Howard Dwayne Graves (August 15, 1939 – September 13, 2003) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer who served as the superintendent of the

U.S. 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 ...

from 1991 to 1996, and as the chancellor of the

Texas A&M University System The Texas A&M University System is a state university system in Texas and is one of the state's six independent university systems. The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the United States, with a bu ...

from 1999 to 2003. A 1961 graduate of West Point, he was a Rhodes Scholar, earning three degrees from

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

during his army career. During his service in the Army, he was the personal aide to two Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Admiral William J. Crowe and General Colin L. Powell.

Early life and education

Graves was born in Roaring Springs,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, the only child of Tommy J. and Velma Lee Clifton Graves. He almost drowned trying to baptise a cat in a pond behind their home but was revived at a

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

camp that was close to their rural home. After spending his youth in

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County ...

, and graduating from Amarillo High School in 1957, Graves received an appointment to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

as a member of the class of 1961. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

branch in 1961. He earned a Rhodes Scholarship and spent the first three years of his military career at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1964, an MA in 1968 and an

MLitt The Master of Letters degree (MLitt or LittM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. Ireland Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University offer MLitt degrees. Trinity has offered them the longest, owing largely to its tradition as Ireland ...

in 1971.

Career

On returning to the United States after his first tour at the University of Oxford, he joined the 82nd Airborne Division, where in 1965 he commanded an engineer company in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. He saw combat in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

from 1968 to 1969, where he was an Engineer Battalion S-3 and assistant division engineer for the First Cavalry Division. After his second tour at the University of Oxford, Graves returned to West Point in 1970. He was assigned to the Department of Social Sciences, where he taught international relations and comparative foreign governments. In 1974, Graves was appointed

military assistant A military assistant is sub-specialty of secretarial duties in the British Armed Forces and many of those derived from them, is an officer appointed to the personal office of a general officer. Whilst aides de camp (ADCs) are responsible for adm ...

to the Secretary of Defense,

James Schlesinger James Rodney Schlesinger (February 15, 1929 – March 27, 2014) was an American economist and public servant who was best known for serving as Secretary of Defense from 1973 to 1975 under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Prior to ...

. His duties included coordinating Schlesinger's travel and public appearances, preparing briefings and speeches for Congressional hearings, and providing counsel on matters affecting the U.S. Army. In 1976, Graves took command of the 54th Engineer Battalion in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, returning to the United States in 1978 to attend the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. In 1980, Graves took command of the 20th Engineer Brigade. He then joined the First Infantry Division in 1982 as the assistant division commander. The next year, Graves was appointed deputy chief of staff, engineer, U.S. Army Forces Command. In 1984, Graves was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

and became deputy director for strategy, plans, and policy, of the Army Staff. The next year he was promoted to vice director of the Joint Staff. In 1987, Graves succeeded James E. Thompson Jr. as commandant of the Army War College.

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

Graves then returned to

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, ...

, to become assistant to the chairman,

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

. In 1991, Graves was appointed the 54th superintendent of the United States Military Academy, a position he held until his retirement in 1996.

Later life and death

Graves later joined the Harry Guggenheim Foundation as a director and in 1998 was a visiting professor, at the Lyndon Baines Johnson School of Public Service at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. In 1999, he was selected to be the 11th chancellor of the

. During his tenure as chancellor, Texas A&M added three new universities to its system:

Texas A&M University–San Antonio Texas A&M University–San Antonio is a public university in San Antonio, Texas. It is part of the Texas A&M University System. The university was established on May 23, 2009, and held its first classes as a stand-alone university on August 20, 20 ...

, Tarleton State University–Central Texas in Killeen, and

West Texas A&M University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It was established on S ...

in Canyon, Texas. Graves lived with cancer for several years, dying from the disease at his home in

College Station, Texas College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-n ...

, on September 13, 2003. He is survived by his wife, Gracie Newman Graves, son, Colonel Gregory Howard Graves, who is also a graduate of West Point (class of 1988), and wife Graves, daughter Gigi Graves Kail and husband the late Colonel Eric Kail, who was an army officer. He is interred at the

West Point Cemetery West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery in the eastern United States, on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Revolutionary War soldiers and ear ...

Awards and decorations

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves, Howard D. 1939 births 2003 deaths People from Motley County, Texas Amarillo High School alumni United States Military Academy alumni American Rhodes Scholars Alumni of St John's College, Oxford United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Superintendents of the United States Military Academy Chancellors of Texas A&M University System Deaths from cancer in Texas Burials at West Point Cemetery Military personnel from Texas 20th-century American academics