“Hit by an enemy shell while marching through a small village in Northern France, a few miles back from the firing lines, Sgt. Gerald S. Patton, graduate of the 1915 class at the University of Washington, sustained injuries that caused his death” according to a telegram to his father from the War Department. (Seattle Times, 20 May 1918.) Gerald’s leg was broken in two places and he sustained a head injury in the shell attack on April 19, 1918. Letters to his father from hospital personnel suggested he was recovering and his death on May 14th was unexpected. Gerald was attached to the Gas and Flames section of the 30th Engineers.
The only child of George Edgar Patton and Althea May Shields, Gerald’s mother died just two weeks after his birth. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Gerald was raised in Monmouth, Illinois, before moving to Seattle. While at the UW, Gerald studied pharmaceutical chemistry and accepted a position at Parke-Davis laboratories in Detroit following his graduation. An accomplished entertainer and piano player, Gerald was an active member of the University Dramatic Association and starred in many campus productions. He was member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. Gerald Patton was buried at Somme American Cemetery in France. (bit.ly/uw_patton1). A cenotaph in Gerald’s memory was also installed at Seattle’s Evergreen-Washelli Cemetery. (bit.ly/uw_patton2)