled in Beaufort, South Carolina, where he was active in veterans' affairs and served as an adviser to the Adjutant General of the S.C. Military Department, who oversees the S.C. National Guard and S.C. Air National Guard.

He was a leader and a mentor to legions of tankers and cavalrymen, observed Tait. In retirement, Leach continued his mentorship by participating in numerous events of the 37th Armor Regiment, the 11th Cavalry Regiment, the 4th Armored Division Association and the Armor Association. He was appointed the First Honorary Colonel of the 37th Armor Regiment. Because of his dedication and loyalty to the Armor Branch and its soldiers, he was awarded The United States Armor Association’s first Gold Medallion of the Order of St. George.

“Colonel Leach continued to teach tactics to the career course long after his retirement and the classes were well received by the young captains who were in attendance. As a result of his continued dedication to furthering their knowledge of armor operations he was named the Honorary Professor of Armor by the Armor School. This was the first professorship awarded by the Armor School,” said Tait.

“Colonel Jimmie Leach was larger than life. His legacy is assured. He was a friend and mentor. He will be missed,” said Tait.

Reflecting on General Patton: Readers Share Recollections

Dear Readers,
In this issue we will feature a sampling of the many heartfelt letters and notes we’ve received from members of our museum family and the armor community. We treasure each of these recollections and decided to dedicate an issue to your special memories.

For those who served, these memories are a testament to your bravery and sacrifice. For many of you, the service of your parent or grandparent in Patton’s Army is a legacy to be treasured and passed down. We appreciate you sharing this gift with our readers.

Thank you for all you do, and keep in touch.

Respectfully,

Ellen Birkett Morris
Editor, Patton Saber

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Letters from the Front

The following excerpts come from Jody Polk Schwartz’s book, The World War II Letters and Notes of Colonel James H. Polk, developed from a collection of letters written by her father to her mother as he spearheaded Patton’s 3rd Army across Eastern France and into Nazi Germany and Austria. Here are Polk’s recollections:

“I never heard George Patton tell a dirty story, but his profanity was, to say the least, quite effective and well-honed. Once in a pick-up polo game at Fort Riley, Kansas, I was playing No. 2 and he was No. 3. When he laid the ball up very nicely in front of the goal, I missed the shot for a score and let out a pretty fair oath. He rode up and said, “Lt. Polk, you will not use profanity on the polo field, but it’s a goddamned shame you can’t hit the ball.”

***

Patton displayed his encyclopedic knowledge of military history:

“One day while visiting the little village of Gravelotte, under the guns of Fort Driant near Metz, General Patton jolted me by observing what a great privilege it was for us to participate in this, the third battle of Gravelotte. On seeing my blank look, he told me with some disgust that in 1870 there was a very decisive battle fought here with the Germans facing north and the French south, while in 1914 the French attacked to the north while the Germans faced south. Now, he observed, we are going to kick the hell out of the Germans for the first time fighting an east-west battle on this hallowed ground.”

Polk shared some of General Patton’s memorable quotes from the war:

“You only die once so you might as well die a hero.”

“Hold the enemy by the nose and kick him in the balls.”

“Once you get an enemy retreating, go after him like the hounds of hell.”

“In a crisis, be seen going toward it, never away.”

“Look like a commander, your soldiers expect it of you.”

“I helped write that regulation for damn fools like you.”

James H. Polk III shared the following story relayed by his father:

After the war in December, 1945, when my father was back in the U.S., he heard of General Patton’s unfortunate accident and tragic death, and he wrote Beatrice Patton, the general’s widow, a letter of sympathy. Mrs. Patton answered in due time and asked if my father would like to have some of the general’s uniforms or boots for his personal use or any other object of Patton’s that he might desire as a remembrance. He replied that the uniforms would not fit, but that some little keepsake would be greatly appreciated. A small box soon arrived addressed to Col. Polk. In it were a pair of Brigadier General’s stars and Mrs. Patton’s calling card, on which was written, “I gave these to Georgie, who wore them. You will want to wear them too, and I know you will be worthy of them. Look on the back.” These stars were surely unique for on the reverse is engraved “Patton” and stamped ’14K.’ They are 14-karat gold, silver-plated and made especially for General Patton by Tiffany’s. Years later in 1957, when my father was made a Brigadier General, he was very proud when my mother pinned these stars on his shoulders.

