For those who wish to cut "prophet" Thomas S. Monson a break on his screw up-riddled recitations, let's review how this story-spinner extraordinaire describes Arthur Patton's death within a scenario that Monson presents as being factual for both Patton and his ship.

In his October 2007 General Conference talk, entitled, "Mrs. Patton--the Story Continues," Monson paints a combat picture in which he says Patton's ship was involved--and in which he states unequivocably that Patton was combat-killed.

(Forget, if you will, the fact that Monson initially falsely claimed Patton was killed in action in 1942 onboard the U.S.S. Lexington in the Coral Sea, abruptly changing his tune some 38 years later to intone that Patton actually was KIA in 1944 onboard the U.S.S. White Plains off the coast of Saipan. Monson never bothered to make public note of that significant alteration in his varying versions of events).

Concerning the Saipan scene where Monson says Patton perished in combat, Monson asserts:

"In March 1944 with the war now raging, Arthur was transferred for the U.S.S. Dorsey, a destroyer, to the U.S.S. White Plains, an aircraft carrier. While at Saipan in the South Pacific, the ship was attacked. Arthur was one of those on board who was lost at sea. . . .

"The blue star was taken from its hallowed spot in the front window of the Patton home. It was replaced by one of gold, indicating that he whom the blue star represented had been killed in battle."

Now for a cold-water splash of reality.

--First, according to the ship's own "Report of Changes of U.S.S. White Plains (CVE 66) for the month ending 19th day of July 1944," Patton was declared as "missing" on 4 July 1944, not in March 1944. Moreover, that "missing" designation was ascribed in Patton's case to the "result of own misconduct." In other words, Patton was not classified by his ship's crew log as having been killed during, or as a result of, battle action.

Also reported "Missing as result of own misconduct" on the same day as Patton was a fellow shipmate, Blake Lewis Pauley.

On the report itself, the designation for both men as "Missing" (handwritten over the crossed-out, typed abbreviation "Trans." for "Transferred") appears under category 7: "Received, transferred, deserted, discharged, change of rating, death, or any other change of status."

The designation for both men as "Missing as result of own misconduct" appears in category 9, under the sub-heading: "Vessel or station from which received, to what vessel or station transferred, when discharged and character of discharge; where deserted, and amount due or overpaid. When died, cause of death and where and when buried. If rated and authority for same. If disrated, give cause; if on detached duty, give place of duty. If paassenger, give purpose of traveland final disposition."

("Report of Changes of U.S.S. White Plains (CVE 66) for the month ending 19th day of July 1944," line 4 for "Arthur Frank Patton," Service Number: 368 71 14, Date of Enlistment: 10 Dec. 41, Place of Enlistment: Salt Lake City; line 5 for Blake Lewis Pauley, Service Number: 632 44 04, Date of Enlistment: 16 Feb. 42, Place of Enlistment: Los Angeles; photocopy of the actual "Report of Changes" log in my possession).


--Second, below is a brief historical review of the U.S.S. White Plains' combat operations off Saipan in the summer of 1944, from a website devoted to the WW II actions of that ship. It includes this description of the vessel's actual combat activities:

"'Saipan--15 through 22 June 1944'

"At the end of May she stood out of Pearl Harbor in company with units of the task force assembled to invade the Marinas. WHITE PLAINS' portion of the Fleet sortied from Eniwetok Atoll and during the voyage from there to the Marinas, her aircraft provided anti-submarine and combat air patrol. On June 17, her anti-aircraft gunners earned their first definite kill. Later, VC-4 Avengers successfully torpedoed an enemy transport during a sweep of the island of Rota. . . .

"In July she supported the Tinian assault. . . ."

("Photographs of Task Force Unit 77.4.3,, Including Specifications and Histories," under "U.S.S. White Plains (CVE 66)," at: http://www.bosamar.com/cve/cve66.html, original emphasis)


--Third, below is additional combat history of the U.S.S. White Plains in the Saipan theater with further details of its specific combat operations:

"At the end of May, the White Plains steamed out of port in company with units of the Task Forces assembled to invade the Mariana Islands. The portion of the Fleet containing the White Plains sortied from Eniwetok Atoll, and during the voyage from there to the Marianas, her aircraft provided anti-submarine warfare patrols and part of the combat air patrol.

