General Norman Schwarzkopf
‘Stormin’’ Norman led Coalition Forces to Victory in the Gulf War
Apr 28, 2009
Trenton, New Jersey was the birthplace of Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. on August 22, 1934. His parents were Ruth and Brigadier-General Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf. When he was 12 he got his first taste of the Middle East when his father was posted to serve as military advisor to the Shah of Iran.
Early Military Life
Schwarzkopf attended Valley Forge Military Academy then moved on the West Point, graduating in 1956. Now a second lieutenant he served in the United States and later in West Germany. In 1965, after earning a master’s degree in guided missile technology he volunteered for duty in Viet Nam. Here he served with a South Vietnamese airborne division as a military advisor. In the course of his service he was promoted to Major and earned a number of decorations for valor. During his second tour he earned a purple heart when he was injured in a minefield in 1970 when he was a lieutenant-colonel in command of 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry, 198 Infantry Brigade of the 23rd Infantry Division.
General Schwarzkopf
After the United States withdrew from Viet Nam, Schwarzkopf considered leaving the army but instead stayed to help rebuild the service. He returned to West Germany for two years then went to Hawaii, Alaska and then to Georgia to command the 24th Mechanized Division as a major-general. While there a coup on the island of Grenada threatened security in the Caribbean. Schwarzkopf was sent as advisor to the Navy to ascertain that the military units were used effectively. Though difficult, the operation was successful and order restored.
Gulf War
When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in August 1990, Schwarzkopf was a full general and commanding US Central Command at McDill Air Force Base in Florida. With his staff he was quickly relocated to Saudi Arabia to oversee the build-up of a coalition force of 700,000 men known as Operation Desert Shield. Next came Operation Desert Storm, six weeks of bombing against Iraqi positions, followed in February by Operation Desert Sabre, the liberation of Kuwait and invasion of Iraq. In just over 100 hours coalition forces overran the Iraqi army and President George Bush called off the invasion on February 28. It was at this time that the media dubbed him ‘Stormin’’ Norman.
It Doesn’t Take a Hero
General Schwarzkopf retired from active service in August 1991 after having returned home a national hero. It was speculated that he might run for political office but instead he took the time to write his autobiography It Doesn’t Take A Hero, published in 1992. He now devotes most of his time to numerous community activities and charities and sits on the board of several high-profile corporations. Inducted into New Jersey’s Hall of Fame in 2008, Schwarzkopf presently resides in Florida.
Bibliography
It Doesn’t Take a Hero: The Autobiography of General H. Norman Schwarzkopf – Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. – Bantam Books - 1993
