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Show 1 1980 Page 6 THE DESERET SAMPLER, Friday, January 1, . .? VvJb M 0 M-- :rilbnitte tto s' &- - '. : sum ' ' . .'s. vt 'fjC '.W", . Ojgy.vs-- ; VV - fc Harry S. Truman and Secretary of the look on. Army Kenneth C. Royall FEBRUARY 1948 decessor General of the Army PENTAGON General Omar N. Bradley Is sworn p Eisenhower, as President in as Ariny chief of staff by his pre- - VC1 X'fo - , Or 3tfefeypy.v?,? - ' "'.I iotfs; .. .s v. 'Tv - iJWPa GERMANY - FEBRUARY graphs the helmet of Pvt. John Powell, Syracuse, N.Y., at the 9th Division command post near Hurtgen. 1945 Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, U.S. 12th Army Group commander, auto A.soldiers story 0 "For mott men. the matter of tr learning w f is aone ii. ?y o personal preference. But for Army officer the obligation to learn , the grout in their profeionf is . . . . . . clearly a public duty. - General of the Army Omar JV. Bradley Editors Notes t On December 22, 1979 General of the Army Omar N. Bradley was presented with the' Department of Defense Distinguished Service Medal during half time activities at the Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX. Any soldier who ever went before a rv f rfi promotion board or soldier of the month board knows that Bradley is r the only living general in the U.S. Army, but how many can tell ? you how or why he became a five-sta- five-star- Maj. Gen. Koehler, TECOMs new Commander, told several stories about Bradley on his recent visit here. We thought we would scour the files. and come up with some background on Americans most famous living soldier. General and Mrs. Brad1 ley are now residing ip Quarters at Fort Bliss. Xyl-X- . . . . . career. Part of that duty was to command approximately 1.3 million combat troops during World War II and serve four years as the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. ANOTHER part of it was to establish a rapport with his troops and to look out for their interests. He did this so well that he earned the title the and the lasting afGIs General fection and respect of the men he led. - - General Bradley performed his the Army. He was bom in Clark, Mo., Feb. 12, 1893. His military career began in 1911 when he entered the U.S. Mil- itary Academy at West Point. He graduated in the class of 1915 as an infantry officer and holds the tion of being the first member of that class to become a brigadier general. v - even-hande- During and after World War I, General Bradley served at several GENERAL Bradley took' com- D-Da- y. mand of the 82d Infantry Division later redesignated the 82d Airborne Division within two months after Pearl Harbor. Early in 1943, he was selected by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, as the latters personal representative in the field in North Africa. Later hq commanded II Corps in the Tunisian campaign. - FRANCE JULY 1944 Lt. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, U.S. First Army During the summer of 1943, commander, talks with Lt. Geti. George S. Patton, commander of the General Bradley was selected to command the U.S. First Army in the Normandy invasion. On June 6, 1944, General Bradley landed in France with the First Army to break the Atlantic Wall. At St. Lo on July 26, the First Army successfully broke through enemy lines. U.S. Third Army, and Field Marshall Sir Bernard L. Montgomery, commander of the British 21st Army Group. BY AUGUST, he had assumed command of the U.S. 12th Army . Group, which eventually comprised the combat forces of the First, Third, Ninth and Fifteenth American ' " Known for .keeping his command Armies. .. I v d, - stateside Army posts in many capacities, including tactics instructor at his alma mater in West Point, N.Y. ' Gen. Omar N. Bradley, commander of the First Army, meet on a French beachhead after r ar duties so well that he became one of only five Army officers in history to reach the rank of five-sta- r General of v . v SQOftW.'.WAVi Gen- FRANCE JUNE 1944 eral Henry II. Arnold, commanding general U.S. Army Air Forces, and Lt. post close to the front lines. General Bradley was called the finest army group commander by General of the Army George C. Marshall, Army chief of staff during World War II. After the war, the general became administrator of Veterans Affairs and assisted in the post-wdemobilize: tion of American forces. He relinquished that post in December, 1947. to become Army chief of staff tive Feb. 7, 1948. IN 1949 the post of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was created and General Bradley was the first to fill that position the highest one an officer of the U.S. Armed Forces can attain. On Sept. 22, 1950, General Bradley was promoted to the rank of General of the Army. In 1951, the general authoried. "A Soldiers Story, in which he related his World War II experiences. Commentator Edward R. Murrow called it the best command I wok to emerge from the last war. . .It is aii judicious and brilliant account. If Im permitted to recommend a single book telling how the late war was fought and who fought A it,- this would be my choice Soldiers Story. GENERAL Bradley joined Bulova Watch Comany in 1953. In 1958. he was named chairman of the I ward of directors. General of the Army Omar N. never Bradley the Gls General shirked from performing what he called his public duty during his .long and distinguished military . The GIs General continued to be concerned with the welfare of the men who served him and the country long after the war was over. He served as a member of the Presidents Committee for the Employment of the Physically Handicapped. a director for the United States Wheel Chair Sports Fund and a trustee for the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking. GENERAL Bradley also chaired the board of directors of the George C. Marshall Research Foundation, served as trustee of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge and was for the Citizens Committee lor Peace in Vietnam In 1967, the general and Mrs. Bradan ley visited U.S. forces throughout the Republic of Vietnam. In June 1969, they visited Normandy,' he was the senior United States military sentative to the ceremonies morating the 25th anniversarv of (Army News Features 7 ANF) D-Da- y. |