32 Facts About Omar Bradley

Omar Bradley was appointed as Chief of Staff of the United States Army in 1948 and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1949.

Omar Bradley was instrumental in persuading Truman to dismiss General Douglas MacArthur in 1951 after MacArthur resisted administration attempts to scale back the war's strategic objectives.

Omar Bradley continued to serve in public and business roles until his death in 1981 at age 88.

At West Point, Omar Bradley played three years of varsity baseball including the 1914 team.

Omar Bradley graduated from West Point in 1915 as part of a class that produced many future generals, and which military historians have called "the class the stars fell on".

Omar Bradley, who was assigned to command the second battalion of the 14th Infantry, joined the 19th Division in August 1918, which was scheduled for European deployment, but the influenza pandemic and the armistice with Germany on November 11,1918, that fall intervened.

From September 1919 until September 1920, Omar Bradley served as assistant professor of military science at South Dakota State College in Brookings, South Dakota.

From 1920 to 1924, Omar Bradley taught mathematics at West Point.

Omar Bradley was promoted to major in 1924 and took the advanced infantry course at Fort Benning, Georgia.

From 1929, Omar Bradley taught again at West Point, studying at the US Army War College in 1934.

Omar Bradley was promoted to lieutenant colonel on June 26,1936 and worked at the War Department; after 1938 he was directly reporting to US Army Chief of Staff Marshall.

Almost a year later, on February 15,1942, over two months after the American entry into World War II, Omar Bradley was made a temporary major general and soon took command of the 82nd Infantry Division before succeeding Major General James Garesche Ord as commander of the 28th Infantry Division in June.

On March 25,1942, Omar Bradley, recently promoted to major general, assumed command of the newly activated 82nd Infantry Division.

Omar Bradley did not receive a front-line command until early 1943, after Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa.

Omar Bradley succeeded Patton as commander of II Corps in April and directed it in the final Tunisian battles of April and May, with Bizerte falling to elements of II Corps on May 7,1943.

In October 1943 Omar Bradley moved to London as commander in chief of the American ground forces preparing to invade France in the spring of 1944.

Omar Bradley remained on the committee until August 1953, when he left active duty.

In 1950 Omar Bradley was elected as an honorary member of the New York Society of the Cincinnati in recognition of his outstanding service to his country.

When North Korea invaded South Korea in June 1950, Omar Bradley was faced with re-organizing and deploying an American military force that was a shadow of its World War II counterpart.

When Chinese Communists entered North Korea in late 1950 and again drove back American forces, Omar Bradley agreed that rollback had to be dropped in favor of a strategy of containment of North Korea.

Omar Bradley left active military service in August 1953, but remained on active duty by virtue of his rank of General of the Army.

In January 1956, Omar Bradley became one of the founding members of the President's Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities, later the President's Intelligence Advisory Board.

In retirement, Omar Bradley held a number of positions in commercial life, including Chairman of the Board of the Bulova Watch Company from 1958 to 1973.

Omar Bradley met Esther Dora "Kitty" Buhler and married her on September 12,1966; they were married until his death.

Omar Bradley was the 1948 Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses and attended several subsequent Rose Bowl games.

In 1970, Omar Bradley served as a consultant for the film Patton.

In 1971 Omar Bradley was the subject of an episode of the TV show This Is Your Life.

Omar Bradley attended the 30th anniversary of D-Day at Normandy, France on June 6,1974, participating in various parades.

On January 10,1977, Omar Bradley was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Gerald Ford.

In 1978, Omar Bradley received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member General Jimmy Doolittle.

Omar Bradley was the keynote speaker at Pointe du Hoc, Normandy, France on June 6,1979, for the 35th anniversary of D-Day.

Omar Bradley died on April 8,1981, in New York City of a cardiac arrhythmia, a few minutes after receiving an award from the National Institute of Social Sciences.