Malin Craig (August 5, 1875 – July 25, 1945) was a
general
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
who served as the 14th
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...
from 1935 to 1939. He served in
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and was recalled to active duty during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
[ and, although he is mostly forgotten today, he played a very large role in preparing the U.S. Army for World War II.
]
Early life
Craig was born on August 5, 1875 in Saint Joseph, Missouri
St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which inclu ...
, a son of Army officer Louis A. Craig and Georgie (Malin) Craig. His siblings included Louis A. Craig
Louis A. Craig (July 29, 1891 – January 3, 1984) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of Major general (United States), major general, and served in both World War I and World War II. Craig served as a corps ...
. He entered the United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
(USMA) at West Point, New York
West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...
on June 20, 1894. He graduated on April 26, 1898 and was ranked 33rd of 59. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the Infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
branch. Craig's initial assignment was to the 4th Infantry Regiment.
Early career
On June 23, 1898 Craig transferred to the Cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
branch, and he was assigned to the 6th Cavalry Regiment
The 6th Cavalry ("Fighting Sixth'") is a regiment of the United States Army that began as a regiment of cavalry in the American Civil War. It currently is organized into aviation squadrons that are assigned to several different combat aviation ...
during the Santiago Campaign, the United States invasion of Cuba during the Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (clock ...
. After his return from Cuba, Craig transferred to the 4th Cavalry Regiment
The 4th Cavalry Regiment is a United States Army cavalry regiment, whose lineage is traced back to the mid-19th century. It was one of the most effective units of the Army against American Indians on the Texas frontier. Today, the regiment exis ...
, serving in Wyoming and Oklahoma until 1900, when he served in the China Relief Expedition
The China Relief Expedition was an expedition in China undertaken by the United States Armed Forces to rescue United States citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion, which lasted f ...
and in the Philippine Insurrection
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
until 1902. He was promoted to first lieutenant
First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment.
The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
on February 2, 1901, transferring back to the 6th Cavalry.
Craig attended the Infantry and Cavalry School from 1903 to 1904 and the Staff College
Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For ex ...
from 1904 to 1905. He was promoted to captain on May 7, 1904, assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment
The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments in the post–Civil War Regular Army. It served in combat during t ...
and later the 1st Cavalry Regiment. Craig was garrisoned as a regimental quartermaster at Fort Clark in Kinney, Texas from 1906 to 1909. He would go on to graduate from the Army War College in 1910, where Hunter Liggett
Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett (March 21, 1857 − December 30, 1935) was a senior United States Army officer. His 42 years of military service spanned the period from the Indian campaigns to the trench warfare of World War I. Additionally, h ...
was among his classmates, and serve in a variety of administrative positions, most notable of which was assigning troops to their regiments.
He served with the 1st Cavalry Regiment in the western United States in 1912, then became an instructor at Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
, Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
Army Service Schools, where he served in 1916 and 1917. He transferred to the General Staff Corps in 1917.[Tucker, Spencer C., ed. World War II: the definitive encyclopedia and document collection. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2016. Web. p. 475]
World War I
Craig was promoted to major on May 15, 1917, shortly after the American entry into World War I
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry
...
. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel on August 17 and temporary colonel on March 27, 1918.
Craig served in France during World War I as chief of staff to General Hunter Liggett in the 41st Division and later in I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to:
France
* 1st Army Corps (France)
* I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars
* I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...
, where he was promoted to temporary brigadier general on July 11, 1918. He then became chief of staff of the Third Army. He received the Army Distinguished Service Medal
The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...
for his service during the war. His citation reads as follows:
Interwar period
After the war, Craig reverted to his permanent rank of major on August 15, 1919 but was promoted to colonel on July 1, 1920 and to brigadier general only 15 days later.
When Craig was promoted to colonel, he was put in command of the District of Arizona in 1920 and became the commandant of the Cavalry School from 1921 to 1923, after his promotion to brigadier general in April 1921. He served as Chief of Cavalry with the rank of major general from July 24, 1924 to March 20, 1926. He was succeeded by Herbert B. Crosby
Herbert Ball Crosby (December 24, 1871 – January 11, 1936) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Spanish–American War and World War I, he attained the rank of major general as the Army's Chief of Cavalry.
Born in K ...
, after which he was assigned to command the Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
from 1 April 1928 to 30 August 1930.
Craig served as the commander of the Ninth Corps Area
A Corps area was a geographically-based organizational structure (military district) of the United States Army used to accomplish administrative, training and tactical tasks from 1920 to 1942. Each corps area included divisions of the Regular Army ...
, headquartered in San Francisco, from 21 November 1930 to 24 January 1935.
Chief of Staff
Craig served as president of the Army War College in 1935, before being selected as Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and a ...
. He served as Chief of Staff from October 2, 1935 to August 31, 1939, succeeding General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
and preceding George C. Marshall
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the US Army under Pre ...
. That appointment carried with it a temporary promotion to full (four star) general.
As Chief of Staff of the Army, Craig pointed out to Congress the army's lack of preparedness in manpower and material, stressed the necessity of lead time in military preparedness, focused attention on army planning, and, within governmental constraints, prepared the army for World War II. Craig, who opposed any mission for the Air Corps except that of supporting ground forces, also actively opposed the movement for a separate air force, and also refused to acknowledge the superiority of a four-engined bomber over all other types. This caused the cut back on planned purchases of B-17s to procure smaller but cheaper (and inferior) twin-engine light and medium bombers such as the Douglas B-18.
He retired, with the rank of general, on August 31, 1939 after forty-one years of active duty service. Upon his retirement, he received a second Distinguished Service Medal for his service as Army Chief of Staff.
World War II and death
Craig's retirement was short-lived, however. On September 26, 1941, with war on the horizon, he was recalled to active duty to head the War Department's Personnel Board, a body responsible for selecting individuals who were to receive direct commissions in the army. He headed the board until shortly before his death.
Craig died at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
on July 25, 1945, where he had been ill for the previous year. He was posthumously awarded a third Distinguished Service Medal and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
.
Personal life
In April 1901, Craig married Genevieve Woodruff, a daughter of General Charles Woodruff. They were the parents of a son, Malin Craig Jr. (1902–1981). Malin Craig Jr. was a career Army officer and World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
veteran who retired as a colonel. After his military retirement, he taught geometry in the public schools of Montgomery County, Maryland
Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...
.
Awards
Dates of rank
[Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1944. pg. 1122.]
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
* ''Official Register of the United States Army''. 1945. The Adjutant General. Washington, D.C. p. 1135.
Further reading
*"Craig, Malin". 1999. ''American National Biography''. 5.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Malin
1875 births
1945 deaths
United States Army Infantry Branch personnel
United States Army Cavalry Branch personnel
People from St. Joseph, Missouri
United States Military Academy alumni
United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni
United States Army War College alumni
American military personnel of the Spanish–American War
American military personnel of the Philippine–American War
United States Army generals of World War II
United States Army generals
United States Army Chiefs of Staff
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur
Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France)
Honorary Companions of the Order of the Bath
Commanders of the Order of the Crown (Belgium)
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
American military personnel of the Boxer Rebellion
United States Army generals of World War I