Creighton Abrams: Difference between revisions

| name = Creighton Abrams Jr.

| image = GEN Creighton W. Abrams.JPGjpg

| alt =

| caption= General Creighton W. = Abrams, {{circa|1971}}

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|9|15|df=y}}

| birth_place = [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], USU.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|9|4|1914|9|14|df=y}}

| death_place = [[Walter Reed General Hospital]], [[Washington, D.C.]], USU.S.

| placeofburial = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]

| allegiance = United States

| branch = [[United States Army]]

| serviceyears = 1936–1974

| rank = [[General (United States)|General]]

| unit =

| commands = [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]]<br />[[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam]]<br />[[V Corps (United States)|V Corps]]<br />[[3rd Armored Division (United States)|3rd Armored Division]]<br />[[2d2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment]]<br />[[63rd Armor Regiment]]<br />[[37th Armor Regiment (United States)|Combat Command B]], [[4th Armored Division (United States)|4th Armored Division]]<br />[[37th Armor Regiment (United States)|37th Tank Battalion]]

| battles = [[World War II]]<br />[[Korean War]]<br />[[Vietnam War]]

| awards = [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]] (2) <br />[[Defense Distinguished Service Medal]] (2) <br />[[Army Distinguished Service Medal]] (5)<br />[[Air Force Distinguished Service Medal]]<br />[[Silver Star]] (2) <br />[[Legion of Merit]] (2) <br />[[Bronze Star Medal]]<br />[[Joint Service Commendation Medal]]

| relations = Brigadier General Creighton W. Abrams III (son)<br />General [[John N. Abrams]] (son)<br />General [[Robert B. Abrams]] (son)

| laterwork =

'''Creighton Williams Abrams Jr.''' (15 September 15,1914 1914&nbsp;– 4 September 4, 1974) was a [[United States Army]] [[General (United States)|general]] who commanded military operations in the [[Vietnam War]] from 1968 to 1972,.<ref name=nytobt>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/09/04/archives/army-chief-abrams-dies-at-59-directed-us-forces-in-vietnam-tough.html |work=New York Times |agency=Associated Press |title=Army Chief Abrams dies at 59, directed U.S. forces in Vietnam |date=September 4, 1974 |page=1}}</ref><ref name=gabda59>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vB5OAAAAIBAJ&pg=6785%2C1397051 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Gen. Abrams dead at 59 |date=September 4, 1974 |page=1}}</ref> which saw United States troop strength in [[South Vietnam]] reduced from a peak of 543,000 to 49,000. He was then [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]] from 1972 until his death in 1974.<ref name=nytobt /><ref name=gabda59 />

Abrams graduated from the [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point in the Class of 1936, (rankedranking 185th of 276 in the class),.<ref>''[[Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography]]''; [[Trevor N. Dupuy]], Curt Johnson, David L. Bongard; [[HarperCollins]] 1992</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/18/us/bruce-palmer-jr-87-led-forces-in-vietnam.html|last=Stout|first=David|authorlink=David Stout|title=Bruce Palmer Jr., 87; Led Forces in Vietnam|date=2000-10-18|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=23}}</ref> His classmates included [[Benjamin O. Davis Jr.]] and [[William Westmoreland]]. He served with the [[1st Cavalry Division (United States)|1st Cavalry Division]] from 1936 to 1940, being promoted to [[first lieutenant#United States|first lieutenant]] in 1939 and temporary captain in 1940.

During [[World War II]], Abrams served in the [[4th Armored Division (United States)|4th Armored Division]], initially as regimental [[adjutant]] (June 1941 – June 1942), [[battalion]] commander (July 1942 – March 1943), and [[regiment]] executive officer (March–September 1943) with the [[37th Armor Regiment]]. In September 1943, a reorganization of the division redesignated the 37th Armor Regiment to the 37th Tank Battalion, which Abrams commanded;. he alsoHe commanded [[Combat Command]] B of the division during the [[Battle of the Bulge]].

