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A Tale of Two Dogs: Remembering Willie and the Unknown Witness

  • Writer: Anne Childress
    Anne Childress
  • Nov 27
  • 4 min read

An Honorable Mention. That was the news I read last night after a recent Christian writing contest. While recognition is always appreciated, I’ll be honest: seeing the list of winners made me feel like a real loser. I could have done a far better job in writing, and I decided to improve for next time. In the immediate aftermath, I took a moment to reflect and wrote an inspirational piece (which you can read below this post) about how I plan to improve. But the real work—the work of a writer—came naturally in the only way I know how: by going back to the well.

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My Writing Box...

My "writing box" is less of a box and more of a shoebox filled with prompts, topics, scraps of paper, and pictures—my personal library of forgotten inspiration. I took one photo, a World War II image I’ve kept for years, back to my desk. I then dove deep online to refresh my memory of the true story behind the picture. This is the picture. The image depicts William "Willy" Patton, the dog that General George S. Patton left behind. The photo was taken after General George S. Patton's death in December 1944. Willy depicts a sad canine, missing his master, but I feel there's much more to the story... The picture is further down on this blog, but this picture here depicts General George S. Patton and his William, also called "Willy" and sometimes, you will see the spelling of "Willie."

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It took all night. I worked straight through, finally crashing around 9 AM with only three hours of sleep to show for it. But I am incredibly proud of the final result: a brand-new short story born of disappointment and a deep dive into history. Here is the compelling, strange piece of history that inspired my writing.


The Forgotten Canine at General Patton's Last Ride...

General George S. Patton died in December 1945 from injuries sustained in a car accident. The crash is famously odd: he was the only person seriously injured in his Cadillac, despite having a General and a driver in the car with him in Germany. They were on their way to hunt. General Gay and the driver were not harmed. The hunting dog also survived, without injury.


The irony? A dog survived the crash alongside them—but not the one you're thinking of.

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Wait, you mean Willy, his famous Bull Terrier? No. This was a random hunting dog, a different breed, discovered freezing in the back of a jeep on that cold winter morning. General Patton, on his way with General Gay, spotted the poor animal and, showing characteristic kindness toward animals, demanded that the canine be brought into his car to warm up. A bit later, the accident happened.


Patton’s neck was broken. He was rushed to the hospital, where he fought for his life but was eventually killed by an embolism two weeks later.

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What happened to the nameless hunting dog? We don't know. The dog disappeared into the mists of history. He is a mere footnote to the General's well-documented compassion, a silent, lost witness to a moment that changed the course of military history.


Creative License...

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This story, sparked initially by a photograph of Willy (who is always a favorite in my shoebox of ideas), developed into a short story told entirely from the perspective of that other dog. My husband was the first to read the finished piece. Of course, I took creative license—specifically, embracing the well-known conspiracy theory that Patton's death was not an accident but a deliberate assassination. I created a background on the other dog and a name, and connected him to Willy. I will write Willy's story later today - as I am still doing research on him. I already know he returned to the Patton family and lived the rest of his natural life with them.


Both of these dogs speak to me...


 In Conclusion...

Do I believe General George S. Patton was a victim of a planned murder? I am officially undecided. Yet, it’s worth noting that General Gay had a clear path to gain from Patton's passing, and Patton was an outspoken opponent of the post-war direction. He wanted to continue the fight, this time against the Soviet Union—the future enemy Prime Minister Winston Churchill would later famously describe as "the Iron Curtain."

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Patton's convenient death prevented a massive geopolitical confrontation that many knew was inevitable. Remember: when studying history, always look at what someone’s death gains....

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You may read my short story here: https://www.novelo.com/story/4086

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For further reading, visit these resources:


 
 
 

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