General Patton shakes the hand of Colonel James H. Polk, who received a citation for Legion of Merit for his outstanding service as Commanding Officer, 3rd Cavalry Group, from September 12, 1944 to May 9, 1945.

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Unflagging Patriotism

Jerry Parker of Murfreesboro, Tennessee wrote to share a recollection told to him by his late friend and co-worker, Paul Choate of Brentwood, Tennessee:

During World War II, Paul was a US Army captain and commander of the 8th Reconnaissance Troop of the 8th Infantry Division. As his unit moved through a small town, they began taking small arms fire from buildings inside the town. After fighting for about an hour, the Germans pulled back and covered their retreat. When the town was secured, Paul told his exhausted men to take a break.

While the men were resting, Captain Choate heard vehicles approaching and a loud noise. He saw a Jeep coming up the road with the red plate of a general officer. Paul ran down the road and saluted as the Jeep stopped next to him. General Patton was in the Jeep and he was not happy. The General pointed at a German flag flying atop one of the buildings, then pointed to Paul’s troops, and said: “Captain, I will not have American soldiers sitting under a G—d— German flag! Now you get that flag down right now or you are going to lose your pay this month . . .” Paul said they promptly got the flag down, and he never forgot his encounter with General Patton.

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Sam’s Last Mission

The story of Sam Swauger’s last mission in WWII came to us in 2001 from Larry Grapetine, who met Sam’s wife Lorie at the 78th FG reunion held in the fall of 2000 in Peoria AZ. Grapetine sent us a letter Sam wrote to a writer in the Czech Republic, which details how Sam helped Patton’s 3rd Army liberate Pilzen by destroying an important communications pole. Portions of Sam’s plane and other personal memorabilia are housed in the Krvaska museum near Prague. The following is an excerpt:

. . . I was assigned to the 78th Fighter Group located in Duxford, England. The primary mission of the 78th was to escort bombers into Germany, protecting them from enemy aircraft. After the bombers reached their target and were safely on their way back to their bases, we would remain and strafe enemy airfields, trains, German convoys, tanks – anything of the enemy that moved before returning to our base . . .

It was my 18th flight into Germany on April 16, 1945. Our mission that day was to fly in the vicinity of Pilzen and Prague in search of airfields where Germans had parked a number of their planes to hide them and to destroy the planes.

After reaching the area, the squadron broke into flights of four to search and destroy. Our flight had just strafed an airfield near “Marianbad.” As I made my pass, I noticed a plane that had not been destroyed . . . I said that I was going down to get that plane and my flight leader said, “Go ahead. Get low. Get on the deck. They are shooting at us. We will rendezvous at 5,000 feet.” At an altitude of 50 feet a bullet went through my canopy. The plexiglass shattered and a piece of plexiglass hit my sunglasses, which broke them. While trying to remove my helmet and oxygen mask, so that I could take off the sunglasses and scrape the glass away from my eyes, I approached the airfield. There was a tall communications pole ahead, possibly 250 to 300 feet in height. I pulled back on the stick and banked my P51, but I hit the communication pole about 10 feet from the top.

The pole broke off, tearing off my canopy and causing most of my instruments to be inoperable. The pole hit me on the head, forcing pieces of the canopy into my scalp and forehead and causing blood to run down my face and eyes, making it difficult to see. When I hit the pole, the plane was traveling at top speed – approximately 450 mph. The propeller was so damaged that it would not pull the plane. One wing was partially separated from the fuselage by about 8 inches. The other wing tip was shattered and I was pulling about ten feet of pole as one of the guy wires attached to the pole was wrapped around the tail of my plane.

I could only keep the plane flying right side up by cross-controlling. I didn’t have enough altitude to bail out. I was flying over valleys and hillsides. I was probably three hundred feet from the floor of the valley when the plane crash landed on a sloping hillside that had trees on it. I thought it would never stop hitting trees and demolishing more of the plane. The plane was on fire when it crash landed . . .

