Eisenhower Event to Highlight Patton In Morocco

The public is invited to attend the November Lunch & Learn scheduled for this Thursday, November 17th, at noon either in person or online. The program will be held in the library building courtyard and will begin promptly at noon. Guests are encouraged to arrive by 11:45 a.m. A light box-lunch will be served on a first come, first served basis.

According to the organization, General Patton’s combat leadership will continue a look at “The Making of a Leader” during our bonus Lunch & Learn program. Our guest speaker, Kevin M. Hymel, is a contract historian for Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The first chapter of his recently released book, Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership: Volume 1, details Patton’s first day of combat in Morocco during World War II on November 8, 1942. Hymel will cover all of Patton’s actions on that crucial first day — from the moment Patton woke up on the USS Augusta and watched the first landing craft head to the beach, to his own landing on Fedala Beach, survived a strafing from a Vichy French fighter aircraft, barked out orders to his men, and fired his first shot of this war with one of his ivory-handled pistols. Patton’s attack was just part of Operation Torch, the action by American forces against the Axis powers in the Mediterranean.

Hymel is also a Historian/Tour Guide for Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours and gives World War II tours about D-Day and General George S. Patton’s battlefields. He is the author of several books, including Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership: Volume 1, Patton’s Photographs, and Patton: Legendary World War II Commander. He has served as the Research Director for Sovereign Media which publishes WWII History and WWII Quarterly magazines, for which he continues to write articles. He holds a Master’s degree in American History from Villanova University.

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