Omar Bradley shortly before he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1625 Gratz-Brown St, Moberly, MO 65270, United States
Moberly High School where Omar Bradley studied.
College/University
Gallery of Omar Bradley
United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, United States
The United States Military Academy where Omar Bradley studied from 1911 to 1915.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
100 Stimson Ave, Fort Leavenworth, KS 66027, United States
The United States Army Command and General Staff College where Omar Bradley studied from 1928 to 1929.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
122 Forbes Ave, Carlisle, PA 17013, United States
The United States Army War College where Omar Bradley studied from 1933 to 1934.
Career
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1945
France
General Omar Nelson Bradley in France.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1945
General Omar Bradley
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1945
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
United States Army Generals Omar Bradley and Carl Spaatz pictured together beside the Liberty Bell during a tumultuous reception in Philadelphia after their recent return from Europe on June 4, 1945.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1945
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Portrait of Omar Bradley, circa 1945.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1945
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Portrait of Omar Bradley in his office.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1947
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
General Omar N. Bradley speaking at the Cleveland Forum.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1952
American general Omar Bradley, Secretary of Defense Robert A. Lovett, President Harry S. Truman, and civil servant Frank Pace, standing with Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1952
United States
Chairman General of the Army Omar Bradley, Army General J. Lawton, and Air Force General Hoyt S. Vandenberg sitting in front of large maps.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1952
United States
American Joint Chiefs of Staff: Chairman Army General Omar N. Bradley, Army General J. Lawton Collins, Air Force General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, and Admiral William M. Fechteler sitting in front of large maps.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1953
United States
American General Omar Bradley at his retirement celebration, speaking to General Matthew B. Ridgway and his third wife Penny.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1949
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
General Omar Bradley, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson, Admiral Louis E. Denfeld, and General Hoyt S. Vandenberg attending a defense meeting in 1949.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1950
United States
Presidential Press Secretary Stephen T. Early talking with General Omar Bradley.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1944
Americans General Omar Bradley and Major General Ralph Royce of the 9th Air Corps look at the map on June 7, 1944.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1944
France
American Generals Omar Bradley, Courtney Hodges, and George Patton confer at Bradley's headquarters somewhere in France.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1944
A picture of United States General Omar Bradley, the Commander of the United States forces at the Normandy invasion, prior to a meeting of the Supreme Allied Command.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1944
United Kingdom
Lieutenant General Omar Bradley of the United States Army with Sir Bertram Ramsay of the Royal Navy at the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces during World War II in February 1944.
Gallery of Omar Bradley
1944
Normandy, France
Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, Major General Leonard T. Gerow, Supreme Commander General Dwight Eisenhower and Major General James Lawton Collins in Normandy, circa 1944.
Achievements
1946
Omar Bradley on the cover of Time magazine.
Membership
Awards
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Army Distinguished Service Medal
The Army Distinguished Service Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Defense Distinguished Service Medal
The Defense Distinguished Service Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
The Navy Distinguished Service Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Silver Star
The Silver Star that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Mexican Border Service Medal
The Mexican Border Service Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
World War I Victory Medal
The World War I Victory Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
American Defense Service Medal
The American Defense Service Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
American Campaign Medal
The American Campaign Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
The European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
World War II Victory Medal
The World War II Victory Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Army of Occupation Medal
The Army of Occupation Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
National Defense Service Medal
The National Defense Service Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Army Staff Identification Badge
The Army Staff Identification Badge that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Legion of Honour
The Legion of Honour that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Order of the Crown
The Order of the Crown that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Order of the Oak Crown
The Order of the Oak Crown that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Order of George I
The Order of George I that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Order of the Phoenix
The Order of the Phoenix that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Military Order of Savoy
The Military Order of Savoy that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Order of the Bath
The Order of the Bath that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Order of the Liberator General San Martín
The Order of the Liberator General San Martín that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Order of Polonia Restituta
The Order of Polonia Restituta that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Order of Kutuzov
The Order of Kutuzov that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945
The Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945 that Omar Bradley was awarded.
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal that Omar Bradley was awarded.
A picture of United States General Omar Bradley, the Commander of the United States forces at the Normandy invasion, prior to a meeting of the Supreme Allied Command.
Lieutenant General Omar Bradley of the United States Army with Sir Bertram Ramsay of the Royal Navy at the Supreme Headquarters of the Allied Expeditionary Forces during World War II in February 1944.
Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, Major General Leonard T. Gerow, Supreme Commander General Dwight Eisenhower and Major General James Lawton Collins in Normandy, circa 1944.
United States Army Generals Omar Bradley and Carl Spaatz pictured together beside the Liberty Bell during a tumultuous reception in Philadelphia after their recent return from Europe on June 4, 1945.
General Omar Bradley, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Secretary of Defense Louis A. Johnson, Admiral Louis E. Denfeld, and General Hoyt S. Vandenberg attending a defense meeting in 1949.
American general Omar Bradley, Secretary of Defense Robert A. Lovett, President Harry S. Truman, and civil servant Frank Pace, standing with Dwight D. Eisenhower.
American Joint Chiefs of Staff: Chairman Army General Omar N. Bradley, Army General J. Lawton Collins, Air Force General Hoyt S. Vandenberg, and Admiral William M. Fechteler sitting in front of large maps.
(A Soldier's Story is the behind-the-scenes eyewitness acc...)
A Soldier's Story is the behind-the-scenes eyewitness account of the war that shaped our century: the tremendous manpower at work, the unprecedented stakes, the snafus that almost led to defeat, the larger-than-life personalities and brilliant generals (Patton, Eisenhower, Montgomery) who masterminded it all. One of the two books on which the movie Patton was based, A Soldier's Story is a compelling and vivid memoir from the greatest military tactician of our time.
(Draws on Bradley's diaries and papers to recount his expe...)
Draws on Bradley's diaries and papers to recount his experiences as American commander at Normandy, as a ground-war strategist in Europe, and as first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Omar Bradley was an American officer and one of the most outstanding Allied combat commanders in World War II. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army and as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.
Background
Ethnicity:
Omar was of British ancestry. His ancestors emigrated from Great Britain to Kentucky in the mid-1700s.
Omar Bradley was born on February 12, 1893, in Clark, Missouri, United States. He was the son of Mary Elizabeth Hubbard and John Smith Bradley. Bradley also had a brother. After his father's death, he moved with his mother to Moberly.
Bradley was named after Omar D. Gray, a local newspaper editor admired by his father.
Education
Omar Bradley attended Moberly High School and graduated from there in 1910. His school teacher persuaded him to try out for the United States Military Academy in New York. He was placed second in the West Point placement exams at the Jefferson Military Post in St. Louis. For personal reasons, the winner was unable to accept the offer and it was automatically given to Bradley.
During his years at the academy, Bradley focused on sports rather than his academics and came to be known as the most outstanding college baseball player, playing for the varsity team, for three years. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1915 as part of a class that contained many future generals, and which military historians have called "the class the stars fell on". Bradley took the advanced infantry course at Fort Benning from 1924 to 1925. Later he attended the Command and General Staff School from 1928 to 1929 and the United States Army War College from 1933 to 1934.
Omar Bradley started his military career in 1915 when he was dispensed to the 14th Infantry Regiment. He served at the United States-Mexico border for the remaining part of 1915. When World War I began, he was promoted to the rank of captain but was posted to the Butte, Montana, copper mines. In 1918, Bradley joined the 19th Infantry Division, but the ceasefire and the influenza epidemic prevented the division slated for European positioning. From 1920 to 1924, he served as a Mathematics teacher at the United States Military Academy. He then was promoted to the rank of major and took the advanced infantry course at Fort Benning, Georgia. In 1927, he became battalion commander of the 27th Infantry Regiment and held this post until 1927. After a brief service in Hawaii, he studied at the Command and General Staff School.
Omar Bradley served as an instructor at United States Army Infantry School again from 1929 to 1933. Later he took a break in between studying at the Army War College. Two years later, he was made lieutenant colonel. Bradley worked at the War Department from 1938 to 1941. In February 1941, he was promoted to brigadier general and also served as commandant of the United States Army Infantry School from 1941 to 1942. In March 1942, he took command of the 82nd Infantry Division. However, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was asked to take responsibility for the 28th Infantry Division. In 1943, he was promoted to temporary lieutenant general and succeeded General S. Patton as head of II Corps. He was responsible for directing the Tunisian battles in North Africa, seizing Bizerte. He also continued to command the corps during the Invasion of Sicily.