During this time Abrams was promoted to the temporary ranks of [[Major (United States)|major]] (February 1942), [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]] (September 1942), and [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] (April 1945). Abrams was promoted to lieutenant colonel elevenat daysage before27 hisyears, 28th11 birthdaymonths.

During much of this time, the 4th Armored Division, (led by the 37th Tank Battalion), was the spearhead for General [[George S. Patton]]'s [[United States Army Central|Third Army]], and. Abrams was consequently well known as an aggressive armor commander. By using his qualities as a leader and by consistently exploiting the relatively small advantages of speed and reliability of his vehicles, he managed to defeat German forces that had the advantage of superior armor and superior guns. He was twice decorated with the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]] for extraordinary heroism, on 20 September 20 and 26 December 26, 1944. General George Patton said of him: "I'm supposed to be the best tank commander in the Army, but I have one peer—Abe Abrams. He's the world champion."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,836935,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215145244/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,836935,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 15, 2008 |magazine=Time |title=Nation: Pattern's Peer |date=April 14, 1967}}</ref>

Frequently the spearhead of the Third Army during World War II, Abrams was one of the leaders in the relief effort that broke up the [[Wehrmacht|German]] entrenchments surrounding [[Bastogne]] and the [[101st Airborne Division]] during the Battle of the Bulge. In April 1945, he was promoted to (temporary) [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]] but reverted to lieutenant colonel during the post-war demobilization. On April 23, 1945, [[Will Lang Jr.]] wrote a biography of Abrams called "Colonel Abe" for ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]''.

Following the war, Abrams served on the Army General Staff (1945–461945–1946), as head of the department of tactics at the Armored School, [[Fort Knox]] (1946–481946–1948), and graduated from the [[Command and General Staff College]] at [[Fort Leavenworth]] (1949).

Abrams commanded the [[63rd Armor Regiment|63rd Tank Battalion]], part of the [[1st Infantry Division (United States)|1st Infantry Division]], in Europe (1949–511949–1951). He was again promoted to colonel and commanded the [[2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment]] (1951–521951–1952). These units were important assignments due to the [[Cold War]] concern for potential invasion of western Europe by the Soviet Union. He then attended and graduated from the [[United States Army War College|Army War College]] in 1953.

DueBecause toof Abrams's service in Europe and his War College tour, he joined the Korean War late. inIn theSouth conflict.Korea He(1953–1954), he successively served as chief of staff of the [[I Corps (United States)|I]], [[X Corps (United States)|X]], and [[IX Corps (United States)|IX Corps]] in South Korea (1953–1954).

Upon Abrams' return from Korea, he served as Chief of Staff of the Armor Center, [[Fort Knox]] (1954–561954–1956). He was promoted to [[brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]] and appointed deputy chief of staff for reserve components at the Pentagon (1956–591956–1959). He was assistant division commander of [[3rd Armored Division (United States)|3rd Armored Division]] (1959–601959–1960) and then commanded the division (1960–621960–1962) upon his promotion to major general. He was transferred to the Pentagon as deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (1962–631962–1963) and during this time he served as representative of the Army Chief of Staff overseeing the armed forces deployed to support the enrollment of [[James Meredith]] at the [[Racial segregation|segregated]] [[University of Mississippi]].<ref name=Scheips>{{cite book|last=Scheips|first=Paul|title=The Role of Federal Military Forces in Domestic Disorders, 1945–1992|publisher=US Army Center of Military History|year=2005|isbn=9781517253783|url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/030/30-20/CMH_Pub_30-20.pdf}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>{{rp|88–92}}

He performed a similar role in May 1963 during the [[Birmingham campaign|civil rights protests]] in [[Birmingham, Alabama]].<ref name=Scheips/>{{rp|139–41}} Following these roles Abrams demanded a more coherent policy for the swift employment of Federal forces domestically. and on 25In May 1963, the Joint Chiefs formalized those arrangements with the [[United States Strike Command|Strike Command]] instructed to be prepared "to move ready, deployable, tailored Army forces ranging in size from a reinforced company to a maximum force of 15,000 personnel".<ref name=Scheips/>{{rp|142}}

