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Medal Group to General Oscar Koch, Patton's Intel Officer

Dave

By Dave,
in MEDALS & DECORATIONS

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Dave

Dave

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All:

I was honored to have this group in my possession for a time. Now that it's time to move on to another home (heading off to a good friend) I decided I would photograph it and post the photos for all to enjoy.

Colonel (later Brigadier General) Oscar Koch served through North Africa and Europe as the S2 (Intelligence Officer) on General Patton's staff. He was credited with predicting the Ardennes Offensive, and as a result, prevented the entire front from collapsing. For his action, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal personally by Patton. Several books have been written about General Koch; he was truly an amazing man who served from the Mexican Border all the way through Korea.

 

Enjoy the photos!

 

Dave

 

First up is a photo of Koch in retirement with the frame of medals over his right shoulder, holding an image of Patton, and with an inset of how the group looked at auction when it was purchased two years ago.

 

KOCH.jpg

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Dave

Dave

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Here are his medals. They are still kept in the frame, however, I have photographed them out of the frame.

KOCHGROUP1sm.jpg

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uniformcollector

uniformcollector

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Very nice and beautiful group of medals. What are the two sets of four stars in the bottom left of the frame? Possibly Patton's?

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Dave

Dave

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Very nice and beautiful group of medals. What are the two sets of four stars in the bottom left of the frame? Possibly Patton's?

 

No...we were never able to identify whose those were. They are gold, so probably belonged to a police chief or similar. Unfortunately, the story is long lost to time....

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RobertHays

RobertHays

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As author of the only book devoted exclusively to Oscar Koch (Patton's Oracle: Gen. Oscar Koch, as I Knew Him) and the one who took the photo of him with his medals--in 1966--I can tell you that much of Gen. Koch's personal material and its history were lost. It was my immense good fortune and privilege to become good friends with him in the late years of his life and collaborate with him on his highly regarded book on combat intelligence, G-2: Intelligence for Patton, published in 1971 and still in print. The general was diagnosed with terminal cancer soon after we began work on the book and passed away in 1970, before it was published.

 

My career as a journalist and teacher took me on to other places and I tried to keep in touch with his widow, but she fell victim to Alzheimer's disease and eventually all communication ceased. There were no Koch children and someone, perhaps one of Mrs. Koch's nieces though I don't really know, faced the ordeal of dealing with personal possessions left in the Koch home in Carbondale, Illinois. Most of it apparently was put out in an open garage sale and sold to whoever happened by. I was not aware of this until sometime after the fact.

 

Eventually, I got word of a man who had bought many of the things I would have wanted and would have put into a museum. I called him and his sole objective was make a nice profit. I couldn't meet his prices. I next heard of the medals when Denny Hair, a retired Houston homicide detective who is writing about Patton, alerted me to the fact that they had shown up at auction. I'm truly glad that they have been in the hands of one who fully appreciates Gen. Koch's stature and contributions. The general's papers were placed in the Military history archives in Pennsylvania, where they have proved valuable to a number of historians writing about WWII. Gen. Oscar Koch is arguably the best intelligence officer in the history of the U.S. Army and truly one of the unsung heroes of WWII. I hope and trust that whoever has possession his medals or other personal memorabilia continue to treat it with the greatest respect.

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1SG_1st_Cav

1SG_1st_Cav

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That is am great story and I'm glad you had a chance to document his contributions to the war effort. Thank you for sharing. Danny

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manayunkman

manayunkman

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Now there's a man who was ahead of the curve, an amazing human being to have the ability to serve as Patton's G2.

 

I'm sure WW2 was a busy time for him. Arrow heads and stars.

 

Very pleasing group in every aspect, thanks for posting it.

 

 

 

Welcome to the forum Mr Hayes and thank you for some of the back story.

 

A yard sale ? They did not know the importance of what they had.

 

Peter

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  • 3 months later...
3rdarmyLH

3rdarmyLH

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A little more about General Koch

I am the Denny Hair mentioned by Robert Hayes who is writing the book on General Patton and his Third Army Headquarters. The manuscript is done and it is back from an editor. I am looking for the right literary agent who specializes in Military books. I wanted to add that I was able to obtain some original paper work that belonged to General Koch. It was sad that it came from ebay and that owner had bought it at a grarage sale, if I recall correctly. As related in other text in this forum, he was pased away woyh out anyone knowing just what he had done in his intelligence work for Patton. As far as I know, if it was not for Robert hayes, he may never have had part of his part of the story known. Oscar Koch is and was important to me as he figures prominently in my book.

 

i would like to include a high resolution image of his medals in my book. If the new owner of the medals would be so kind to contact me is would be appreciated.

 

General Koch was with Patton from North Africa through the end of WWII. He was, in my opinion, the finest G-2 in the war, on any side. Patton recognized this as well. He was a quiet unassuming man who did his job in the background. He was extremely loyal, honest and efficient. His G-2 in the rare after Action Reports, volume 2, published right after the war, is the most complete assessment of Intelligence i have read. His section manned the War room and the secret situation room. These were tens until the were billeted indoors. He knew how any units the German army had, how many they had lost, where they were world wide and how many had been killed wounded and captured. He also knew the estimated combat effectiveness of the German units theater wide. He predicted the possible attack in the Ardennes region, not because he knew what units were there but because he new where all the other units were and was missing quite a few. Radio traffic was heard through out the German units except in one area near the Ardennes. He concluded by all the information known that it was indeed possible for the germans to launch an offensive and where it was most likely. His report was sent upward through the chain and ignored by Bradley Eisenhower and Montgomery but not by Patton. He launched alternative planning but was engaged in a full scale attack, called operation Tink, when he he received a call from General Bradley in regards to what soon would be known as the Battle of the Bulge.

 

I am new to this forum so it will take me a little while to get up to speed here.

Denny

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