Retired General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, who led coalition forces in the 1991 Gulf War, died earlier today in Tampa, Florida. He graduated from West Point in 1956, was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, served two tours in Vietnam, received three Silver Stars, and later served in the invasion of Grenada. Somewhere during all of that, he was given the knickname "Stormin' Norman", which he reportedly didn't like all that much, preferring "The Bear", which was used by some of his troops.
Read more at CNN, the Los Angeles Times, ABC News, US News, the Wall Street Journal and Newsmax. As reported in the Newsmax story, Schwarzkopf's father, also named Norman, was the founder and commander of the New Jersey State Police, after serving in the Army during World War I and achieving the rank of Colonel. At the time the future General was born, the elder Schwarzkopf was leading the investigation of the Lindbergh kidnapping.
General Schwarzkopf was the type of officer his men would follow into Hell to tackle the Devil himself. I fear that we will not see his like again for many years.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Hell, I'm sure Saddam Hussein, from his place in there, gave a one-finger salute as Norman went up to meet his Supreme Commander.
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