West Point, N.Y. -On Thursday, a contingent of New Jersey State Troopers led by Colonel Rick Fuentes attended the funeral service for the late General Norman Schwarzkopf, who died on December 27, 2012. Schwarzkopf was the Commander of Operation Desert Storm, leading U.S. and coalition forces against Saddam Hussein in 1991. His father, H. Norman Schwarzkopf, was the founder and first Colonel of the New Jersey State Police.

After the funeral service, Colonel Fuentes presented the Schwarzkopf family with a photo scrap book of the General’s two most notable visits to New Jersey.

In 1996, General Schwarzkopf was the guest of honor during an In-Ranks Review Ceremony on the parade grounds of the Sea Girt Academy, celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the New Jersey State Police.

Governor Christine Whitman signed a proclamation making General Schwarzkopf honorary State Police Superintendent. He was also presented with a solid gold State Police badge bearing the number 1, a replica of the badge his father wore as State Police Colonel. General Schwarzkopf then reviewed the 400 troopers assembled on the parade field.

In 2008, General Schwarzkopf was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. Prior to the ceremony, he visited Newark Station on the New Jersey Turnpike, where he met and greeted troopers. During his visit, General Schwarzkopf watched a video of a trooper heroically saving a motorist from a burning vehicle. Schwarzkopf told the troopers “my father would have been proud.”

General Schwarzkopf was buried near his father, Colonel H. Norman Schwarzkopf.

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Courtesy of Reuters/Mike Segar

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