- Historic Sites A Fateful Friendship Eisenhower dreamed of
serving under Patton, but history reversed their roles. Their
stormy association dramatically shaped the Allied assault on the
Third Reich April 1969 | Volume 20, Issue 3 Eisenhower,
meanwhile, kept begging for assignments with the troops, but his
superiors, most notably General Douglas MacArthur, liked to have
the hardworking, efficient major around. He lived according to
the accepted pattern and was one of the best-liked officers in
the Army. While Patton disported himself outside the system,
Eisenhower worked from within. In 1940, for example, Patton—who
had finally become a colonel in 1938—took command of a tank
brigade of the 2nd Armored Division. He found that most of his
tanks were not working because of an absence of spare parts.
When a mechanic pointed out that many usable parts were
available from Sears Roebuck, Patton ordered them and paid out
of his own pocket. He kept the bill a secret, but it probably
ran into many thousands of dollars.