"During the assault on Saipan, her planes continued to cover the Fleet against submarine and air attack, strafed the beaches, and spotted shellfire for gunfire support ships. They helped repulse at least three major enemy air attacks. On 17 June, while helping to fight off those raids, her antiaircraft gunners earned their first definite kill. Later, VC-4 Avengers successfully torpedoed an enemy transport during a sweep of the island of Rota."

("U.S.S. White Plains (CVE-66)," under "Service History: World War II," at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_White_Plains_%28CVE-66%29)

Please note that the above accounts do not indicate that the U.S.S. White Plains suffered significant casualties or damage as a result of these combat operations.


--Fourth, the U.S.S. White Plains left the combat zone off Saipan on 2 July 1944--meaning that (contrary to Monson's story) Patton was not killed in combat within that zone or time period because his ship was, in fact, steaming to and/or arriving at an atoll outside the combat zone before Patton was declared "missing as result of own misconduct":

"[The U.S.S.] WHITE PLAINS departed the combat zone on 2 July but, after a week at Eniwetok, returned to the Marianas with her air squadron upgraded to a total of 28 aircraft. During her second tour of duty in the Marianas, the escort carrier supported the Tinian assault late in July. Her planes carried out sortie after sortie in support of the troops ashore and over the ships assembled, but WHITE PLAINS herself suffered no enemy attacks. Her heavy flight schedule proved grueling to air squadron and ship's company alike."

("U.S.S. White Plains (CVE 66), formerly ELBOUR BAY, formerly ACV 66, formerly AVG 66, later CVU 66, decommissioned," under "History of U.S.S. WHITE PLAINS," at: http://navysite.de/cve/cve66.htm, original emphasis)


--Fifth and finally, a WW II combined task unit casualty list (one that included the U.S.S. White Plains) reveals (contrary to Monson's claim) no--repeat, no--"Arthur Patton" listed as killed or missing in action. Accompanying that list is the note that "KIA/MIAs are verified via the MEN LOST IN ACTION FROM THE CVE/DD/DE's OF TAFFY III monument at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, CA."

("Crew Lists of Task Unit 77.4.3: U.S.S. White Plains {CVE 66) and Composite Squadron VC-4," at: http://www.bosamar.com/crewlist/cve66crewlist.html, original emphasis)
_____


Monson's story is full of unholy holes, and the more one researches it the more apparent that fact becomes.



Edited 54 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2011 10:09AM by steve benson.

When Superman flew around the world so fast that he turned back time to save Lois from the earthquake? And then she partially membered what happened but it was wrong because Superman changed history?

Maybe that's what happened with Monson. Maybe Superman changed history, but Monson membered it differnt.

And I'll bet L. Ron Hubbard was WITH Patton in that battle.

(He healed himself from terrible energies with Dianetics and Scientology and the power of Xenu, you know. And he'd never lie or anything.)

interviewed? If so, recollections, old letters, official papers from the War Department in the family's possession being made public would be eye catchers.

Didn't Paul Dunn's whistle blower contact Mr. Brown's family as part of the expose?

Has anyone tried to contact SL tribune, city weekly, or SLUG about this? They might give a shit.

In official Navy parlance, does that mean Patton and Pauley failed to return to the ship before it set sail? Or does it mean something like, oh, they fell overboard because they got drunk?

Moreover, if they were AWOL (absent without leave), they would have been designated as such.

Below are relevant points in regard to AWOL, per the Uniform Military Code of Justice:

“Any person subject to this chapter who through neglect or design MISSES [emphasis added] the movement of a ship, aircraft, or unit with which he is required in the course of duty to move shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.”

"Elements.

"(1) That the accused was required in the course of duty to move with a ship, aircraft or unit;

"(2) That the accused knew of the prospective movement of the ship, aircraft or unit;

"(3) That the accused missed the movement of the ship, aircraft or unit; and

"(4) That the accused missed the movement through design or neglect.

"Explanation.

"(1) Movement.

"'Movement' as used in Article 87 includes a move, transfer, or shift of a ship, aircraft, or unit involving a substantial distance and period of time. Whether a particular movement is substantial is a question to be determined by the court-martial considering all the circumstances. Changes which do not constitute a 'movement' include practice marches of a short duration with a return to the point of departure, and minor changes in location of ships, aircraft, or units, as when a ship is shifted from one berth to another in the same shipyard or harbor or when a unit is moved from one barracks to another on the same post."

