The name may not mean anything to you. Omar Bradley was one of the great generals of World War II. He graduated from West Point in 1915 and served until 1953. He retired as a five-star general. That is as high as one can go. Following the war he headed the Veteran's Administration for two years and helped implement the GI Bill and health care for veterans. He reached the highest military position by being appointed the first Chairman of The Joint Chiefs of Staff. In that position he strongly rebuked General MacArthur for wanting to expand the war in Korea into China. Soon after that, President Truman would relieve MacArthur.
His last public appearance was at the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan in 1981. He died in the same year and is buried at Arlington Cemetary.
In those days as a young boy in Arkansas captivated by the war, and learning all the planes and ships and generals, I never dreamed I would one day attend the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, as Bradley had in 1924. He was known as a general who was patient with those who served under him, and yet he "sacked" more than a dozen generals under him during the war.
He said of MacArthur's attempt to fight Red China, "this strategy would involve us in the wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong enemy." . Bradley's feelings about Vietnam was that it was micromanaged by politicians and Pentagon bureaucrats.
The statement I most want to share is this: " Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than about peace; more about killing than we know about living." Omar Bradley, 1893-1981. His autobiography is "A Soldier's Story".