October Legends and Americana Ending November 14th
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/15/2015
(1) Autograph Letter Signed “Devotedly / Geoff,” in ink and pencil, 4 pages, 6” x 7.5”, front & verso, on two conjoined sheets. APO 758 [Headquarters Seventh Army, Office of the Commanding General], October 3, 1945. To his wife. With envelope addressed to “Mrs. Geoffrey Keyes” in Alexandria, Va. “I also learned (the pen is no good so ‘scuse the pencil) the news that was announced last night about Gen. Patton. I suppose it was inevitable but it seems to me it could have been avoided or at least handled differently. Have tried to get down to see him but between weather, inspections, and his absences I couldn’t make it. I did talk to him on the phone yesterday and am going to see him in a few days …” Datelined Wiesbaden, Germany, Oct. 2, “The New York Times” reported on page one: “Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s headquarters announced tonight that Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. had been relieved of his duties as Third Army commander and military governor of Bavaria … This was a direct result of General Patton’s discourse to reporters a week ago last Saturday, when he compared the issue of Nazis and non-Nazis to a Democratic-Republican election fight and said that the chief hope for the successful occupation of Germany lay in showing the Germans what ‘grand fellows we are.’”
(2) Autograph Letter Signed “Devotedly / Geoff,” 4 pages, 5.25” x 8”, front & verso. Headquarters Seventh Army, Office of the Commanding General, Sunday, October 14 [1945]. To his wife. With original postmarked envelope addressed by him to “Mrs. Geoffrey Keyes / US Hotel Thayer / West Point / NY.” “I had hoped to fly up to see Gen Patton in his new place.”
Excerpts: “Got your Oct 2nd letter, sweetheart – the one with the news of the end of V mail (which we have no knowledge of!!) … Yesterday I drove to Mannheim to a football game …Last night I searched the radio dials for the Army-Michigan game and finally got it in the 4th quarter just as Davis made his long run. Did you and Les go to the game?” Army beat Michigan 28-7.
(3) Autograph Letter Signed “Devotedly / Geoff,” 2 pages, 8” x 10.5”. Headquarters Seventh Army, Office of the Commanding General, November 8, 1945. To his wife. In part, “Day before yesterday I drove up to Bad Naudheim and spent the night with Gen Patton … Had a fine visit …” Three 4.5” x 3” and one 5.5” x 3.5” original b&w photographs of groups of officers and soldiers.
(4) Autograph Letter Signed “Devotedly Geoff,” 3 pages, 5.25” x 8”, front & verso, two conjoined sheets. Headquarters Seventh Army, Office of the Commanding General, Monday, November 19 [1945]. To his wife. “Tomorrow I go to a meeting at Gen Patton’s hq and will spend the night with him…”
Excerpts: “All your excitement over the articles on the army getting out of Germany is for nothing – they were talking about getting out of military Govt – we still stay here as an occupation force. Of course when we do turn Mil. Govt over to the civilians, that is, the State Dept, nine tenths of the dirty work will have been completed.” Keyes also talks about football. In part, “I got another letter from you dated Nov 7th – just before the ND game … Hope the board of generals you spoke of found some way of keeping Davis and Blanchard another 4 or 5 years!” On November 10th, Army beat Notre Dame 48-0. Fullback Doc Blanchard would win the Heisman Trophy in December 1945. Running Back Glenn Davis won it in 1946. Both were juniors on the 1945 Army team.
Three V-Mails, each 4.25” x 5.25”, from Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes to his wife, March-August 1945. She was living at the Hotel Thayer, West Point. V-Mail used standardized stationery and microfilm processing to produce lighter, smaller airplane cargo, making space available for war supplies. V-Mail was used from mid-1942 to late 1945. Excerpts: March 14, 1945: “Just now the list of new 4 Star generals and am terribly disappointed not to see GS Patton there …” August 23, 1945: “Well I certainly had a nice time yesterday. Gen Patton came down and we drove over to have lunch and see a wonderful horse show put on by professional riders from the Vienna Spanish Riders Academy – 7 riders and about 15 horses all white … At the end GSP rode a beautiful white horse that Hitler was having trained to be a gift to Hirohito!...” August 25, 1945: “I was told yesterday I am to succeed Ham Haislip in the 7th Army with headquarters at Heidleberg … I flew up to Frankfort yesterday to get the news and Gen Patton phoned me last night to find out what it was all about …”
Brigadier General Geoffrey Keyes was promoted to Major General on June 22, 1942, and Lieutenant General on April 17, 1945, the same day that Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr. was promoted to four-star General.
During World War II, Keyes was Chief of Staff, 2nd Armored Division (1940-1942) and Commanding General 9th Armored Division (1942), and, under General George S. Patton, Jr., Deputy Commanding General Western Task Force [North Africa] (1942-1943), Deputy Commanding General I Armored Corps [North Africa] (1943), and Deputy Commanding General 7th Army [Sicily] (1943). Appointed by Gen. Patton, Keyes was Commanding General Provisional Corps [Sicily] (1943). As Commanding General II Corps [Italy] (1943-1946), he accepted the surrender of Palermo, Sicily, on July 22, 1943. Keyes then served as Commanding General 7th Army [Germany] (1945-1946).
This lot has a Reserve Price that has not been met.