Omar Bradley was made the head of the First Army in 1944 and after he arrived in Britain, he helped plot Operation Overlord. After the D-Day landings, he was officially designated the commander of the 12th Army Group on August 1, 1944. On March 12, 1945, he was promoted to the rank of a four-star general and, on August 15, 1945, became the administrator of Veterans Affairs, a post that he held until 1948. On February 7, 1948, Bradley was appointed Chief of Staff of the United States Army and held this post until 1949. On August 19, 1949, he became the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The following year, he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army. In 1949, he was made the first Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and remained in this position until 1951. In 1953, he left the post of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and left active duty to take a number of positions in commercial life. One of those positions was Chairman of the Board of the Bulova Watch Company from 1958 to 1973.
Omar Bradley lived his last years in Texas, occasionally providing lectures on military leadership. He wrote his memories, titled A Soldier's Story. In 1970, Bradley also served as a consultant during the making of the Academy Award winning film, Patton. Bradley's last public appearance was as the guest of honor at the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan on January 20, 1981. He passed away on April 8, 1981, as a result of cardiac arrhythmia.
(Draws on Bradley's diaries and papers to recount his expe...)
1983
Politics
During the Korean War, Omar Bradley was the chief military policymaker and supported Truman's original plan of 'rolling back' Communist aggression by conquering all of North Korea.
From 1967 to 1968 Bradley served as a member of President Lyndon Johnson's Wise Men, a high-level advisory group considering a policy for the Vietnam War. He recommended against withdrawal.
Views
Quotations:
"It is time that we steered by the stars, not by the lights of each passing ship."
"Wars can be prevented just as surely as they can be provoked, and we who fail to prevent them must share the guilt for the dead."
"Dependability, integrity, the characteristic of never knowingly doing anything wrong, that you would never cheat anyone, that you would give everybody a fair deal. Character is a sort of an all-inclusive thing. If a man has character, everyone has confidence in him. Soldiers must have confidence in their leader."
"To those soldiers who must often have wondered why they were going where they did. Perhaps this will help answer their questions."
"During the last six years the United States Army has not only matured greatly, but its officers have grown vastly more aware of their world-wide responsibilities as military men. Allied command has become the accepted pattern of military operation, and many of the insular differences that once caused us to question the motives of our allies have now been completely resolved. If we will only remember that from time to time some difficulties do exist, we shall be better prepared to settle them without exaggerating their dangers."
"To tell the story of how and why we chose to do what we did, no one can ignore the personalities and characteristics of those individuals engaged in making decisions. For military command is as much a practice of human relations as it is a science of tactics and a knowledge of logistics. Where there are people, there is pride and ambition, prejudice and conflict. In generals, as in all other men, capabilities cannot always obscure weaknesses, nor can talents hide faults."
Membership
Omar Bradley was a member of the Moberly Rotary Club.
Personality
Omar Bradley was polite and courteous in his public appearances. Will Lang Jr. of Life magazine said that Omar Bradley was very gentle and was never known to issue an order to anybody of any rank without saying "Please" first.
Omar Bradley was a horse racing fan and spent much of his leisure time at racetracks in California. He was a lifetime sports fan, especially of college football. Bradley also played golf at the Moberly Country Club.
Quotes from others about the person
Gerald Ford: "Military hero, courageous in battle, and gentle in spirit, friend of the common soldier, General of the Army, first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he embodies the best of the American military tradition with dignity, humanity, and honor."
S. L. A. Marshall, in a review of the film Patton: "The Bradley name gets heavy billing on a picture of comrade that, while not caricature, is the likeness of a victorious, glory-seeking buffoon. Patton in the flesh was an enigma. He so stays in the film. Napoleon once said that the art of the general is not a strategy but knowing how to mold human nature. Maybe that is all producer Frank McCarthy and Gen. Bradley, his chief advisor, are trying to say."
Interests
Horse racing, books, shooting
Sport & Clubs
Golf, football, baseball
Connections
Bradley married Mary Quayle on December 28, 1916. The marriage produced a daughter. Mary died of leukemia on December 1, 1965. Bradley met Kitty Buhler and married her on September 12, 1966.
Omar Nelson Bradley: America's GI General, 1893-1981
Drawing on primary sources such as those at West Point, Army War College and Imperial War Museum, this book focuses on key decisions, often through the eyes of eyewitness and diarist, British liaison officer Major Thomas Bigland.