Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
The Patton and Rommel families are friends
On March 25, 2017, in the German city of Neirstein, a solemn ceremony was held to open a monument to the crossing of the Rhine River by the troops of General Patton. The commemorative plate is installed at the place where on March 19, 1945, the American 249th Engineer Combat Battalion set up a pontoon and was the first to cross the Rhine River. Many historians agree that this operation hastened the fall of the III Reich and saved thousands of lives on both sides.
In addition to several World War II veterans who took part in this operation 72 years ago, the granddaughters of Patton and Rommel: Catherine Rommel and Helen Patton, took part in this ceremony. There is a YouTube video from this ceremony, where Helen and Catherine talk about how they have been friends for a long time and are friends of families.
It is worth noting that the granddaughter of Erwin Rommel was invited to this event despite the fact that the crossing of the Rhine River took place in March 1945, and Field Marshal Rommel did not participate in hostilities after being wounded in July 1944.