Swauger was captured and taken as a Prisoner of War. He spent time in a dungeon and a German hospital before being liberated by the 90th Recon of the 3rd Army. The Germans thought Sam was sent to deliberately destroy the pole, which he later discovered was the main antenna for the entire region.

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Keep ’Em Moving

William “Bill” Everling shared this recollection in 2006: Almost 61 years ago, I was present at the Pontoon Bridge River crossing, in 1945, when General Patton – replete with uniform and revolvers – ordered in no uncertain terms that a captured German staff car, blocking the crossing, be pushed into the river and NOW!

It was also at that time that tanks of the 20th Armored Division were, by the General’s unmistakable order, to be divested of metal side brackets and sand bags. This in spite of protection thereby afforded because added weight has a slowing effect, especially when traversing unstable terrain and, more importantly, weight requires more fuel thereby limiting mileage between gas stops and taxing supply lines. As I recall, the rest of the crossing proceeded with more military haste than it had started with.

William (Bill) Everling 2nd Platoon, 125 Armored Engineering Brigade, 14th Armored Division.

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Valor for the Ages

Karl F. Hollenbach has written about General Patton’s belief in reincarnation for Venture Inward magazine and offers these thoughts Patton’s unique vision: General George S. Patton’s belief in reincarnation gave him an extra dimension in leadership. For him it was a fact, a personal experience, and a recollection. A firm believer in the power of extra-sensory perception (though he probably would not have called it that), Patton felt sure the faculties of telepathy, déjà vu, prophecy and reincarnation were somehow parts of a whole.

In Before the Colors Fade, Frederick Ayer’s biography of his uncle, George Patton, wrote that those things that glowed in a romantic light or were tinged mystically were almost always the things that were very real for him. When he asked his uncle if he really believed in reincarnation, Patton answered, “I don’t know about other people, but for myself there has never been any question. I don’t just think it; I know there are places I’ve been before, and not in this life.”

Patton’s “knowing” allowed him to see and understand World War II in a broader context, to expect in battle, not life and death, but life and eventual rebirth; to appreciate that his life and the lives of those that served under him were roles to be played on the world stage – not ends, but means. Patton expected to serve his country again in a future life as a soldier. Convinced that strength of spirit enabled men to encounter danger with firmness, he wrote in his poem “Valor” that, “Death is nothing . . . Valor is all.”

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Joined by Prayer

Gerald Duggan of Hobart, Indiana served with the 16th Cavalry in World War II and sends this story of an incident that happened in April of 1945.

After several months on the front lines spearheading for the 3rd Army and doing reconnaissance work, we were relieved to rest and regroup. As we walked on a dusty road toward a village in Germany, my buddies found a two week old Stars and Stripes newspaper in a bush. I read the paper’s report of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s death. We all expressed our sadness about his death, and regretted the fact that he had not lived to see the end of the war. We felt it would be soon.

As we entered the small village, the church bell was ringing to announce the morning mass. It had been a long time since we had participated in a church service. The seven soldiers and I decided to enter the church, and give thanks to God for our survival. Imagine the surprise and curiosity of the townspeople to see eight American soldiers enter with helmets, guns and ammunition belts.

. . . In those days, the priest faced the altar, not the congregation like they do today. The priest kept looking over his shoulder at us. The mass was said in Latin and the songs were sung in Latin. The sermon was said by the priest in German. Most of us understood the Latin songs from childhood and sang out in gusto along with the people. At the conclusion of the mass, we soldiers stood up and walked out of the church. No one else exited with us. We returned to our bivouac area.

About an hour or more later we saw people gathering around the town crier, who was ringing a small handheld school bell. His usual task when ringing the bell was to relate the news, since there was no newspaper. However, this time he was asking for our troop commander. His message was “Welcome to our village, American soldiers. The townspeople who attended mass and witnessed the eight soldiers said their joining in worship with them gave a message of peace.”

