December 19, 1977
General of the Army Omar N. Bradley will be grand marshal at the 43rd Annual Sun Carnival Parade Jan. 1.
Bradley relocated to El Paso in November with his wife to make his permanent home at Fort Bliss after 66 years of continuous active service.
The Sun Parade procession, moving west along Montana from Copia to Campbell, will start at 10 a.m., to close the 1977-78 Sun Carnival festivities. The parade, led by the general, will include more than 20 major floats, 30 special entries and 30 marching units and bands.
The general won his place in history on the World War II battlefields, as a commander of a division, a corps, an army, and finally a group of armies. This last command, the 12th U.S. Army Group in Europe, numbered more than 1,300,000 troops, the largest body of American soldiers ever to serve under one field commander.
He led corps in North Africa and Sicily and eventually led an army across the Normandy beaches that marked the beginning of the end for Germany.
Only three weeks after VE Day, Bradley was drafted to become head of the Veterans Administration during the critical postwar demobilization of the armed forces.
In 1948, he became Chief of Staff of the Army. Later, he was appointed chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and reappointed in 1951.
President Truman also nominated him for promotion to General of the Army in 1950, making him the fifth five-star Army general in U.S. history.
The general served as U.S. representative to the Military Committee of NATO and to the Standing Group of the Military Committee consisting of representatives of the United States, United Kingdom and France. In these assignments, he exercised great responsibility in the coordination of the military efforts of the free world.
Bradley has received many decorations and honors, both domestic and foreign, and honorary degrees during his long and distinguished career.
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