System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Omar Nelson Bradley
1893 - 1981
Omar Nelson Bradley, the last surviving five-star general in the United States Army, died April 8, 1981. He was 88.
Bradley was born February 12, 1893 in Clark, Missouri. A schoolteacher's son, Bradley graduated from West Point in 1915. Prior to World War II, he was commandant of the infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia.
After America's entry into the war, Bradley commanded the 82nd and 28th Airborne Divisions. In North Africa, he succeeded George S. Patton as commander of II Corps, which captured Bizerte, Tunisa and resulted in the surrender of more than 250,000 enemy troops.
In 1943 Bradley was ordered to Great Britain to help prepare for the European invasion, which would occur on June 6, 1944. Bradley was put in command of the 1st Army, which hit the beaches at Normandy on D-Day.
His next command was the 12th Army Group, whose 1.4 million soldiers made it the largest army ever to assemble at one time. It was Bradley's troops who entered Paris in the summer of 1944 to officially liberate the city from the Germans.
Bradley was known as the GI general because of the care and concern he had for his men on the battlefield.
His 12th Army made successful advances into France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and into the Balkan countries until all enemy action had ended. Germany officially surrendered in April 1945.
After the war, Bradley served as head of veteran's affairs from 1945-47. He was chief of staff of the army from 1948-49. From 1949-53, he was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1950, Bradley was promoted to General of the Army, one of only five men to ever achieve the five-star rank.
Bradley retired in 1953, and pursued a career in private enterprise.
When Dwight Eisenhower died in 1969, Bradley was the only surviving five-star general. He died in New York City on April 8, 1981.
