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Omar Bradley: An American Hero

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“We live in a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants, in a world that has achieved brilliance without wisdom, power without conscience. We have solved the mystery of the atom and forgotten the lessons of the Sermon on the Mount. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about dying than we know about living”(Omar N. Bradley). Omar Bradley is now known as an American hero because of his accomplishments in World War II. His youth in the military had some struggles, but his WWII service and even after the war was full of success. Omar Bradley’s early life was full of hard work, working harder and harder to be a general. Omar N. Bradley entered the world on the 12th day in February in 1893 in Missouri. Omar Bradley had a brother …show more content…

Bradley became the commandant of the Infantry School and made the Infantry Officer Candidate Program in 1941 and 42, and in 1942, he became a temporary major general and a temporary lieutenant general in 1943. During the time, he commanded the 82d and 28th Divisions, and commanded II Corps in Northern Africa and Sicily . Omar Bradley was made a permanent brigadier general in ‘43, and a permanent major general in ‘44. He commanded the First Army and then 12th Army Group in Western Europe after the invasion of Normandy. Later on, Bradley got promoted to temporary general in ‘45 and made permanent in ‘49 (General). The battling in Northern Africa and then went Algeria very quickly to help plan the invasion of Sicily. The Allies approved the next plan. The Allies hoped to capture Sicily and get Mussolini and the Italians out of the war and clear the Mediterranean. Also, it might reroute German forces . The II Corps then attacked north to Bizerte, and the 34th Infantry Division fought the battle and removed Germany, and American troops captured 40,000 German troops (Arlington). Finally, General Eisenhower picked Omar Bradley to command the 1st U.S. Army during the D-Day invasion of Normandy (Biography). The successful attack on D-Day allowed the Allies to go against the Germans in France, and in a year, Bradley’s forces were the first to invade Germany …show more content…

After the war, Harry Truman appointed Bradley to take lead in the VA, and in 1948, Bradley succeeded Eisenhower as Army Chief of Staff. The next year, he was selected as the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (Omar Bradley). Bradley accepted the job and began to and restructure that organization to meet the difficulties that it would face. Before the end of the war, the VA held accountable for about 5 million veterans. Big disagreements between the Navy and Air Force over roles and missions had started while Bradley was Army Chief and continued into his tour sa JCS Chairman. When disagreements over nuclear deterrence and the value of conventional forces further worsen service differences, Bradley played an important role to help solve the conflicts when they were disagreeing (Arlington). Bradley was then involved in NATO, and later became the chairman. Bradley became an active adviser to President Truman during the Korean War, and helped to solve the conflict in Asia (Arlington). Bradley was a polite man, and was popular earning the esteem and confidence. Will Lang Jr. said, "The thing I most admire about Omar Bradley is his gentleness . He was never known to issue an order to anybody of any rank without saying 'Please' first." Bradley also served as a member of Lyndon Johnson’s “Wise Men,” a think-tank made up of famous Americans who are known as experts in their field. Their main purpose was to recommend strategies

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