The Patterson Award
The United States Army OCS Alumni Association
The Patterson Award
Judge Robert P. Patterson was born in Glenn Falls, New York on February 12, 1891. He attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1912 and went on to Harvard University where he received his Bachelor of Law in 1915.
Judge Patterson enlisted in the New York National Guard in 1915 and was mustered into federal service for border patrol duty on 26 June 1916 as a private. He was commissioned as a 2LT, Infantry Section, Officers Training Camp, Pittsburgh Barracks, New York. This was the WWI equivalent of what is now known as Officer Candidate School.
Promoted to Captain in August 1917, he was transferred to the 306th Infantry in January of 1918. His unit left the US for service in France on 13 April 1918, where he served in the Baccarat, Vesle, and Foret-d’ Argonne defensive sectors, and the Oise-Aisne and Meuse-Argonne Offensives. For extraordinary heroism in action on 14 August 1918, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross with the following citation Captain Patterson, accompanied by two noncommissioned officers, made a daring daylight reconnaissance into the enemy lines. He surprised an enemy outpost of superior numbers and personally destroyed the outpost. Later he again had an encounter with another outpost, during which several of the enemy were killed or wounded and one member of his patrol wounded. The enemy advanced their outposts, and Captain Patterson covered the retreat of his patrol, during which he dropped into a depression and feigned being killed in order to escape capture. Here he lay until he was able to escape to his lines under cover of darkness.. For Gallantry in action on 26 September 1918, he was again cited and awarded the Silver Star. He was also awarded the Purple Heart for bravery. Judge Pater-son was promoted to Major in March 1919 and assigned to command the 2nd Battalion, 306th Infantry.
Judge Paterson returned to the US on 27 May 1919 and was honorably discharged from military service. In 1920, he married Margaret T. Winchester and they had four children. He practiced Law in New York City and served as a Judge of the US District Court and the US Circuit of Appeals of the Second Circuit. He was appointed the first Under Secretary of War upon creation of the post on 12 December 1940. President Harry S. Truman appointed Patterson as Secretary of War in 1945. Patterson advocated unifying the armed services (army and navy) and having a single chief of staff. Steps to this effect were begun by the National Security Act of 1947 and revised several times, finally by the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. Patterson participated in the desegregation of the armed forces, specifically during late stages of World War II with regard to creating an African-American fighter group, known now as the Tuskeegee airmen.
Judge Patterson returned to his law practice in 1947. President Truman reportedly offered to reappoint Patterson to his former judgeship on the Second Circuit, but Patterson declined, opting to return to private practice. The firm, which continues as a preeminent law firm in New York City, still carries Southern District of New York’s name, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler. Judge Patterson later served as the president of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and the president of the Council of Foreign Relations. Judge Patterson died on January 22, 1952, returning from meeting a client, onboard American Airlines Flight 6780 which crashed on the approach to Newark Liberty International Airport in Elizabeth, New Jersey; he was age 60. Patterson’s son, Robert P. Patterson, Jr., is himself a federal judge.
List of Patterson Award Recipients:
1953 – Herbert Towle Perrin, Jr.
1954 – Robert John Geniesse
1955 – Dandridge Michael Malone
1956 – John Joyce Carter Herndon, Jr.
1957 – Robert Gordon Matheson
1958 – James Jay Barber
1959 – Harry Edward Warnberg
1960 – William T. Bayha
1961 – Howard Robert Mosley
1962 – John Henry Hayes
1963 – Albert George Schooler
1964 – Robert Jay Baker
1965 – Robert Lee Brandkamp, Jr.
1966 – Robert W Kaszer
1967 – Herbert D. Williams, III
1968 – Marco A. Cordon, Jr.
1969 – Augustin Fabian
1970 – Edmund Lee Davis
1971 – Charles O. Hershey
1972 – Thomas L. Ferguson
1973 – Gary D. Messano
1974 – William G. Butler
1975 – Christopher F. Burton
1976 – John A. Damoth
1977 – Thomas G. Foster, Iv
1978 – James G. Thyne, Jr.
1979 – Richard K. Benner
1980 – John S. Emmerson
1981 – Billy M. Blackwell
1982 – Jack B. Rogers
1983 – Michael D. Hanley
1984 – Arthur K. Hargrove
1985 – Floyd Z. Light, Jr.
1986 – Brian Meade
1987 – Michael J. Lipinski
1988 – Dana J. Foley
1989 – Douglas J. Morse
1990 – Darren Lee McMahon
1991 – William J. Hoy
1992 – Mark A. Jackson
1993 – David W. Witmire
1994 – Robert W. Kinder
1995 – Jeffrey A. Saeli
1996 – Patrick P. Stobbe
1997 – Scott J. Malone
1998 – Dennis W. Terry
1999 – Kevin Burke
2000 – Douglas A. Taylor
2001 – Ronald J. Andert
2002 – Dennis Ray Berry
2003 – James A. Clark
2004 – Adam M. Marsh
2005 – Douglas Weston-Kerr Ray
2006 – Kwesi A. Ramsey
2008 – Nicholas Kane
2009 – Kerry L. Zanders, Jr.
2010 – Kyle P. Soler
2011 – John Allen Kellum, Jr.
2012 – Chip Glass
2013 – Kyle A. Goodroe
2014 – Robert L. Wright
2015 – Michael J. Texeira
2016 – Charleston H. Faglie
2017 – Rob J. Janssen
2018-Maguire L. Bennett
2019- Xiovani Guanill
2020- Billie Getchie
2021-Brendon Edward Wellendorf
2022-Spencer Lawson
