GEN. OMAR NELSON BRADLEY

(1893 - 1981)
United States Army

Born in rural Randolph County, Missouri, February 12, 1893, attending country schools in Higbee and Moberly where his father taught. A 1915 West Point graduate, he served as a Major in WWI and taught at West Point and the Infantry School during his career. He was known as the "GI's General." He commanded the largest exclusively American field command in U.S. history. During the spring of 1945, the command included 4 field armies, 12 corps, 48 divisions and more than 1.3 million men.

Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower chose him to command the lst U.S. Army in the invasion of Normandy in June, 1944. His troops liberated Paris, defeated a German counter-offensive during the winter of 1944-45, seized the first bridgehead over the Rhine River, and drove through central Germany to establish the first Allied contact with Soviet troops.

Following the war, he served as the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the new Department of Defense, the highest military position open to a U.S. officer, and he served as Administrator of the Veterans Administration, gaining fame for his success in making it more efficient. In 1950, he became the fourth officer in our history to reach the 5-star rank of General of the Army. Bradley received the living American Legion Distinguished Service Award in 1970. He died in New York City, April 8, 1981.

Cities of Bradley County:
		Doniphan City Carnahan City