Long before General James Mattis was canonized by his troops as Saint Mattis, patron saint of chaos, another legendary general was quietly immortalized in stained glass. His image atop one of his Third Army tanks shares a scene with one depicting the legend of Saint George slaying a dragon. Referring to it as the “Saint George Window” may make someone question which George is the saint in question – so they call it the Patton Memorial Window.
For decades, the Patton Family worshipped at the Church of Our Saviour, an episcopalian church in San Gabriel, Calif. The church itself was built in 1867 while the young Patton, born in 1885, was raised in what is now nearby San Marino. The window itself was commissioned by the Patton Family after his 1945 death.
The main subject is Saint George slaying a dragon but the rest of the window depicts the life and times of the four-star general. According to the Church, Saint George represents the general himself, while the dragon – complete with swastika-covered scales – is the Nazi regime he helped bring down.
Battles where Patton had command are depicted, including Metz, Coblenz, and Bastogne, also appear alongside towns he liberated from the Nazis. Those towns appear in the dragon’s claws.
Even though Patton’s remains are still interred in Europe, a statue of the man – hands on his famous ivory-handled revolvers – stands watch at the entrance to the cemetery, where other members of the Patton family were laid to rest.
If you want to make a Patton day of it, you can also visit the nearby Patton Tank Warfare Museum, just around the corner from the church.