CREIGHTON WILLIAMS ABRAMS, JR. , was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on 15 September 1914; graduated from the United States Military Academy, 1936; married Julia Harvey, 1936; was commissioned a second lieutenant and served in the 1st Cavalry Division, 1936–1940; was promoted to first lieutenant, June 1939, and to temporary captain, September 1940; was briefly a tank company commander in the 1st Armored Division, 1941; was a battalion commander in the 37th Armored Regiment, 1942–1943; was promoted to temporary major (February) and lieutenant colonel (September), 1943; commanded the 37th Tank Battalion and Combat Command B, 4th Armored Division, in Allied operations across Europe, 1943–1945; was promoted to temporary colonel, April 1945; served on the Army General Staff, 1945, and in the War Plans section of the Army Ground Forces headquarters, 1945–1946; was director of tactics of the Armored School at Fort Knox, 1946–1948; was promoted to permanent ranks of captain, June 1946, and major, July 1948; graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, 1949; commanded the 63d Tank Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, United States Army, Europe, 1949–1951; was again promoted to temporary colonel after postwar reversion, June 1951; commanded the 2d Armored Cavalry, United States Army, Europe, 1951–1952; graduated from the Army War College, 1953; was successively chief of staff of the I, X, and IX Corps, United States Army Forces, Far East, Korea, 1953–1954; was chief of staff of the Armor Center at Fort Knox, 1954–1956; was promoted to temporary brigadier general, February 1956; was deputy assistant chief of staff for reserve components, 1956–1959; was assistant division commander of the 3d Armored Division, 1959–1960, and deputy chief of staff for military operations, United States Army, Europe, 1960; was promoted to temporary major general, June 1960, and permanent colonel, June 1961; was commander of the 3d Armored Division, 1960–1962; was assistant deputy chief of staff and director of operations, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, 1962–1963; was assistant chief of staff for force development, 1963; commanded V Corps in Germany, 1963–1964; was promoted to permanent brigadier general (February) and temporary lieutenant general (August), 1963; was acting vice chief of staff and vice chief of staff of the United States Army, August 1964–April 1967; was promoted to general, September 1964, and permanent major general, August 1965; was deputy commander and then commander of United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, 1967–1972; was chief of staff of the United States Army, 12 October 1972– 4 September 1974; supervised the Army in the closing stages of the Vietnam War, including withdrawal of American troops from the war zone, overall reductions in Army strength, elimination of the draft, transition to a volunteer status, and execution of a major reorganization; died of cancer in Washington, D.C., on 4 September 1974.


The Artist

Herbert Elmer Abrams (1921–2003) has painted the portraits of a number of prominent personalities in the fields of government, business, and the professions, including President Jimmy Carter, Governor Thomas E. Meskill of Connecticut, Texas oilman Clint Murchison, and playwright Arthur Miller. During his career as a painter he taught art, including classes for officers at the United States Military Academy, as well as lectured on art for commercial and cable television stations. His portrait of General Creighton W. Abrams, Jr., is reproduced from the Army Art Collection.

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Painting:  Creighton Williams Abrams, Jr.  By Herbert Elmer Abrams.
Creighton Williams Abrams, Jr.
By Herbert Elmer Abrams
Oil on canvas, 42" x 36", 1975

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