Leonidas C. Bradley Jr.

Dad was a great supporter of us boys (Ron and myself) and though not an active athlete himself, he must have been fairly athletic as a boy. He did play golf a fair bit and it was through his influence my brother and I became interested in golf while in Morocco. I remember him always be willing to play catch and pushed us to do our best, but I do recall that I did not think he was very fit himself. Both mom and he smoked and drank a fair bit but never to my observation to excess. My most impressive memory of dad was his repoire with the men of the 357th Fighter Squadron he commanded in Nouasseur AFB, Morocco in 1959. Those men loved him. He was always at their events and often took us boys. This to me seemed to be his happiest time - leading and flying F-86's.

Dad got assigned to command the 357th F-86 Fighter Squadron at Nausseur AFB in Casablanca, Morocco in North Africa in 1959. So after 9 months training at Perron AFB in Sherman TX, we arrived in Morocco and my Dad was the happiest I ever saw him. He was flying, commanding the Squadron and was complete as an AF Officer. I remember how he loved to take us to see "his" men play in the intramural programs on the base and the men loved him for that. My brother Ron and I loved North Africa as well - year round sports and it's where we learned to play golf and loved it. Whenever possible, Dad would help coach the teams my brother and I played on, esp baseball. While at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery Alabama from 1955 to 1958, Dad coached my brother and I in Little League and I remember our base team competing in the city Little League. I also played football and basketball and Dad was always there as well as mom. I remember my father as a serious man very dedicated to his work and he expected alot from my brother and I. When the US began closing bases in Morocco, the 357th Fighter Squadron was the first to be disbanded after a year of command for my dad. We were then transferred to Ramstein AFB in Ramstein, Germany. I spent my 8th and 9th grade years there. I don't really know my Dad's assignment, but I do know he was NOT flying and probably doing more with NATO than before. We lived on base and it was a great place for teenagers.