They were so thankful for this gesture toward harmony. The commander accepted the welcome speech and informed the troops that this joining of the soldiers in worship and thanksgiving needed to be repeated many times for hearts to heal. AMEN TO THAT.

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The Family Legacy

John S. Huff, Lt. Col. Ret., offered the following thoughts on General Patton’s legacy: When I was a Cavalry ROTC student at the University of Arizona, we were impressed with General Patton’s desert maneuvers with tanks in the vicinity of Indio, California. Although we were horse cavalry students, most of us were assigned to mechanized cavalry or tanks upon graduation in the summer of 1942.

By March of 1943, I was in North Africa in a tent camp just east of Casablanca. Our noses had just been bloodied at the Kasserine Pass by the Germans. General Patton was assigned to bolster morale and appeared at our camp to speak to all of the assembled officers. He outlined the clothing we were to wear for combat and non-combat duties. Also, he reviewed military courtesy and outlined fines for infractions. This lecture stayed with me for years, especially since it was my first occasion to see and hear the great man in person . . .

When I attended the Command and Staff College in 1957-58, George S. Patton (the general‘s son) was a classmate. The Patton’s lived across our square so I saw him frequently in class and housing. . . He had his father’s panache, so we were not surprised that he did well in Vietnam with the Sky Cav.

Several German officers were attending the C&S College at this time. In discussing General Patton during WWII, their positive opinion was that they were highly respectful of his legacy. They stated that the German armies facing Patton just never knew what to expect, nor what he was going to do next.

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Fond Recollections

Robert E. Campbell, who served as Post Exchange Officer during WWII, offers his recollections of serving on Patton’s staff:

I went to Fort Knox for basic training. After 13 weeks I was chosen for Officer Candidate School at the Armor Training Center at Fort Knox. I received my commission as Second Lieutenant on April 11, 1942. I was assigned to the 1st Armored Corps at Indio, California, which was commanded by General George Patton. I was assigned as the Motor Officer in charge of all headquarters vehicles including 5 MA Tanks and learned to drive tanks in the California desert . . .

After Armored Force school I was assigned to the Armored Training Center at Fort Knox – eventually becoming Company Commander of C-11 Training Company. At the end of the 13 weeks of the basic training course, I was assigned as Battalion Adjutant. Shortly after this I was shipped as a replacement officer for duty in Europe. On June 6, 1944 (D-Day), I embarked on the Queen Mary for Europe with 500 junior-grade officers . . .

We stayed in England until the end of June when we transferred top South Hampton, crossed the channel and landed in Omaha Beach 30 days after D-Day. We traveled about 20 miles into France and joined the Third Army under Patton. I was appointed the Post Exchange Officer, a position that I held for the remainder of the war. I traveled across France, Germany and Luxembourg in this capacity. At the end of the war, we were stationed in Munich, Germany. . . I joined the Army Reserves in September 1949 and was promoted to Captain . . .

In 1998, members of the Patton staff returned to Europe to revisit places we had been during the war. Our first stop was Frankfurt, Germany where we visited the Drake Edwards Kasem, which had been our headquarters area. We traveled to Luxembourg by bus and toured another Kasem, which had also been our headquarters. The visit to Foundation Pecatore brought back memories of our stay in Luxembourg. We went next to Hamm, Luxembourg where thousands of American soldiers are buried amidst row after row of white crosses and laid a wreath at the gravesite of General Patton.

From there we traveled to Bastogne with its terrible terrain and poor road network. The head of the Cercle d'Etudes sur la Bataille des Ardennes contingent (a study group on the Battle of the Bulge) told us that they had only recently recovered the remains of a paratrooper from the 13th Airborne who had been found in the Ardennes woods. His dog tags indicated that he was from Indianapolis and his name has now been deleted from a long list of those still missing in action from WWII.

The following year the Patton Staff Reunion met at the Patton Museum at Fort Knox, KY. The date for the reunion (November 11, 1999) was chosen as it was General Patton’s birthday as well as Veteran’s Day. We continued to have our reunions on this date for the next five years with our 2004 reunion held at the Veteran’s Memorial in Washington, D.C.

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