The FReeper Foxhole Profiles General of the Army Omar Bradley - May 24th, 2003

http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Bradley ^

[SAMWolf]

Dear Lord,

There's a young man far from home,
called to serve his nation in time of war;
sent to defend our freedom
on some distant foreign shore.

We pray You keep him safe,
we pray You keep him strong,
we pray You send him safely home ...
for he's been away so long.

There's a young woman far from home,
serving her nation with pride.
Her step is strong, her step is sure,
there is courage in every stride.
We pray You keep her safe,
we pray You keep her strong,
we pray You send her safely home ...
for she's been away too long.

Bless those who await their safe return.
Bless those who mourn the lost.
Bless those who serve this country well,
no matter what the cost.

Author Unknown

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FReepers from the The Foxhole
join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time.

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Omar Nelson Bradley
(1893 - 1981)

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Known by his troops in World War II as "The Soldier's General" because of his care of and compassion for those soldiers under his command. He graduated from West Point, just missing service in World War I. At the outset of World War II he was a training officer and felt he would miss involvement in another World War until he was assigned to the European Theater. There he served for a period under General George S. Patton, Jr., prior to taking command of the United States Army Group, the largest single command ever held by an American general officer. Following the war he was promoted to 5-star General-of-the-Army rank, served as Army Chief of Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He also served as leader of the Veterans Administration.

Bradley during his second year at West Point. He found the structure of military life reassuring and quickly adpated to the rigors of cadet life.

Omar Nelson Bradley was born - literally in a log cabin - near Clark, Missouri, on 12 February 1893, the only surviving child of schoolteacher John Smith Bradley and Sarah Elizabeth Bradley, nee Hubbard. The environment of Bradley's youth in rural Missouri was impoverished, but he received a good secondary education, becoming a star player on the Moberly High School baseball team. Hunting to supplement the family income, he also became a crack shot. He went to work for the Wabash Railroad after high school graduation in order to earn enough money to enter the University of Missouri. Bradley's plans changed, though, when his Sunday School superintendent recommended that he apply for an appointment to West Point. After placing first in the competitive exams for his district that were held at Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis, he received an appointment from Congressman William M. Rucker to enter the Military Academy in the fall of 1911.

Graduating from West Point in 1915 he was part of a class that contained many further generals. He joined the 14th Infantry Regiment but did not see action in Europe - serving on the Mexican border in 1915 and when war was declared he was promoted to captain but was posted to Montana. He did not receive a frontline command, his joining of the 19th Infantry Division in August 1918 was intended to lead to Europe but the influenza pandemic and then the armistice prevented him leaving the US.

Between the wars he taught and studied. From 1920-24 he taught mathematics at West Point. He was promoted to a major in 1924 and took the advanced infantry course at Fort Benning. After a brief service in Hawaii he then studied at the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth in 1928-29. from 1929 he taught at West Point again, taking a break to study at the Army War College in 1934. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1936 and worked at the War Department from 1938. In February 1941 he was promoted to brigadier general and sent to command Fort Benning. In February 1942 he took command of the 82nd Infantry Division before being switched to the 28th Infantry Division in June.



Bradley did not receive a frontline command until early 1943 after Operation Torch, he had been given 8th Corp but instead was sent to North Africa to serve under Eisenhower. He became head of 2nd Corps in April and directed them in the final battles of April and May. He then led his corps onto Sicily in July. In the approach to Normandy Bradley was chosen to command the substantial 1st Army Group. During Overlord he commanded three corps directed at the areas codenamed Utah and Omaha. Later in July he planned Operation Cobra which was the beginning of the breakout from the Normandy beach-head. By August Bradley's command, the renamed 12th Army Group, had swollen to over 900,000 men.

Bradley used his unprecedented force to undertake an ambitious plan to encircle the German forces in France, trapping them west of the Rhine. It was only partially successful but German forces were enormously attrited during their retreat. The American forces reached the 'Siegfried Line' in late September and were largely halted.

