General George S. Patton, Jr. died on December 21, 1945, from injuries sustained in a car accident in Germany. On December 9, 1945, Patton was riding in the back of his limousine when it collided with a left-turning Army truck at a railroad crossing in Mannheim. The collision caused Patton to suffer a broken neck and paralysis from the neck down due to crushed vertebrae. He was hospitalized and initially showed some signs of recovery, but twelve days later, a blood clot traveled to his heart, causing congestive heart failure and pulmonary edema, which led to his death in his sleep

. Patton was subsequently buried at the Luxembourg American Cemetery, alongside soldiers of his Third Army who had died in the Battle of the Bulge, in accordance with his wife's wishes