Retired Army General Norman Schwarzkopf, born 22 AUG 1934, who commanded the U.S.-led international coalition that drove Iraqi forces out of Kuwait in 1991, has died. He was 78.
Schwarzkopf died Thursday, 27 DEC 2012, from complications from pneumonia in Tampa, Florida.
"The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it." General H. Norman Scwarzkopf
Schwarzkopf lived in Tehran, while his father Major General Schwarzkopf was stationed there, when he was a teenager.
A highly-decorated combat soldier in Vietnam, Schwarzkopf was known popularly as “Stormin' Norman.'' In 1990-91, he led Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm, which protected Saudi Arabia from invasion and then liberated Kuwait from Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces.
"As far as Saddam Hussein being a great military strategist, he is neither a strategist, nor is he schooled in the operational arts, nor is he a tactician, nor is he a general, nor is he a soldier. Other than that, he's a great military man, I want you to know that." General H. Norman Schwarzkopf
General Schwarzkopf had a reputation for fiercely fighting for his men, and taking risks to ensure their survival.
Schwarzkopf lived in Tampa, where he served in his last military assignment as commander-in-chief of the U.S. Central Command, the headquarters responsible for U.S. military and security concerns in nearly 20 countries from the eastern Mediterranean and Africa to Pakistan.
Schwarzkopf retired from active service in late 1991. Following Desert Storm, many pressed the General to run for political office, but he preferred to stay out of the limelight.
The White House said of Schwarzkopf's passing that the general's “legacy will endure in a nation that is more secure because of his patriotic service.”
He was a member of Mensa.
Stumble It!
