Follett Bradley (1890–1952) was an American career soldier, military officer, and Major General.

Biography

Bradley was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, on 12 February 1890. He attended Highland Park High School in Highland Park, Illinois. He died on 4 August 1952 in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, New York, and was buried with full military honours at the

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Career

He graduated from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

in 1910. Bradley served in the Navy until 1912 when he transferred to the US Army.

Military career

Bradley served in a number of commanding roles and responsibilities, including Commander of the 3rd Bombardment Wing and III Bombardment Command. From 1941 to 1942, he was the Commanding General of First Air Force. From 1943 onwards, he served at the Headquarters of U.S. Army Air Force. He succeeded Brig. Gen. Arnold N. Krogstad.

Business career

He played a key role in the early history of the

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

mainframe company. He provided valuable mentorship and guidance to the founder of IBM,

Thomas J. Watson Thomas John Watson Sr. (February 17, 1874 – June 19, 1956) was an American businessman who was the chairman and CEO of IBM. He oversaw the company's growth into an international force from 1914 to 1956. Watson developed IBM's management sty ...

and played a key role in his business successes.

Dates of ranks

The progression of his ranks and promotions is provided below: 1935-08-01 Lieutenant-Colonel 1936-08-26 Colonel (Temporary) 1940-10-01 Brigadier-General (Army of the United States) 1940-12-01 Colonel 1942-02-25 Major-General (Army of the United States) 1944-04-30 Major-General (Retired)

Awards and honours

He was cited for gallantry and received the Silver Star and the French Croix de Guerre with palms. He also received the

Mexican Border Service Medal The Mexican Border Service Medal was a U.S. service medal established by an Act of Congress on July 9, 1918. It was awarded for service on the border between May 9, 1916 and March 24, 1917. Additionally, recipients included those who performed ...

and the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation, state or country. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in act ...

References

External links

Military Times

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradley, Follett 1890 births 1952 deaths United States Army officers 20th-century United States Army personnel United States Marine Corps generals United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I Military personnel from Omaha, Nebraska