Moberly honors Bradley, the person, during February 12 ceremony

People gathered last Friday at the Moberly High School Auditorium to honor the town’s favorite son, General Omar Bradley, on what would have been his 117^th birthday.

Proclamations were presented extolling his achievements. Of course, he is best known to the world as the World War II general, the youngest of only nine generals to receive the five star ranking. He was a career soldier, and led soldiers in a variety if capacities: in field training, in battle on Omaha Beach, as a leader of the Veteran’s Administration after WWII, and later as head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. To the world, he is honored as a great military leader.

Residents of Moberly are proud of the military legacy of Gen. Bradley. But there were those present Friday who told of a more personal side of the “soldiers’ general”.

Howard Hils, a well-known businessman who has dedicated much of his time serving the Boy Scouts in the area, recounted meeting Bradley in 1971. Hils’ Scout Troop 14 provided an escort for the general, his wife and his aide as they visited Moberly.

“He was extremely easy to talk to,” said Hils.

Hils said Bradley revealed his secret for success, a “recipe” that should be followed still.

“Work 110 percent harder than you are supposed to, do better than you are expected to,” Hils said.

Dr. Robert Tompson was serving as a cadet at West Point in 1952 when he met the general.

“He was a very nice gentleman,” said Tompson. “We visited for a while, he inquiring how I was getting along at the Academy.”

Tompson said the most memorable part of the visit actually came a few weeks later when an elderly gentlemen in a brown tweed suit turned up on his mother’s door step on West Carpenter in Moberly.

“It was General Bradley,” said Tompson. “He stayed and visited with my mother for more than an hour. He assured her I was ok and that was a great relief to her. I met him again 20 or so years later and had the opportunity to personally thank him. That act demonstrated the quality he had that helped make him the great leader that he was.”

Moberly High School Principal Aaron Vitt was a knowledgeable history teacher before going into administration. He explained some aspects of the general’s life that is sometimes overlooked but can be an inspiration to students, and adults, today.

“You can accomplish anything and Omar Bradley is proof of that,” said Vitt.

Bradley’s father died when the boy was only 10, Vitt explained, but he graduated from MHS, a member of a single-parent household, a year early due to his outstanding academic record. Bradley was also a star baseball player, all the while providing for his mother and sisters.

Vitt said Bradley had a job with the Wabash Railroad and it was a hard decision to give that up and to leave his family but he left to attend West Point, “to pursue a better life”. But it turned out to be a fortuitous move. His West Point class of 1915, “the class the stars fell upon” saw 59 members become generals.

Brigadier General James Robinson, assistant adjutant general of the Missouri Army National Guard, offered some of Bradley’s military background. He explained that a career in the military following the “Great War” was not one of glamour rather there was “widespread anti-military feelings and disillusionment. Bradley served in the Army for 26 before his “rendezvous with history” in 1941.

“He had none of what some might call he flash or arrogance of a Patton or MacArthur,” said Robinson. “General Bradley hated war, and in turn, his soldiers loved him. They always knew he had their best interest at heart. They trusted his leadership, his character, and they followed him. . . . There is no doubt, and it is not surprising, that his core values were formed and forged right here in Moberly, a fact you and all Missourians can be very proud of.”

A number of proclamations were presented to honor the date February 12, 2010 as General Omar N. Bradley Day. Mayor Don Burton and Councilman Dick Boots read and presented the proclamation on behalf of the City of Moberly. Randolph County Commissioner Randy Asbury presented the Missouri House of Representatives proclamation, Sen. Kurt Schaefer offered the Missouri Senate proclamation and Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer came to Moberly with the U.S. House of Representatives proclamation.

A portrait of Gen. Bradley, a copy of the one which hangs in the Bradley wing of the Pentagon, was planned to be unveiled during the ceremony but the unprecedented snow in Washington, D.C. has postponed the delivery. The portrait will be displayed in the lobby of Moberly High School.

The ceremony was sponsored by members of the Gen. Omar Bradley Library and Museum Committee. The committee’s purpose is to raise awareness and educate the public about Moberly’s favorite son. It’s long-term goal is to raise funds, on a national level, to establish a library and museum honoring the general.

Members of the committee include: Mary Lee Noel, Howard Hils, Joe Knaebel, Wayne Wilcox, Russ Freed, Andy Morris, Dick Boots and Sam Richardson, chair. While the committee has the city manager and a councilman as members, it is not under the auspices of the Moberly City council.