It was forces under Bradley's command who took the initial brunt of what would become the Battle of the Bulge. and it was forces under Patton that would finally forced the Germans back. Eisenhower and Bradley used the advantaged gained after the end of the battle to break the German defences and cross the Rhine into the industrial heartland of the Ruhr. The fortunate capture of the bridge at Remagen was quickly exploited, leading to an enormous pincer movement encircling the German forces in the Ruhr from the north and south, over 300,000 prisoners were taken. American forces met up with the Soviet forces near the River Elbe in mid-April. By this time the 12th Army Group was a force of four armies (1st, 3rd, 9th, and 15th) that numbered over 1.3 million men.



Bradley headed the Veterans Administration for two years after the war. He was made army chief of staff in 1948 and first chairman of the Joint Chiefs in 1949. On September 22, 1950 he was promoted to the rank of five-star general, only the fouth man to achieve that rank. Also in 1950 he was the first chairman of the NATO Military Committee. He remained on the committee until August 1953 when he retired from the military to take a number of positions in commercial life.

He published his memoirs in 1951 as A Soldier's Story and took the opportunity to attack the British wartime commander Bernard Montgomery over his 1945 claims to have won the Battle of the Bulge.

On 15 August 1953, Bradley left active service. In the twenty-eight years before his death in 1981, he occupied himself in industry and was periodically consulted by civilian and military leaders. He retained an active interest in the Army, spoke at its schools, and frequently visited units and met with soldiers of all ranks.

A quiet but distinguished member of a distinguished class of West Point graduates, Bradley typified a remarkable generation of Army officers. Disheartened by a perceived lack of success in 1918, he pursued his duty throughout some of the Army's most difficult years. The fact that war coincided with Bradley's own professional maturity brought him promotion as the first general officer in his class; George Marshall's confidence assured him a chance to show his mettle.



There is no standard against which to compare Bradley as an army group commander. During the fighting in Europe, his calm and effective presence was important in times of crisis, as was his deft touch in handling subordinates. It is difficult, for example, to imagine Patton without Bradley, who exploited the talents of that volatile commander as well as any man could have done. Finally, it was his superb wartime record, combined with his reputation for fairness and honesty, that made him effective in what was probably his most difficult job, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

General of the Army Omar N. Bradley died on 8 April 1981, just a few minutes after receiving an award from the National Institute of Social Sciences. He was buried in Arlington Cemetery on 14 April 1981 with full military honors, as the nation mourned the passing of this great and noble warrior.

[Darksheare]

I kept expecting a US soldier to walk up behind him and tap his opposite shoulder at any second.
I still liked his press conference in the stadium in Baghdad where he was telling some Palestinin press bozos that there weren't any Americans in Baghdad.
And there were US troops sitting in the bleachers watching him.

[Darksheare]

True enough.
I seem to have a label on my back somewhere identifying myself as an early model answering machine, with marginal memory and passable vocabulary.
Also says I'm made obsolete by the next year model..

[snippy_about_it]

I like the "Foxette" label. :-)

Thank you, a dear friend of mine gave it to me...it's mine and I'm keeping it!

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Yep or the "No Americans near Baghdad" as Fox news is showing an armored column driving around shooting up the city.

[Darksheare]

I lopved the video of him saying that just as a statue down the street explodes, and he tells the press guys, "Let's go inside."

That was just a great joke in and of itself.
I do miss the Baghdad Bob show, as it was called here.
And he tried surrendering, to no avail.
That is even better.

[SAMWolf]

Snippy: "Official Foxette" of the Foxhole.

[snippy_about_it]

I like being "official". :)

[SAMWolf]

So we should add that picture to the Monday thread openings?

[snippy_about_it]

WHAT???? The one you posted? We really have to find something better. I hate that one.

[SAMWolf]

Here I brought you some lunch, it wasn't too much trouble.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Ok let me see what I can find

[Darksheare]

http://www.pvponline.com/archive.php3?archive=19990708

Mondays?

[snippy_about_it]

Now that one's cute.

Thanks for the lunch, poor thing. Look at your tail. lol.

[SAMWolf]

LOL! Looks like one of my Mondays

[SAMWolf]

No problem it'll heal. Besides It's the least I could do

[Darksheare]

My Mondays too.
Make sme almost shed a tear.

[snippy_about_it]

I'm not that worthy. LOL!

[SAMWolf]

Sure you are! Have to take care of the Foxhole Foxette

[snippy_about_it]

You're a dear to look out after me.

For You

LOL!

[SAMWolf]

Good Elvis song!! Thanks Snippy.