Oct 14: Idaho Adjutant General Patch

Brigadier General Leroy Vernon Patch, twice Adjutant General for the state of Idaho, was born in Iowa on October 14, 1876.  He received a B.A. degree from the University of Nebraska, where he also played fullback on the football team and received military training. He moved to Payette, Idaho in 1902 and began a very successful career as a stock raiser, fruit farmer, and business executive.


He also took a strong interest in military affairs and in 1916 served with the Second Idaho Regiment along the Mexican border after the raids by Pancho Villa. Then, in 1918, he served with the heavy artillery in France, participating in several major actions, including the Second Battle of the Marne and at Verdun. After the war, he retired from the U. S. Army with the rank of full colonel. (Photo of a young L. V. Patch. Patch genealogy web site.)

Back in Idaho, he returned to service as Idaho’s Adjutant General. (The AG is considered the de facto commander of a state’s militia/National Guard, appointed by and reporting to the Governor.) He also served a term in in the state legislature, and on the Payette city council and board of education. He died in March 1965.

References: [Hawley]
L. V. Patch obituary, Ontario Argus-Observer, Ontario, Oregon (March 29, 1965).