Boone &Crockett Member Spotlight – General Norman Schwarzkopf
By PJ DelHomme
As the coalition commander who drove Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait in 1991, General Norman Schwarzkopf was also an avid hunter and advocate for grizzly bears.
Norman Schwarzkopf knew he would be a general when he was just ten years old. When asked why he had such a stern look as he posed for a photo, he replied that he wanted to be taken seriously when he became a general. Once a general, he stood over six feet tall and was a bear of a man, both in stature and spirit. In fact, “Bear” is a nickname he came to appreciate, both in the military and in retirement.
He was born August 22, 1934, in Trenton, New Jersey. His father was a West Point graduate and veteran of World War I, who later became the founding superintendent of the New Jersey State Police. When Norman was eight, his father returned to active duty during WW II, leaving him and his two older sisters behind.
In 1946, at age 12, Norman moved with his father to Tehran, Iran, where he learned shooting, horseback riding, and hunting. In Iran, he hunted ibex, mouflon sheep, and gazelle when he was 13. The family then moved to Geneva, Switzerland, in 1947, and Schwarzkopf accompanied his father on military duties to Italy and Germany. It was in Germany where he hunted red stag and boar. His father died in 1958, and from a young age, Schwarzkopf wanted to follow in his footsteps as a military officer. Read more







