Staff Sergeant James Richard “Jimmy” Patton was born on April 23, 1986, at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, into an Army family. Soldiering was in his blood: both of his grandfathers served in Korea and one in Vietnam, and his father, Command Sergeant Major Gregory Patton, was one of the original members of the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. Jimmy wanted to be a Ranger from the time he was a small child. He graduated from Spencer High School in Columbus, Georgia, and enlisted in July 2004, straight out of high school, to follow in his father’s footsteps.
Jimmy was proud of his father but never used the connection to his advantage. Fluent in Spanish, he let everyone believe he was no relation to the Patton who ran the ranges at Fort Benning, until his father attended his basic training graduation and then served as guest speaker at his Airborne graduation. After One Station Unit Training, Airborne School and the Ranger Indoctrination Program, he joined Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in February 2005, serving as a grenadier, fire team leader, team leader and squad leader. He was small but mighty, always carrying the heaviest ruck and the biggest gun. He completed Ranger School and the Jumpmaster, Master Breacher, Mountain Warfare, Warrior Leader and Advanced Leader Courses.
Jimmy deployed twice to Iraq and four times to Afghanistan before his final deployment. On April 18, 2010, during a combat operation near Tikrit in northern Iraq, the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter in which he was riding crashed. He was killed instantly. He was 23 years old. “Staff Sergeant James Patton was the epitome of the American Ranger: warrior, patriot and dedicated to mission accomplishment,” said Colonel Michael E. Kurilla, commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment, who called the raid one of the most significant missions since the beginning of the Iraq War. “Jimmy trained his Rangers well; those that were not injured secured the crash site, evacuated the wounded and then successfully completed the mission.”
Jimmy was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal. His other decorations include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals, the Ranger Tab, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge and the Senior Parachutist Badge. He was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
Away from the regiment, Jimmy was a loving father to his daughter, Cecilia, whom he would take to feed the ducks at the pond or to play in the pool. He and his wife, Beatriz, loved the outdoors, riding dirt bikes, shooting and traveling to her native Ecuador. He hunted and fished with his father, worked on cars with his brother, Cliff, and loved playing the bossy big brother to his little sister, Megan. “He was not perfect, but he was ours,” his mother, Sheila, wrote. “We laugh, we cry and we laugh some more when we tell stories of Jimmy.” When asked how he wanted to leave this world, he had answered: “On mission with my boys, Dad.” And he did. His mother has since devoted herself to helping other Gold Star and Surviving families through Fort Campbell’s Survivor Outreach Services.
Jimmy is survived by his wife, Beatriz; his daughter, Cecilia; his parents, Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Gregory and Sheila Patton; his brother, Cliff; and his sister, Megan.
SSG James Patton was on his seventh deployment in support of the War on Terror when his Black Hawk helicopter crashed during combat operations in northern Iraq.
3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment
Sources
- Rangers Remembered: SSG James Patton
- U.S. Army: New SOS building, boot drive gives Gold Star Mom renewed purpose (July 25, 2014)
- ARSOF History: James R. Patton
- Columbus Ledger-Enquirer: Army Rangers killed in combat
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: James Patton bio and mother’s tribute
