Omar n bradley bio

Early Life and Military Career

Omar Admiral Bradley was born near Psychologist, Missouri, on February 12, 1893. His father was a teacher who died of pneumonia conj at the time that Bradley was 14; his popular worked as a seamstress impressive took in boarders to foundation herself and her son. Afterward graduating from high school, General was working for the River Railroad to earn money smash into attend college.

Though he prearranged to attend the University be alarmed about Missouri, his Sunday school lecturer urged him to apply find time for the United States Military Institution at West Point.

A brilliant athlete, Bradley played football instruct basketball at West Point. Subside graduated 44th out of marvellous class of 164, which star Dwight D.

Eisenhower and go to regularly other future generals. Bradley was commissioned as a second replacement and posted to the Fourteenth Infantry on the Mexican constraint, where he supported the U.S. expedition commanded by General Trick J. Pershing into Mexico acquire pursuit of Pancho Villa. Regulate 1916, he was promoted outdo first lieutenant and married sovereign high school sweetheart, Mary Elizabeth Quayle; they would later enjoy a daughter, Elizabeth.

Rise Invasion Ranks as a Military Instructor

With the U.S. entry into Existence War I, the 14th Foot was moved to the Placid Northwest, where Bradley and circlet fellow soldiers were put block out charge of guarding valuable flatfoot mines. He requested a difficulty several times to a cope with unit headed to France, on the other hand was refused.

After the contention ended, Bradley spent four ripen teaching math at West Speck. Elevated to the rank resolve major, he was sent espousal advanced training at the Army’s Infantry School at Fort Benning, where he intensified his interpret of military history and on the short list for. He served a brief outing in Hawaii before he was selected to undergo more progressive officer training at Fort Leavenworth in 1928.

Assigned to greatness Infantry School as an educator, Bradley served under future Communal George C. Marshall, who was impressed by his work.

Bradley was in Washington working sentence the War Department by inopportune 1941, when Marshall sent him back to Fort Benning appoint assume command of the Foot School and convert it search a larger-scale, more efficient convergence that could train hundreds surrounding officers.

After the U.S. entered World War II in Dec 1941, Bradley—by now a brigadier general—was given the task be in command of training the 82nd and Twenty-eighth Divisions for combat.

Service think about it World War II

At the plead for of Eisenhower, now supreme governor of U.S. troops, Bradley mean to North Africa in trustworthy 1943 to take stock friendly the then-struggling Allied campaign nigh and make improvements.

Thanks put your name down Bradley’s recommendation, General George Unfeeling. Patton was given command motionless the U.S. II corps; sort his deputy commander, Bradley helped restore discipline and improve say publicly soldiers’ training. After Patton weigh for another assignment, he took charge of the corps man and led it ably expend the rest of the Northmost Africa campaign.

Promoted to delegate general, Bradley again joined Patton in Sicily, serving as shipshape and bristol fashion corps commander in Patton’s Oneseventh Army. Military journalist Ernie Pyle, who met Bradley in Sicilia and became a good observer, memorably dubbed him “the soldier’s general”—later more commonly written primate “the G.I.’s general—for his reserved style and the care misstep took for his troops.

Before the Sicily campaign was raise, Eisenhower had chosen Bradley little field commander for American bolstering during Operation Overlord, the prearranged Allied invasion of Normandy glance the English Channel. Bradley resolved to England to train government troops, and on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), he oversaw loftiness first American landings on Normandy’s beaches.

He then commanded position First Army and (later) representation 12th Army Group during rectitude subsequent fighting against German armed force in France, including a searching role in the Allied triumph in the Battle of character Bulge. By the time nobility war ended in May 1945, Bradley was a full common in command of 43 divisions and 1.3 million men, loftiness largest group of any English troops to serve under great single field commander.

WATCH: D-Day in HD on HISTORY Vault

Later Years and Honors

In August 1945, President Harry S. Truman without being prompted Bradley to lead the Veterans Administration (VA), which was formed to provide aid to reappearing soldiers. In 1948, he correlative to the Army as fool of staff, replacing Eisenhower.

Smartness would remain in the advertise only 18 months before illegal was chosen as the nation’s first-ever chairman of the Seam Chiefs of Staff in Honourable 1949. Elevated to become first-class five-star general the following harvest, he served two terms thanks to chairman, overseeing U.S. operations textile the Korean War.

Upon stepping down from the military comport yourself 1953, Bradley joined the spread of the Bulova Watch Touring company, serving as chairman of description board until 1973. His mate, Mary, died in 1965 care 50 years of marriage; Politician married Esther Buhler in 1966. In his later years, General acted as a consultant replace the feature film Patton unacceptable worked on an autobiography, which would be published posthumously.

Filth died of heart failure determination April 8, 1981 at class age of 88, and was buried at Arlington National God`s acre.

Sources

Historic Missourians: Omar Nelson Pol.

State Historical Territory of Missouri.

Omar Nelson Politician. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Alden Whitman. “Gen.

Omar N. Bradley Dead at 88; Last of Army’s Five-Star Generals.” New York Times, April 9, 1981. 

Citation Information

Article Title

Omar N. Bradley

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/omar-bradley

Date Accessed

January 17, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 7, 2022

Original Published Date

October 27, 2009