Community Media of South Central PA Celebrating Community
Kevin Hymel–“Patton Moves North: December 22-26, 1944”
“When the Germans launched their Ardennes Offensive on December 15, 1944, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton reorientaed part of his Third Army north and attacked, reeling the Germans back. His dual offensives to Bastogne, in Belgium, and Echternach, in Luxembourg, helped defeat the German drive. Kevin Hymel will follow the action from the origins of the German attack to Patton’s triumphs on December 25, 1944. He will also debunk a few myths about Patton along the way.
Kevin M. Hymel (pronounced “Hee-mel”) is a historian for Arlington National Cemetery where he records events, ceremonies, and funeral services for future record. Some of his articles have been reposed on the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense websites. He is also a Historian/Tour Guide for Stephen Ambrose Historical Tours and leads World War II European tours on D-Day and General George S. Patton’s battlefields. He is the author of several books, including Patton’s War: An American General’s Combat Leadership: Volumes 1 and 2 (Volume 2 won the Army Historical Foundations Distinguished Writers Award for Best Biography), Patton’s Photographs, and Patton: Legendary World War II Commander. He has served as the Research Director for Sovereign Media which publishes WWII History and WWII Quarterly magazines, where he continues to write articles. His article, “Fighting a Two-Front War” is being made into the Netflix movie “6888,” written and directed by Tyler Perry, and Mr. Hymel was a technical advisor to the film. Mr. Hymel is a former historian for the U.S. Army’s Combat Studies Institute, where he wrote about small unit combat in Afghanistan. He has appeared on the History Channel, the American Heroes Channel, the Science Channel, C-SPAN, and Book-TV, speaking about General Patton and military history. He has worked for more than 20 years for various military and military history magazines and journals, and has worked as a researcher for the National Archives and as an historian for the U.S. Air Force. He holds a Master’s degree in American History from Villanova University.”
