Creighton Williams Abrams Jr. (September 15 1914 – September 4 1974) was a United States Army General who commanded military operations in the Vietnam War from 1968-72 which saw U.S. troop strength in Vietnam fall from 530,000 to 30,000. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1972 until shortly before his death in 1974. In honor of Abrams, the U.S. Army named the XM1 main battle tank after him as the M1 Abrams.

Career summary

Early career

He graduated from West Point in 1936 and served with the 1st Cavalry Division from 1936 to 1940, being promoted to first lieutenant in 1939 and temporary captain in 1940.

He became an armored officer early in the development of that branch and served as a tank company commander in the 1st Armored Division in 1940.

World War II

During World War II, he served with the 4th Armored Division, initially as regimental adjutant (June 1941 - June 1942) then as a battalion commander (July 1942 - March 1943), and regiment executive officer (March 1943 - September 1943) with the US 37th Armor Regiment. A reorganization of the division created a new battalion, the 37th Tank Battalion, which he commanded until March 1945 when he was promoted to command Combat Command B of the division. During this time he was promoted to the brevet ranks of major (February 1942) and lieutenant-colonel (September 1943).

During much of this time his unit was at the spearhead of the 4th Armored Division and the Third Army, and he 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 who had the advantage of superior armor, superior guns and better trained troops. He was twice decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross, second only to the Medal of Honor, for actions on September 20, 1944 and December 26, 1944.

On April 23, 1945, Will Lang Jr. wrote a biography called "Colonel Abe" for Life (magazine)

Abrams was known as an aggressive and successful armor commander. 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." His unit was frequently the spearhead of the Third Army during WWII. Abrams was one of the leaders in the relief effort which broke up the German entrenchments surrounding Bastogne and the 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge.

He was noted for his concern for soldiers, his emphasis on combat readiness, and his insistence on personal integrity.

Between wars

Following the war he served on the Army General Staff (1945 - 1946), as head of the department of tactics at the Armored School, Fort Knox (1946 - 1948), and graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth (1949). He was briefly promoted to (temporary) colonel in 1945 but reverted to lieutenant-colonel during WWII demobilization.

He commanded the 63d Tank Battalion, part of the 1st Infantry Division, in Europe (1949 - 1951). He was again promoted to colonel and commanded the 2d Armored Cavalry Regiment (1951-1952). 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 Army War College in 1953.

During his tenure in Germany he was on the cover of Time Magazine on October 131961. He was to grace the covers again on April 19, 1968, and February 15, 1971.

Korean Service

Due to his service in Europe and his War College tour, he joined the Korean War late in the conflict. He successively served as chief of staff of the I, X, and IX Corps in Korea (1953-1954).

Staff Assignments and Division Command

Upon return from Korea he served as Chief of Staff of the Armor Center, Fort Knox (1954-1956). He was promoted to brigadier-general and appointed deputy chief of staff for reserve components at the Pentagon (1956-1959). He was assistant division commander of 3rd Armored Division (1959 - 60) and then commanded the division (1960 - 62) upon his promotion to major-general.

He was then transferred to the Pentagon as deputy Chief of Staff for Operations (1962 - 63), then was promoted to lieutenant-general and commanded V Corps in Europe (1963 - 1964).

Vietnam

He was promoted to General in 1964 and appointed Vice Chief of Staff of the Army (he was seriously considered as a candidate for Chief of Staff at that time). Due to concerns about the conduct of the Vietnam War, he was appointed as deputy to General William Westmoreland, head of the Military Assistance Command in Vietnam, in May 1967. He succeeded Westmoreland as commander on June 10, 1968. His tenure of command was not marked by the public optimism of his predecessors, who were prone to press conferences and public statements. While Westmoreland had for years run the war, using search and destroy tactics, these gave way to the clear and hold strategies that Abrams was so keen to implement. Under his authority, American forces were broken up into small units that would live with and train the South Vietnamese civilians to defend their villages from northern incursion. He also devoted vastly more time than his predecessor had to expanding, training, and equipping the ARVN. His strategy was surprisingly successful and as a result, the South won a colossal victory over the NVA in the Easter Offensive. While Abrams was changing the way the war was fought however, public and political support for his efforts at home had dwindled substantially. Before his gains had a chance of being consolidated, most of the American troops had been pulled out by 1972, when he stepped down from the Military Assistance Command. With the exception of American Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker and Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu, Abrams disdained most of the politicians with whom he was forced to deal and had an even lower opinion of defense contractors whom he accused of war profiteering. He held a particularly bilious contempt for Robert McNamara and McGeorge Bundy. Following the election of President Richard Nixon he implemented the Nixon Doctrine referred to as Vietnamization. Vietnamization was designed to wind down U.S. involvement in Vietnam, and have South Vietnam responsible for executing the war.

Troop strength under Abrams decreased from 535,000 in December 1968 to 140,000 in December 1971 to 30,000 combat troops at the end of 1972. Abrams was in charge of the Cambodian Incursion in 1970. Although it occurred before he assumed total command, he bore the brunt of fallout from the My Lai massacre in March 1968.

Chief of Staff

He was appointed Chief of Staff of the United States Army in June 1972 but was not confirmed by the Senate until October 1972 due to political repercussions involving disobedience by one of his subordinate commanders. (It has also been reported that Congress held up the confirmation to question the administration's war in Cambodia.) He served in this position until his death due to complications from lung cancer surgery in September 1974 just 11 days short of his 60th birthday. During this time he began the transition to the all-volunteer Army.

Personal data

He was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1914. His father was a railway mechanic and farmer.

Abrams married Julia Bertha Abrams (1915 - 2003) in 1936. She founded the Army group of "Arlington Ladies" and devoted a great deal of her time to humanitarian causes. They had three daughters and three sons. The sons all became Army officers, and all of the daughters married Army officers.

Survivors include three sons, retired Army Brigadier Gen. Creighton Williams Abrams III of Springfield, retired Army General John Nelson Abrams of Annandale and Brigadier General Robert Bruce Abrams of Texas; three daughters, Noel Bradley of Buffalo, Jeanne Daly of Annandale and Elizabeth Doyle of Nashville; 19 grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.

He converted to Roman Catholicism while serving in Vietnam, formerly being a Methodist.

Abrams is buried with his wife in Section 21 of Arlington National Cemetery.

See also

References

• Sorley, Lewis. Thunderbolt: General Creighton Abrams and the army of his time. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1992. ISBN 0-671-70115-0

External links

• Arlington Cemetery website
• Interview with Lewis Sorley on Vietnam Chronicles: The Abrams Tapes 1968-1972 at the Pritzker Military Library
• Source of quotes