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Omar Bradley, 1893-1981
Born Clark, Missouri
After leading troops to victory in North Africa and Sicily, Omar Bradley was selected by General Dwight Eisenhower to command the First U.S. Army during the D-Day invasion of Normandy. He was the architect of "Operation Cobra," which unleashed American troops across southern Normandy; under his direction, American forces liberated Paris and linked up with Soviet troops to force the collapse of Nazi forces on the Western Front, thereby defeating Germany in Europe.
In the final year of the war, Bradley commanded more troops than any general in American history -- in excess of 1.3 million soldiers. Eisenhower called him "the master tactician of our forces."
Bradley succeeded Eisenhower as U.S. Army Chief of Staff in 1948. The following year, he became the first-ever chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was promoted to the rank of five-star General of the Army in 1950.
Ernest Hamlin Baker, 1944 |