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{{short description|United States Army general (1914–1974)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2017}}
{{Infobox military person
| name = Creighton Abrams Jr.
| image = GEN Creighton W. Abrams.
| alt =
| caption
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1914|9|15|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Springfield, Massachusetts]],
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1974|9|4|1914|9|14|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Walter Reed General Hospital]], [[Washington, D.C.]],
| 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 />[[2nd 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.''' (
In 1980, the United States Army named its then new [[main battle tank]], the [[M1 Abrams]], after him. The [[IG Farben building]] in Germany was also named after Abrams from 1975 to 1995.
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==Military career==
===Early career===
Abrams graduated from the [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point in the Class of 1936, ranking 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 [[
Abrams became an armor officer early in the development of that branch and served as a tank company commander in the [[1st Armored Division (United States)|1st Armored Division]] in 1940.
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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 at age 27 years, 11 months.
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]]. Abrams was 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
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]]''.
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He was promoted to [[lieutenant general (United States)|lieutenant general]] and commanded [[V Corps (United States)|V Corps]] in Europe (1963–1964).
Abrams was on the cover of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine three times in ten years: 1961 (
===Vietnam War===
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Abrams was promoted to [[General (United States)|general]] in 1964 and appointed [[Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army]]. He was 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
[[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>}}
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From 1969, the Vietnam War increasingly became a conventional war between the military forces of South Vietnam and North Vietnam. Following the election of President [[Richard Nixon]], Abrams began implementing the Nixon Administration's [[Vietnamization]] policy to decrease U.S. involvement in Vietnam. With this new goal, Abrams decreased American troop strength from a peak of 543,000 in early 1969 to 49,000 in June 1972.
The South Vietnamese forces with aerial support from the U.S. repelled the PAVN conventional [[Easter Offensive]] in 1972. The prolonged efforts and expense of the war had by then exhausted much of the American public and political support. Abrams disdained most of the politicians with whom he was forced to deal, in particular [[Robert McNamara]] and [[McGeorge Bundy]], and had an even lower opinion of defense contractors,
Abrams was in charge of the [[Cambodian Incursion]] in 1970. President Nixon seemed to hold Abrams in high regard, and often relied on his advice. In a tape-recorded conversation between Nixon and National Security Advisor [[Henry Kissinger]] on December 9, 1970, Nixon told Kissinger about Abrams' thoughts on intervention in Cambodia that: "If Abrams strongly recommends it we will do it."<ref>[http://www2.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB123/Box%2029,%20File%202,%20Kissinger%20%96%20President%20Dec%209,%201970%208,45%20pm%20%200.pdf Mr. Kissinger/The President (tape)]</ref> Troop levels in Vietnam eventually reached 25,000 in January 1973, at the time of the four power [[Paris Peace Accords]]. Although it occurred before he assumed total command, Abrams bore the brunt of fallout from the [[My Lai massacre]] in March 1968.
Nixon grew increasingly dissatisfied with Abrams' performance during [[Operation Lam Son 719]] and had debated for some time whether to recall Abrams. On 4 May
===Chief of Staff===
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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> He 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
{{blockquote|The battalion is to be an elite, light, and the most proficient infantry in the world. A battalion that can do things with its hands and weapons better than anyone. The battalion will contain no 'hoodlums or brigands' and if the battalion is formed from such persons, it will be disbanded. Wherever the battalion goes, it must be apparent that it is the best.}}
Abrams served as Chief of Staff until his death on
==Personal life==
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
Abrams converted to [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]] during his time in Vietnam. He 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>
A heavy cigar smoker, Abrams died at age 59, eleven days before
==Awards and decorations==
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;Foreign decorations and awards
His foreign awards and decorations include:<ref>{{citation |last=Empric |first=Bruce E. |title=Uncommon Allies: U.S. Army Recipients of Soviet Military Decorations in World War II |publisher=Teufelsberg Press |page=107 |year=2024 |isbn=979-8-3444-6807-5}}</ref>
{|
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|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=POL Order Wojny Ojczyźnianej 2kl BAR.svg|106px}} [[Order of the Patriotic War|Order of the Patriotic War Second Class]] ([[Soviet Union]])
|-
|{{ribbon devices|number=0|ribbon=Czechoslovak War Cross 1939-1945 Bar.png|width=106}} [[Czechoslovak War Cross 1939–1945]] ([[Czechoslovakia]])
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[[Category:Knights of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Honour]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Military Merit (South Korea)]]
[[Category:Order of National Security Merit members]]
[[Category:Recipients of the National Order of Vietnam]]
[[Category:
[[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]]
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