General Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893 - April 8, 1981), nicknamed Brad, was a senior United States Army officer during and after World War II. Brad was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and oversaw US policy during the Korean War. Photo of Omar Bradley you can see below. A direct look and a modest smile give him a person who is extremely honest and decent.
Warrior's path
Omar Bradley was born in Randolph County, Missouri, and worked in a railway workshop until he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point. He graduated from the academy in 1915 with Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of a "class upon which stars fell." During World War I, Omar guarded the copper mines in Montana. After the war, he taught at West Point and held other positions before taking a seat in the War Department under General George Marshall. In 1941, he became commander of the US Army Infantry School.
After the United States entered World War II, Omar Bradley led the transformation of the 82nd Infantry Division into the first American Airborne Division. He received his first front command in Operation Torch, serving under the command of General George S. Patton in North Africa. After Patton was reassigned, our hero led the II Corps in the Tunisian campaign and the Allied invasion of Sicily.
He commanded the First Army of the United States during the invasion of Normandy. After leaving Normandy, he took command of the twelfth United States Army Group, which ultimately included forty-three divisions and 1.3 million people - the largest number of American soldiers ever serving under the command of one field commander.
Origin and early years
Omar, the son of school teacher John Smith Bradley (1868–1908) and Mary Elizabeth Hubbard (1875–1931), was born in poverty in a rural district of Randolph, Missouri, near Moberly. Omar Bradley was named after Omar D. Gray, editor of a local newspaper, admired by his father and local doctor, Dr. James Nelson. He was of British descent, his ancestors emigrated from Britain to Kentucky in the mid-1700s.
He attended at least eight schools in the country where his father taught. The head of the family in his entire life has never earned more than $ 40 a month, taught at school and worked on stocks. The family never owned a wagon, horse, bull or mule. When Omar was 15 years old, his father died, giving his son a love of books, baseball and shooting.
His mother moved to Moberly, Missouri, and married again. Our hero graduated from Moberly High School in 1910, an outstanding student and athlete, captain of baseball and track teams. The inhabitants of Moberly called Omar Bradley "the best son of the city," and throughout his life, the great general called Moberly his native and beloved city in the world. He has been a frequent guest at Moberly throughout his career, has been a member of the Moberly Rotary Club, regularly played handicap golf on the challenging Moberly Country Club, and had a Bradley Pugh in the Central Christian Church.
When a draft flag for veterans was unveiled at the Moberly Historic Cemetery in 2009, General Bradley and his first son-in-law and West Point graduate, the late Major Henry Shaw Buckham, were immortalized by grateful citizens with flags in their honor.
Beginning of a Military Career: World War I
Bradley was appointed second lieutenant in the United States Army Infantry Division and first assigned to the 14th Infantry Regiment. He served on the border of Mexico and the United States in 1915. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, he was promoted to captain and sent to guard the Butt, Montana copper mines. Bradley joined the 19th Infantry Division in August 1918, which was planned for European deployment, but the flu pandemic and the armistice with Germany intervened.
Maneuvers in Louisiana
The Louisiana maneuvers were a series of U.S. Army exercises conducted around North, West, and Central Louisiana, including Fort Polk, Camp Clayborn, and Camp Livingston, in 1940 and 1941. The exercises, which involved about 400,000 troops, were designed to evaluate the training of the US Army.
Many of the army officers present at the maneuvers subsequently received high posts in World War II, including Omar Bradley, Mark Clark, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Walter Krueger, Leslie J. McNair and George Patton.
Lt. Col. Bradley was appointed to the General Staff during the maneuvers in Louisiana, but as a courier and field observer, he gained invaluable experience. Our hero assisted in the planning of the maneuvers and kept the General Staff in Washington, DC, up to date with the training that took place during the maneuvers in Louisiana.
Omar later said that Louisians welcomed soldiers with open arms. Some soldiers even slept in the homes of local residents.
Memoirs
Bradley's personal experience in the war is documented in his award-winning book, The Story of a Soldier, published by Henry Holt in 1951. It was reprinted by the Modern Library in 1999. The book is based on an extensive diary led by his adjutant Chester B. Hansen.
The Second World War
At the beginning of the war, Omar Bradley, recently promoted to major general, took command of the newly activated 82nd Infantry Division. He monitored the transformation of the division into the first American airborne division and trained in parachuting. In August, the division was renamed the 82nd Airborne Division, and our hero transferred command to Major General Matthew B. Ridgway.
Normandy invasion
Bradley moved to London as commander in chief of the U.S. Army preparing for the invasion of France in 1944. He was chosen to command the 1st US Army, which, along with the 2nd British, made up the 21st Army Group of General Montgomery.
As buildup continued in Normandy, the Third Army was formed under Patton, the former commander of Bradley, while General Hodges replaced our hero in command of the First Army; together they formed the new command of Omar, the 12th army group. By August, it had increased to 900,000, and ultimately consisted of four field armies.
Siegfried Line
US troops reached the Siegfried Line or Westwall at the end of September. The success of the offensive took the Allied High Command by surprise. They expected that the German Wehrmacht would occupy positions on the natural lines of defense provided by the French rivers, and did not prepare logistical support for a much deeper advance of the Allied armies. Bradley's team took the brunt of the battle, this battle will be called the Battle of the Ardennes. For logistical and command reasons, General Eisenhower decided to place the First and Ninth Armies of Bradley under the temporary command of Field Group Marshal Montgomery's 21st Army Group on the northern flank of Bulge.
Honorary Veteran
After the war, Bradley led the administration of veterans. He became United States Army Chief of Staff in 1948 and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1949. In 1950, Bradley was promoted to the rank of army general.
He was a senior military commander at the start of the Korean War, and supported President Harry S. Truman's containment policy in wartime.
Bradley left active duty in 1953, but continued to work in public office until his death in 1981.
Death
Omar Bradley died on April 8, 1981 in New York from cardiac arrhythmia, just a few minutes after receiving an award from the National Institute of Social Sciences. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery next to two wives. The personal life of Omar Bradley characterizes him as a faithful and permanent person. His first wife died of leukemia, leaving Omar the daughter of Elizabeth. The second marriage lasted until the end of his life.
The general continuously served in the army from August 1, 1911 until his death on April 8, 1981 - only 69 years, 8 months and 7 days. This is the longest career in the army.
Heritage
General Bradley donated some of his World War II memorabilia to Carnegie’s library in Moberly, where they are on display in General Omar Bradley’s Trophy Room.
Also, in honor of the 125th anniversary of his birth, a museum was opened, which opened on February 12, 2018. Sam Richardson, the local biographer of warlord Omar Bradley, is the curator of the new museum.