Trenton, New Jersey was the birthplace of Norman Schwarzkopf Jr. on August 22, 1934. His parents were Ruth and Brigadier-General Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf. When he was 12 he got his first taste of the Middle East when his father was posted to serve as military advisor to the Shah of Iran.
Early Military Life
Schwarzkopf attended Valley Forge Military Academy then moved on the West Point, graduating in 1956. Now a second lieutenant he served in the United States and later in West Germany. In 1965, after earning a master’s degree in guided missile technology he volunteered for duty in Viet Nam. Here he served with a South Vietnamese airborne division as a military advisor. In the course of his service he was promoted to Major and earned a number of decorations for valor. During his second tour he earned a purple heart when he was injured in a minefield in 1970 when he was a lieutenant-colonel in command of 1st Battalion, 6th Infantry, 198 Infantry Brigade of the 23rd Infantry Division.