("Punitive Articls of the UCMJ: Article 87--Missing Movement," by Rod Powers, at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/punitivearticles/a/87.htm)



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2011 08:19AM by steve benson.

...that Patton went AWOL, was court marshaled, thrown in the brig, disappeared upon release rather than returning home in shame, and had someone tell his mother the bogus lost-at-sea story?

See the categories as they are spelled out on the "Report of Changes" form (and as I have now edited into the OP details of category headings).

Since Patton wasn't designated as either AWOL or "deserted," it appears likely that some other kind of non-combat related fate befell him and Pauley--one caused by their "own misconduct" (whatever that happened to be), which then led them to be officially designated as "missing" (unless, of course, the person filling out the "Report of Changes" form was doing so with a purposely inaccurate intent).

Moreover, Patton vanished completely from U.S. military in-service and out-of-service records after July 1944. His mother, according to Monson, eventually informed Monson by letter (after Monson had falsely declared in his 1969 sermon that Patton died in 1942 in the wrong sea and on the wrong boat) that her son was "killed" on 5 July 1944. Monson, however, has not publicly claim that Patton's mother informed him of how Patton was "killed." (There is some disparity in certain accounts over whether Patton died and/or disappeared and if he died, on what date he died--questions I hope to be able to address in more detail in the future).

Suffice to say, Patton was apparently not dead on 2 July 1944--the day the U.S.S. White Plains set sail out of the zone of operations for a temporary reprieve from combat at Eniwetok. If Patton had been determined to be dead or missing at an earlier date, his status in that regard would most likely have been so designated in the ship's daily crew records. (Patton was not officially listed in crew records as "Missing as a result of own misconduct" until 4 July 1944).



Edited 24 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2011 11:09PM by steve benson.

Obviously Monson has embellished the story for the testimony building of the masses.

Ya gotta wonder how many other of the faith promoting stories heard at conference time are also embellished or just plain BS.

"Last Name: PAULEY
First Name: BLAKE
Middle: LEWIS
Birth Date: 02/16/1927
Mother Maiden: CRANE
Father Last: PAULEY
Sex: M
Birth Place: CALIFORNIA
Death Place: OTHER COUNTRIES
Residence Death Date: 07/05/1944
SSN: 550-26-4809
Age: 17 yrs

("Source: The California Department of Health Services Office of Health Information and Research Vital Statistics Section," emphasis in original)
_____


Since Pauley and Patton were officially designated on the U.S.S. White Plains's "Report of Changes" for the month ending 19 July 1944 as having gone "Missing as result of own misconduct," one could speculate (perhaps reasonably) that Pauley and Patton share the same death date: 5 July 1944.

Monson declared that this is the date Patton's mother provided him, in a letter, regarding the death date of her son Arthur. In his October 2007 General Conference talk, "Mrs. Patton--the Story Continues," Monson said:

"During the first week of May 1969, to my astonishment and joy, I received a letter postmarked Pomona, California, and dated April 29, 1969. It was from Mrs. Terese Patton. I share with you a part of that letter:

“'Dear Tommy,

“'I hope you don’t mind my calling you Tommy, as I always think of you that way. I don’t know how to thank you for the comforting talk you gave.

“'Arthur was 15 years old when he enlisted in the navy. He was killed one month before his 19th birthday on July 5, 1944.

“It was wonderful of you to think of us. I don’t know how to thank you for your comforting words, both when Arthur died and again in your talk. I have had many questions over the years, and you have answered them. I am now at peace concerning Arthur. . . . God bless and keep you always.

“'Love,

“'Terese Patton”'"


**Addendum: Something seems unusual, even fishy, about the aforenoted citation of Mrs. Patton's letter to Monson.

It was not quoted by Monson in the above detail--which detail included Patton's death date of 5 July 1944 as provided by Patton's mother--for some 38 years after Monson received the letter.

When Monson finally got around in 2007 to quoting the above letter in its expanded form, it appears in Monson's 2007 sermon only after Monson's false claim (first made back in 1969 that Patton had died on 8 May 1942 aboard the U.S.S. Lexington in the Coral Sea) had been expunged from the text of his altered 2007 talk.

Tellingly, the first version of Mrs. Patton's letter from which Monson quotes is placed in shorter, edited form in a postscript to the printed version of Monson's April 1969 General Conference sermon, entitled, "The Message--Arthur Lives." There, Monson mentions having received a letter from Mrs. Patton after giving his 1969 sermon. The portion provided in Monson's postscript does not mention Mrs. Patton's specific reference to her son's death date as being 5 July 1944 (Why? To have provided that date would have meant contradicting the false death date that Monson had claimed for Patton in his original 1969 sermon; that false date being 8 May 1942).

