Lieutenant General Edward Hale Brooks was a highly decorated senior officer of the United States Army, a veteran of both World War I and World War II, who commanded the U.S. Second Army during the Korean War. He received the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for heroism as a junior officer in World War I and, remaining in the army during the interwar period, rose to command the 2nd Armored Division during the Battle of Normandy as well as VI Corps during the subsequent defeat of German forces in World War II.
Edward H. Brooks
Lieutenant Edward Hale Brooks, pictured here with his wife, Beatrice Brooks, as he prepares to ship off to Europe, 1918.
Brooks observing General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Winston Churchill and Lieutenant General Omar Bradley fire M1 carbines.
Colonel Sidney Hinds, General Eisenhower, Prime Minister Churchill and Major General Brooks overseeing preparations for D-Day.
2nd Armored Division (United States)
The 2nd Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played important roles during World War II in the invasions of Germany, North Africa, and Sicily and in the liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. During the Cold War, the division was primarily based at Fort Hood, Texas, and had a reinforced brigade forward stationed in Garlstedt, West Germany. After participation in the Persian Gulf War, the division was inactivated in 1995.
2nd Armored's first ceremony combining 10,000 men and 2,000 vehicles; Valentine's Day 1941.
Company C, 702d Tank Destroyer Battalion, 2nd Armored Division, tank destroyer on dug-in ramp has plenty of elevation to hurl shells at long range enemy targets across the Roer River. L-r: Sgt. Earl F. Schelz, Pvt. George E. Van Horne, and Pfc. Samuel R. Marcum. December 16, 1944.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill fires an American .30 carbine during a visit to the U.S. 2nd Armored Division on Salisbury Plain, March 23, 1944.
Soldiers of the division in Barenton, Normandy.