Abrams was on the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine three times in ten years: 1961 (October 13 October),<ref name=time61>{{cite magazine|url=httphttps://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19611013,00.html|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|title=Third Armored's General Abrams|date=October 13, 1961|page=(cover)}}</ref> 1968 (April 19 April),<ref name=time68>{{cite magazine|url=httphttps://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19680419,00.html|magazine=Time|title=General Creighton Abrams|date=April 19, 1968|page=(cover)}}</ref> and 1971 (February 15 February).<ref name=time71>{{cite magazine|url=httphttps://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19710215,00.html|magazine=Time|title=General Creighton Abrams|date=February 15, 1971|page=(cover)}}</ref>

Abrams was promoted to [[General (United States)|general]] in 1964 and appointed [[Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army]],. butHe not before beingwas seriously considered as a candidate for chief of staff. Due to concerns about the conduct of the Vietnam War, he was appointed as deputy to his West Point classmate, General [[William Westmoreland]], commander of the [[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam]] (MACV), in May 1967.

Abrams succeeded Westmoreland as [[COMUSMACV]] on 10 June 10, 1968, although. hisHis tenure of command was not marked by the public optimism of his predecessors, who were prone to press conferences and public statements.

It has been asserted by authors such as [[Lewis Sorley]] asserted that in contrast to Westmoreland, Abrams implemented counterinsurgency tactics that focused on winning the [[Hearts and Minds (Vietnam)|hearts and minds]] of the Vietnamese rural population. A joint military-civilian organization named [[Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support]] under CIA official [[William Colby]] carried out the hearts and minds programs. According to a colonel cited in ''[[Men's Journal]]'', there was more continuity than change in Vietnam after Abrams succeeded Westmoreland.{{efn|group=lower-alpha|'That claim touches a nerve when put to [[Gian Gentile]]. "We don't know how Iraq is going to turn out", he snaps. With that, the colonel returns to his binders. They hold reams of cable communiqués from Vietnam war commander General William Westmoreland and his successor, General Creighton Abrams. Westmoreland embodied the traditional approach: a hard-charging, hammer-swinging leader who used search-and-destroy tactics that focused on the enemy. Abrams favored counterinsurgency methods, and focused on winning the hearts and minds of the population. Gentile has stated "People think we were losing in Vietnam, and oh, a better general with better tactics came in and saved the day," he says, waving his arms for emphasis. "Nonsense." That's what led Gentile to dig through antique war correspondence from two dead generals. "There was more continuity than change in Vietnam after Abrams arrived," he says — people have it backward. And in a way he's right: Westmoreland once declared that the jungles of Vietnam were "no place for either tank or mechanized infantry units." And Abrams — well, the Army named a tank after the guy." Abrams, Gentile feels, showed up just in time to snatch the scraps of glory.'- quoted from Matthew Teague in Men's Journal<ref>{{cite web|title=Is This Any Way to Fight a War?|url=http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/print-view/is-this-any-way-to-fight-a-war-20131108|website=[[Men's Journal]]|last=Teague|first=Matthew|date=December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311025404/http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/print-view/is-this-any-way-to-fight-a-war-20131108|archive-date=March 11, 2014}}</ref>}} ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine at the time of Abrams' appointment observed that its sources within the [[Lyndon Johnson]] administration had spoken at length with Abrams in the past and had come away convinced that the general would make few changes. The magazine quoted an unidentified military analyst to the effect that, "All this talk of dropping search-and destroy operations in favor of clear-and-hold is just a lot of bull."<ref>{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=William|title=The U.S. Army in Vietnam Public Affairs The Military and the Media, 1968–1973|publisher=U.S. Army Center of Military History|year=1996|url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/091/91-2/CMH_Pub_91-2-B.pdf|isbn=978-1946411037|page=24}}{{PD-notice}}</ref> Indeed none of the strategy papers produced by Abrams on assuming command of MACV indicated the need for any change in U.S. strategy and U.S. forces continued large-scale operations to engage [[People's Army of Vietnam]] (PAVN) main force units including the [[Battle of Hamburger Hill]] in May 1969.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Daddis|first=Gregory|title=Withdrawal: Reassessing America's Final Years in Vietnam|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|year=2017|isbn=978-0190691103}}</ref>

