Norman Schwarzkopf, the rock star general of Desert Storm who won a war in like 9 seconds or something, died yesterday at 78. And the world doesn’t feel quite as safe.
Stormin’ Norman was the bulging bicep in what was arguably America’s greatest flex of military might. I mean, am I right? He looked like a general. He talked like a general. He fought like a general. He was awesome.
So as a former Rambo III for Genesis playing 6th grader who logged the flaccid launch of every errant SCUD shot down by the made-in-Alabama Patriot missile for, like, a 30 page journal turned in to Mrs. Forrester for mega social studies extra credit, who can only see Wolf Blitzer in night vision, who still has the Desert Storm coffee table photo book he got for Christmas 1991, it is an honor to remind everyone that Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf’s daughter went to Auburn.
Yep, Cindy Schwarzkopf. Did she graduate? I’m not sure, but she was definitely a freshman in 1988. It’s in his book. And she’s in the Glom. Yes, it was before her dad became a household name, but still—if you were on the Plains in the late 80s, you were probably in the safest place in the world, whether you knew it (or could pronounce the reason why) or not.
But there are two pages listed after “Auburn University” in the index of Stormin’ Norman’s autobiography, not just the one with the thing about Cindy not being able to be at his four-star pinning ceremony because “she had just started her freshman year at Auburn.”
From page 330 of “It Doesn’t Take A Hero,” which talks Prince Sultan’s son Khalid, with whom Schwarzkopf would have to coordinate all aspects of the American forces’ presence in Saudi Arabia or something:
Khalid was ideal: he’d been educated at Sandhurst, the British military school, had attended the U.S. Air Force Air War College at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama, held a master’s degree in political science from Auburn University, and was the highest ranking prince in the Saudi armed forces.
More like SAUdi Arabia…
h/t Rich “The Drive” Perkins, who served under Schwarzkopf in Desert Shield / Storm.
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Not only did the general come and visit his daughter Cindy, he also presideded over our annual military ball. He showed up in his dress whites with his aides and we were all in our Class A greens. It was great, and yes we owed it all to Cindy. Without her “Stormin’ Norman” would not have attended.
One of his aides during DS was an Auburn grad, Ret Colonel Harvey D Watson.
Great story. Thanks for sharing. YTB