He was the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and oversaw the U. He graduated from the academy in alongside Dwight D. Eisenhower as part of " the class the stars fell on. After the war, he taught at West Point and served in other roles before taking a position at the War Department under General George Marshall. After the U.
Patton in North Africa. After the breakout from Normandy, he took command of the Twelfth United States Army Group , which ultimately comprised forty-three divisions and 1. After the war, Bradley headed the Veterans Administration. In , he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army , becoming the last of the nine individuals promoted to five-star rank in the United States Armed Forces. He was the senior military commander at the start of the Korean War , and supported President Harry S.
Truman 's wartime policy of containment. He was instrumental in persuading Truman to dismiss General Douglas MacArthur in after MacArthur resisted administration attempts to scale back the war's strategic objectives. Bradley left active duty in although remaining on "active retirement" for the next 27 years. He continued to serve in public and business roles until his death in at age Bradley was named after Omar D. Gray, a local newspaper editor admired by his father, and a local physician, James Nelson.
They never owned a wagon, horse or a mule. When Omar was 15, his father died; he credited his father with passing on to him his love of books, baseball and shooting. His mother moved with him to Moberly, where she remarried. Bradley graduated from Moberly High School in He was an outstanding student and athlete who was chosen captain of both the baseball and track teams. Bradley had been saving his money to enter the University of Missouri in Columbia , where he intended to study law.
Louis, Missouri. The first-place winner was unable to accept the Congressional appointment, however, and the nomination was passed to Bradley in August While Bradley was attending the academy, his devotion to sports prevented him from excelling academically; but he still ranked 44th in a class of He was a baseball star and often played on semi-pro teams for no remuneration to ensure his eligibility as an amateur to represent the academy.