Abrams was appointed [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]] by Nixon in June 1972.<ref name=atjgtab>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YO9LAAAAIBAJ&pg=6864%2C1902645 |work=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Army's top job goes to Abrams |date=June 21, 1972 |page=1}}</ref> However, heHe was not confirmed by the [[United States Senate]] until October, due to political repercussions involving accusations of [[John D. Lavelle#Lavelle Affair|unauthorized bombings of North Vietnam]].<ref name=Hammond/>{{rp|576}} It has also been reported that Congress had delayed the confirmation to question the administration's war in Cambodia. During this time, Abrams began the transition to the all-volunteer army, also known as [[Project VOLAR]].

In January 1974, Abrams directed the formation of a Ranger battalion. The 1st Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry, was activated and parachuted into Fort Stewart, Georgia, on July 1 July; the 2nd Battalion (Ranger), 75th Infantry followed with activation on October 1 October. The 3rd Battalion, 75th Infantry (Ranger), and Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 75th Infantry (Ranger), received their colors a decade later on 3 October 3, 1984, at Fort Benning, Georgia. The 75th Ranger Regiment was designated in February 1986.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.army.mil/ranger/heritage.html|title=Heritage – United States Army Rangers|work=[[United States Army]]|access-date=12 May 2016}} {{PD-notice}}</ref> The modern Ranger battalions owe their existence to Abrams and his charter:

Abrams served as Chief of Staff until his death on September 4, September 1974.

Born in [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], and raised in the Feeding Hills section of Agawam, he was the son of Nellie Louise (Randall) and Creighton Williams Abrams, a railroad worker.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://3ad.com/history/cold.war/abrams.htm |title=Maj.Gen. Creighton Abrams - 3rd Armored Div. Commander 1960-62 |access-date=2014-02-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140218050756/http://3ad.com/history/cold.war/abrams.htm |archive-date=2014-02-18 }}</ref> Abrams married Julia Berthe Harvey {{nowrap|(1915–2003)}} in 1936. She founded the army group of [[Arlington Ladies]] and devoted time to humanitarian causes.<ref name="MSNBC">{{cite web|last=O'Neill|first=Helen|title=Special lady for each Arlington soldier-Volunteers honor troops and make sure none is buried alone|date=29 May 2010 |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37416579|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206054801/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/37416579/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 6, 2013|publisher=[[NBC News]].com|access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref>

The Abramses had three sons and three daughters. All three sons became Army general officers: retired Brigadier General Creighton Williams Abrams III, Generalincluding [[John N. Abrams|John Nelson Abrams]], and General [[Robert B. Abrams|Robert Bruce Abrams]]. Daughters Noel Bradley, Jeanne Daley, and Elizabeth Doyle all married army officers.

Abrams converted to [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] during his time in Vietnam;. heHe was raised as [[Methodist Protestant Church|Methodist Protestant]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewis |first=Sorley |date=May 30, 2013 |title=The Way of the Soldier: Remembering General Creighton Abrams |url=https://www.fpri.org/article/2013/05/the-way-of-the-soldier-remembering-general-creighton-abrams/ |access-date=October 7, 2020 |website=Foreign Policy Research Institute |language=en-US}}</ref>

|{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=oak|ribbon=Tong-il_Security_Medel_Ribbonil Security Medal Ribbon.pngsvg|80px|width=106}} [[Order of National Security Merit]], Tongil Medal (South Korea)

{{Portal|Biography|World War II}}

[[Category:Military personnel from Springfield, Massachusetts]]

[[Category:RecipientsAmerican recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France)]]

[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (South Korea)]]

[[Category:RecipientsAmerican recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam)]]