Classmate remembers singing for General Omar Bradley

Editor's Note from Barbara Sheppard Lang: Our Junior High classmate, Warren Olson, had a multitude of unique experiences throughout his many years of participation in musical groups, well beyond Junior High in Valley City, ND.  He recently came across a photo of a quartet he was part of while he was stationed at White Sands Missile Range and living in El Paso, TX. The quartet was called the "Bordertown Barnstormers" (three of the members were pilots). Warren is pictured third from the left in the photo below.  Pretty snazzy outfits under those Bomber jackets!

The Bordertown Barnstormers with General of the Army Omar N. Bradley on November 11, 1980.
Pictured l-r:  David Carmichael, Tenor - Don Topliff, Lead - Warren Olson, Bass - John Eby, Baritone.
Click on picture for larger image.

Warren writes:

"We were first exposed to General of the Army (5-Star) Omar Bradley after he and his wife, Kitty, had attended one of our men's chorus groups (Border Chorders) shows in the El Paso Civic Center.  Because of that, we began receiving invites to sing for him in small groups... he enjoyed being entertained, even at his advanced age.

"Soon, our quartet was invited to sing in Bradley's home at Ft. Bliss, particularly for Veteran's Day celebrations and for Omar's birthday.

"Over time, we became his favorite quartet!  The General visited us at White Sands Missile Range occasionally. He loved getting caught up with our studies and war-games.When finished, he'd board his Huey and fly up into the Sacramento Mountains to fly fish in his wheelchair before heading back to Ft. Bliss. I was never privileged to hear many of his stories, but "The Soldier's General" must have had volumes of those stories, to include Ike's dealings with Patton. I was always intrigued with the many large filing cabinets throughout his quarters, and probably some safes as well! Gen. Bradley had consulted on the movie Patton and other films, and his wife, Kitty, was a screenwriter. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Bradley.

"At his 88th birthday party (on February 12, 1981), Bradley was clearly nearing the end of his life, but he called in the photographer, still knew our names, and autographed a photo for each of us.  He was a class act. To the very end he loved singing and was a very gracious host.  It was delightful being around him.  He died on April 9th, 1981 in his wheelchair while going up the elevator to his suite one day at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, shortly after receiving an honor.  We were all saddened to hear that our last Five-Star General and friend had finally succumbed." Contributed by Warren Olson - THANKS to Warren and Barb from your Blogmeister!

Paperweight given to Warren and other members of the singing group
commemorating General Bradley''s birthday.