The excerpted portion of Mrs. Patton's letter that Monson instead chose to quote in the postscript to his falsely-dated April 1969 sermon reads as follows:

"Note: Following the original broadcast of this message, President Monson received a touching letter from Mrs. Terese Patton, Arthur’s mother, who was living in Pomona, California. Among other things, she wrote, 'I don’t know how to thank you for your wonderful and comforting words. God bless you always.'"

That's it. No death date mentioned. How convenient.
_____


That said, there is another death date for Patton which differs slightly: 4 July 1944.



Edited 23 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2011 11:10PM by steve benson.

Perhaps those two were caught in bed together and decided to runaway. That would be an ironic twist to the story.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2011 09:55AM by steve benson.

Arthur Patton went on shore leave but barely missed his ship on his return. He went aboard another U.S. Navy ship trying to catch up to his own but ended up storming the beaches at Okinawa where, later, in a lonely foxhole, he died in Paul H. Dunn's arms.

I ran it through the Conferencetron Talkomatic AI Editor and it came out this way (changes indicated in brackets): "Arthur Patton went on shore leave but barely missed his ship on his return. [Full of fear, he had intended to leave the Navy, but then recalled the words of his childhood friend, Tom Monson: "God will be with you when you choose the right."] He went aboard another U.S. Navy ship trying to catch up to his own but ended up storming the beaches at Okinawa where, later, in a lonely foxhole, he died in Paul H. Dunn's arms. [Fortunately, he had time to say some last words to Dunn: "Tell Tommy that I chose the right--and it made all the difference. If I had deserted when I planned to, I wouldn't have been here and I wouldn't have single-handedly destroyed 15 enemy airplanes, two critically placed artillery units and scared 3 platoons of enemy soldiers into running off a cliff. If I hadn't been here, many of our boys' lives would have been lost. Tell Tommy to do my temple work for me. I'll be waiting for him on the other side."]

Why does this whole mess feel like another First Vision event?

Maybe after 7 attempts Monson will spin out the right story?

I don't think STD's work that fast, and as intolerant as the military was towards gays I don't think they would have been killed for it. Though it would have made for a much more interesting twist.

Most likely they were doing something stupid, like overdosing on some smuggled drugs or seeing who could lean the farthest over the edge of the ship at night during a storm. Two things are pretty sure. 1) They died. 2) It wasn't during honorable combat. Maybe it was over a woman, now that would be a story!

But either way, I'm sure the commanding officers fibbed a little when they reported Arthur's death to his mother, which might explain Monson's inaccurate information.

How or where or under what circumstances Patton was "killed," Monson does not say, other than to claim that Patton's ship was attacked, Patton was onboard and that he was lost at sea. DId Monson get that information from Patton's mother? He does not say. (Keep in mind, though, that Patton was not even in a combat zone when he was officially reported by his ship on 4 July 1944 as being "missing as result of own misconduct." At that point in time, Patton was on the U.S.S. White Plains steaming to an atoll out of the combat zone for a temporary respite from combat operations).

At any rate, one would think that if Patton's mother had informed Monson on specific details of Patton's demise, Monson would have eagerly shared them with his audiences. That said, Monson does declare that Patton "died quickly." (Where Monson got that idea is anyone's guess).

Interestingly, in his 2007 sermon Monson evidences some rather detailed knowledge of Patton's military situation (specifically, that Patton was in the Saipan theater aboard the U.S.S. White Plains aircraft carrier, having been transferred to it from the U.S.S. Dorsey, a destroyer. As one poster has observed, as the years lengthen, Monson's knowledge of Patton's military circumstances curiously appears to be expanding--meaning, that Mrs. Patton wasn't helping him accumulate facts but someone else was. (Indeed, in his 2007 sermon, Monson declares, in essence, that he doesn't know where Mrs. Patton is and dramatically speaks to her in abstentia).

The in-theater combat information that Monson relays in his talk indicates the probability that at least by 2007 Monson had researchers doing his legwork for him on Arthur Patton matters (such as jettisoning Monson's dysfunctioning fable that Patton had died aboard the U.S.S. Lexington in the Coral Sea in 1942).

