Omar Bradley

Bradley got married to Mary Quayle, but she died of leukemia on December 1, 1965.

He married Esther Dora ‘Kitty’ Buhler on September 12, 1966 and she stayed with him till his death.

During his life, he was an avid horse-racing fan and spent much of his free time on racetracks. He was also a great fan of college football and attended a number of college tournaments during his lifetime.

Omar Nelson Bradley was born on February 12, 1893 to Mary Elizabeth Hubbard and John Smith Bradley in Randolph County, Missouri.

He attended a number of schools when he was a young boy and was extremely fond of books, shooting and baseball. However, tragedy struck the young lad at the age of 13, when his father died unexpectedly.

He studied at Moberly High School and graduated from there in 1910. Following his graduation, he worked as a boiler maker at the Wabash Railroad. His school teacher persuaded him to try out for the U.S. Military Academy at 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, he 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 institute in 1915.

After he graduated from the academy, he was dispensed to the 14th Infantry Regiment and served at the U.S.-Mexico border for the remainder part of 1915. When the war I began, he was promoted to the rank of captain.

In 1918, he joined the 19th Infantry Division, but the ceasefire and the influenza epidemic prevented the division slated for European positioning. During World War I, he taught and studied.

From 1920 to 1924, he served as a mathematics teacher at West Point. He was promoted to the rank of major and was put on duty with the advanced infantry course in 1924.

From 1928 to 1929, he studied at the Command and General Staff School in Fort Leavenworth and after his graduation from the institute; he was a tactics instructor at the Infantry School.

From 1929 to 1934, he taught once again at West Point and also took a break in between to study at the Army War College. Two years later, he was made lieutenant colonel and simultaneously, worked at the War Department.

When he commanded the ‘II Corps’, they attacked northward in the direction of Bizerte in North Africa, confronting German defenders before bringing up the armor. The 34th Infantry Division, slandered by the British as a unit with pitiable combatabilities, battled and displaced the Germans from their strong defensive positions. This ensured that Bradley’s 1st Armored Division earned their victory. In about two days, more than 40,000 German troops submitted to the II Corps.