Retired Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf Dies at 78 by , Washington Post.
H. Norman Schwarzkopf, the four-star Army general who led allied forces to a stunningly quick and decisive victory over Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi military in the 1991 Persian Gulf War and who became the most celebrated U.S. military hero of his generation, died Thursday in Tampa. He was 78.
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta confirmed the death in a statement. Gen. Schwarzkopf’s sister, Ruth Barenbaum, told the Associated Press he had complications from pneumonia...
Comments
A great officer who like Powell and Shinseki didn't relish the limelight like many of our current generation of Generals. The three of them were part of the Vietnam generation that committed themselves to rebuilding a broke Army after a prolonged small war in Vietnam where Storm'in Norman served both as a combat advisor and a Bn Cdr, and performed superbly as a mud soldier who cared deeply about his men.
LTG Hal Moore wrote Storm'ing Normin acquired his infamous temper in Vietnam while arguing via radio for passing American Hueys to land and pick up his wounded men.
Later embracing the so called Powell Doctrine he designed a military strategy for liberated Kuwait that had clear objectives and avoided draggin us into an unneeded quagmire.
He made limited comments about OIF, unlike many of our talking head Generals and LTCs today, but one of his limited comments in early 2003 was,
"What is postwar Iraq going to look like, with the Kurds and the Sunnis and the Shiites? That's a huge question, to my mind. It really should be part of the overall campaign plan," he said." He cautioned all to avoid assuming victory pre-maturely in early 2003.
He focused his post military career on more honorable pursuits than politics.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/12/27/norman-schwarzkopf…
"Schwarzkopf was a national spokesman for prostate cancer awareness and for Recovery of the Grizzly Bear, served on the Nature Conservancy board of governors and was active in various charities for chronically ill children.
"I may have made my reputation as a general in the Army and I'm very proud of that," he once told the AP. "But I've always felt that I was more than one-dimensional. I'd like to think I'm a caring human being. … It's nice to feel that you have a purpose."
No man is perfect, but overall Storm'in Norman was one of our best. We owe him a debt of gratitude.