Born Feb. 12: Omar N. Bradley

By Michael Baadke

American military leader Omar Nelson Bradley was born in Clark, Mo., on Feb. 12, 1893. After graduation from Soberly High School, Bradley was accepted at West Point Military Academy where he was a classmate of Dwight D. Eisenhower.

As part of the 14th Infantry Regiment, Bradley was stationed on the border with Mexico during that country’s Civil War, and then served in the Pacific Northwest during America’s involvement in World War I.

He became an instructor in military science at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga., beginning in 1929, under the command of George C. Marshall.

During the Second World War, Bradley led the II Corps in North Africa and helped to plan and execute the invasion of Sicily.

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Eisenhower selected Bradley to lead the 1944 D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, and Bradley’s forces defeated the Germans at the Battle of the Bulge.

Bradley became the U.S. Army Chief of Staff in 1948. The following year, he was named the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and in 1950 he was promoted to five-star general. He led the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Korean War, and retired from active duty in 1953.

He died at age 88 on April 8, 1981, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Gen. Bradley is honored on a 33¢ stamp issued May 3, 2000 (Scott 3394), part of the Distinguished Soldiers set of four.