Monson could have also had access by this time to Internet-available military records (through the able assistance of World-Wide-Web-savvy Mormon Church genealogists helping to research and/or write his speeches), which could possibly have informed Monson of Patton's "missing due to own misconduct" status. However, it would not be surprising that if Monson knew, or should have known, about Patton's actual, verifiable missing status in July 1944, he would have chosen not to pursue or mention it in his sermons because Monson had already invested too much of his own credibility in casting Patton as a heroic figure who had been "killed in action" and, in the process, "lost at sea."

That's the inspiring storyline and I suspect that Monson was determined to stick to it, regardless of inconvenient facts..



Edited 11 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2011 11:11PM by steve benson.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Mrs. Patton was dead by 2007. I think someone else on this board found a death certificate for a Terese Patton in Visalia, CA around the mid-70's, which would have not been long after she would have "miraculously" heard the previous talk (more likely her neighbors heard it first, realized it was about her, and filled her in with a recording or some conference report later. All speculation though). But Monson wouldn't have necessarily known that, which might explain why he would have waited so much longer before the next talk. If she had corrected him in any way, he couldn't own up to it in front of the church. So he would have had to wait until she was dead before he made any other mention, that way she couldn't be around to say "that's not what I told you!" I don't see any other reason why Monson would wait so long to give the second talk.

But yeah, I agree, Monson went overboard on giving detailed facts that are recordedly untrue, and he should have known better. I think this whole thing shows that God's living mouthpiece on earth is both a skin-saving politician and incapable of determining truth through research or spiritual means. Nothing that history doesn't already show to great extent.

From the Social Security Death Index:

Name: Terese Patton
DOB: 11/28/1894
Place of Issuance [of SS #]: UTAH
DOD: June 1980
Last Residence: Visalia, California
_____


More information from the state of California Death Index: :

Name: Terese Patton
SSN: 529-24-8331
Last Residence: 93277 Visalia, Tulare, California, United States of America
Born: 28 Nov 1894
Last Benefit: 93277 Visalia, Tulare, California, United States of America
Died: Jun 1980
State (Year) SSN issued: Utah (Before 1951)
_____


Arthur Patton's mother's maiden name was Teresa Loikits.

His father's name was Louis Albert Lee, or just “Lee” Patton.

The Pattons tied to Arthur came from their Chicago line. This particular Chicago family tree indicates that Terese Patton died in Ponoma, CA (which is where Monson says he received a postmarked letter from her).

Interesting factoid: Arthur's father died on 8 December 1941, one day after Pearl Harbor and two days before Arthur enlisted in the Navy in Salt Lake City.

Arthur Patton's father was still in Chicago at the time of Arthur's father's death.



Edited 9 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2011 09:11PM by steve benson.

I bet his father's death played a large part in his decision to enlist at such a young age.

I wonder why Tom didn't mention it in his Pattonizing sermons, good buddy that he was with Arthur.

All Tom says about that time period for Arthur was that "[h]e [Arthur] stood taller than any boy in the class. I suppose this is how, in 1940, as the great conflict which became World War II was overtaking much of Europe, Arthur was able to fool th the recuriting officers and enlist in the Navy at the tender age of 15. To Arthur and most of the boys, the war was a great adventure. I remember how striking he apeared in his Navy uniform. How we wished that we were older, or at least taller, so we too could enlist."

(from Thomas S. Monson, First Counselor in the First Presidency, "Mrs. Patton--the Story Continues," General Conference, October 2007; see also, Monson, Second Counselor in the First Presidency, "The Message: Mrs. Patton, Arthur Lives," reprinted from address delivered by Monson, General Conference, 6 April 1969, reprinted in "New Era," April 1991).

Interesting.

No mention by Tom of Arthur joining up just two days after Arthur's dad dies--who had died just one day after Pearl Harbor was attacked.

Makes one wonder just how close Tom and Arthur really were.



Edited 7 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2011 10:28PM by steve benson.

where there is smoke, there is fire. Or to use another cliche, for every cockroach you do see, there are about ten you don't.

Monson gives how many talks a year?

How many of his faith inspiring stories are made up bull-crap that no one has called him on yet?

Love to hear the families of the widows Tommy helped when he was BP and SP and etc. What is their side? Why are they silent?
Didn't they exist too???
You grew up inside, so what did you ever hear?

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/21/2011 05:50PM by steve benson.