From his youth Norman Schwarzkopf told himself that he would become an army officer, at some point along the way he also decided to become great. He was born on August 22, 1934 to a West Point officer, Herbert Norman Schwarzkopf, in Trenton, New Jersey. His father was stationed in Tehran, Iran, following his service in both World Wars, which caused Norman Jr. and the rest of his family to join his father in Iran. Norman Jr. spent much of his youth in Iran, even attending elementary school there. Later in life he would say that this opportunity paid off in his understanding of life and people in the Middle East, where his career had its pinnacle. He also spent time in parts of Europe due to his father's career which allowed him to speak French, German and Farsi fluently. It is in the Middle East that his name became a household name, although before, long before, his name deserved to be a household name. He served as a battalion commander during his second tour in Vietnam, where he was awarded three Silver Star medals. This is where his famous courage in the minefield occurred. When he learned that some of his men were trapped in a minefield in northern Vietnam, Colonel Schwarzkopf rushed to the site in his helicopter and went ashore to help his men. While holding the wounded man, he himself was wounded. After another mine exploded, killing more of his men, he then led his men out of the camp and to safety. This is where Schwarzkopf really began to shine, but more importantly, this is where his reputation as a great leader began among his men and spread to the entire army. After approximately twenty years of service including many public relations jobs, especially after Vietnam and being the deputy commander of the Joint Task Force in Grenada, Schwarzkopf would later become an essential part of the US-led mission in Iraq during the War of Gulf. He was promoted to four-star general in 1988 and named commander-in-chief of the Army's Central Command, which oversaw military operations in the Horn of Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Part of taking command of this position was to make a plan for a hypothetical invasion by Iraq into Kuwait and how to protect the area's vast oil business, including refineries, drilling fields and transportation centers..