A survivor of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines in 1942 during World War II, and later became Deputy Director of Defense Intelligence Agency.
Born on September 10, 1907, he graduated from West Point in 1930 and was a career Army officer. While a Major, he commanded artillery units early in World War II. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star for heroism and courage in combat and while a captive of the Japanese. After the Allied surrender at Bataan, he was taken prisoner and was not released until the war was concluded.
In the Korean War, he was an artillery commander and then commanded the 3rd Armored Division in West Germany. He later served as Chief of Staff of Army Intelligence before being named to the Defense Intelligence Agency post in 1946. He retired from active duty in 1964 and for the next eleven years was military editor of the Kipplinger Newsletter.
He died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., on November 25, 1989 and was buried in Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard