America Mourns the Loss of Hero and Patriot Army General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
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On Thursday, December 27, 2012 Americans learned of the passing of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. General Schwarzkopf was best known for his successful command of U.S. and Coalition Forces in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the early 1990’s, following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.
After attending Valley Forge Military Academy, Schwarzkopf attended the United States Military Academy. His father, Major Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf, was also a West Point graduate who fought in both World Wars and founded the New Jersey State Police. Schwarzkopf, Jr. graduated 43rd in his West Point class in 1956.
During his 35-year distinguished military career, General Schwarzkopf served in various positions including an infantry platoon leader, aide-de-camp in the Berlin Brigade, military instructor of mechanical engineering at West Point, task force adviser to the South Vietnamese and infantry battalion commander in Vietnam.
During his second tour in Vietnam Schwarzkopf received word that men under his command encountered a minefield on the Batangan Peninsula. He rushed to the scene in his helicopter and found several soldiers still trapped in the minefield. One man tripped a mine and was severely wounded. As he flailed in agony, Schwarzkopf, also wounded by the explosion, crawled across the minefield to the wounded man and held him down using a "pinning" technique he learned while wrestling at West Point. Another soldier splinted the man’s shattered leg and Schwarzkopf eventually led his surviving men to safety, ordering the engineers to mark the locations of the mines with shaving cream.
During the 1970’s, Schwarzkopf attended the Army War College and rapidly rose through the ranks. While serving as Commander, 24th Mechanized Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, Georgia, Schwarzkopf was named Deputy Commander of the Joint Task Force during operations in Grenada. He returned to the Pentagon in 1985.
In 1988 Schwarzkopf was promoted to General and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Florida. As commander, Schwarzkopf prepared a detailed plan for the defense of the oil fields of the Persian Gulf against a hypothetical invasion by Iraq. Schwarzkopf's plan was then executed following the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
During Desert Storm, the commander's alleged temper earned him the nickname, “Stormin Norman.” But others knew he preferred the name given by his troops: "The Bear." Schwarzkopf noted, “An awful lot has been written about my temper. But I would defy anyone to go back over the years and tell me anyone whose career I've ruined, anyone whom I've driven out of the service, anyone I've fired from a job," he said. " I don't do that. I get angry at a principle, not a person."
After the war, Schwarzkopf was offered the position of Chief of Staff of the United States Army, but he declined. He retired from active service in August 1991 and wrote an autobiography, It Doesn't Take a Hero, published in 1992. In his autobiography, Schwarzkopf downplayed the notion of personal valor and recalled an interview with Barbara Walters in which he said: "It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle."
General Schwarzkopf’s remarkable career and unsurpassed leadership are emblematic of his training at West Point and its motto of Duty, Honor, Country. Schwarzkopf is survived by his wife and three children.
The Thomas More Law Center offers our prayers and condolences to the family and friends of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. He is a true American hero and patriot.
During his 35-year distinguished military career, General Schwarzkopf served in various positions including an infantry platoon leader, aide-de-camp in the Berlin Brigade, military instructor of mechanical engineering at West Point, task force adviser to the South Vietnamese and infantry battalion commander in Vietnam.
During his second tour in Vietnam Schwarzkopf received word that men under his command encountered a minefield on the Batangan Peninsula. He rushed to the scene in his helicopter and found several soldiers still trapped in the minefield. One man tripped a mine and was severely wounded. As he flailed in agony, Schwarzkopf, also wounded by the explosion, crawled across the minefield to the wounded man and held him down using a "pinning" technique he learned while wrestling at West Point. Another soldier splinted the man’s shattered leg and Schwarzkopf eventually led his surviving men to safety, ordering the engineers to mark the locations of the mines with shaving cream.
During the 1970’s, Schwarzkopf attended the Army War College and rapidly rose through the ranks. While serving as Commander, 24th Mechanized Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, Georgia, Schwarzkopf was named Deputy Commander of the Joint Task Force during operations in Grenada. He returned to the Pentagon in 1985.
In 1988 Schwarzkopf was promoted to General and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Florida. As commander, Schwarzkopf prepared a detailed plan for the defense of the oil fields of the Persian Gulf against a hypothetical invasion by Iraq. Schwarzkopf's plan was then executed following the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
During Desert Storm, the commander's alleged temper earned him the nickname, “Stormin Norman.” But others knew he preferred the name given by his troops: "The Bear." Schwarzkopf noted, “An awful lot has been written about my temper. But I would defy anyone to go back over the years and tell me anyone whose career I've ruined, anyone whom I've driven out of the service, anyone I've fired from a job," he said. " I don't do that. I get angry at a principle, not a person."
After the war, Schwarzkopf was offered the position of Chief of Staff of the United States Army, but he declined. He retired from active service in August 1991 and wrote an autobiography, It Doesn't Take a Hero, published in 1992. In his autobiography, Schwarzkopf downplayed the notion of personal valor and recalled an interview with Barbara Walters in which he said: "It doesn't take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle."
General Schwarzkopf’s remarkable career and unsurpassed leadership are emblematic of his training at West Point and its motto of Duty, Honor, Country. Schwarzkopf is survived by his wife and three children.
The Thomas More Law Center offers our prayers and condolences to the family and friends of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. He is a true American hero and patriot.
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