Malin Craig (August 5, 1875 – July 25, 1945) was a

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

who served as the 14th

Chief of Staff of the United States Army The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and ...

from 1935 to 1939. He served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and was recalled to active duty during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and, although he is mostly forgotten today, he played a very large role in preparing the U.S. Army for World War II.

Early life

Craig was born on August 5, 1875 in

Saint Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

, a son of Army officer Louis A. Craig and Georgie (Malin) Craig. His siblings included

Louis A. Craig Louis A. Craig (July 29, 1891 – January 3, 1984) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of major general, and served in both World War I and World War II. Craig served as a corps and division commander during ...

. He entered the

United States Military Academy 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 ...

(USMA) at

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

on June 20, 1894. He graduated on April 26, 1898 and was ranked 33rd of 59. He was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army unt ...

in the

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

branch. Craig's initial assignment was to the 4th Infantry Regiment.

Early career

On June 23, 1898 Craig transferred to the

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

branch, and he was assigned to the 6th Cavalry Regiment during the Santiago Campaign, the United States invasion of Cuba during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

. After his return from Cuba, Craig transferred to the 4th Cavalry Regiment, serving in Wyoming and Oklahoma until 1900, when he served in the

China Relief Expedition The China Relief Expedition was an expedition in China undertaken by the United States Armed Forces to rescue United States citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion, which lasted ...

and in the Philippine Insurrection until 1902. He was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

on February 2, 1901, transferring back to the 6th Cavalry. Craig attended the Infantry and Cavalry School from 1903 to 1904 and the

Staff College Staff colleges (also command and staff colleges and War colleges) train military officers in the administrative, military staff and policy aspects of their profession. It is usual for such training to occur at several levels in a career. For e ...

from 1904 to 1905. He was promoted to captain on May 7, 1904, assigned to the

10th Cavalry Regiment The 10th Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. Formed as a segregated African-American unit, the 10th Cavalry was one of the original "Buffalo Soldier" regiments in the post–Civil War Regular Army. It served in combat during t ...

and later the 1st Cavalry Regiment. Craig was garrisoned as a regimental quartermaster at Fort Clark in Kinney, Texas from 1906 to 1909. He would go on to graduate from the Army War College in 1910, where

Hunter Liggett Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett (March 21, 1857 − December 30, 1935) was a senior United States Army officer. His 42 years of military service spanned the period from the Indian campaigns to the trench warfare of World War I. Additionall ...

was among his classmates, and serve in a variety of administrative positions, most notable of which was assigning troops to their regiments. He served with the 1st Cavalry Regiment in the western United States in 1912, then became an instructor at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest perma ...

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

Army Service Schools, where he served in 1916 and 1917. He transferred to the General Staff Corps in 1917.Tucker, Spencer C., ed. World War II: the definitive encyclopedia and document collection. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, an imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2016. Web. p. 475

World War I

Craig was promoted to major on May 15, 1917, shortly after the

American entry into World War I American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel on August 17 and temporary colonel on March 27, 1918. Craig served in France during World War I as chief of staff to General Hunter Liggett in the 41st Division and later in

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Ar ...

, where he was promoted to temporary brigadier general on July 11, 1918. He then became chief of staff of the Third Army. He received the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

for his service during the war. His citation reads as follows:

Interwar period

After the war, Craig reverted to his permanent rank of major on August 15, 1919 but was promoted to colonel on July 1, 1920 and to brigadier general only 15 days later. When Craig was promoted to colonel, he was put in command of the District of Arizona in 1920 and became the commandant of the Cavalry School from 1921 to 1923, after his promotion to brigadier general in April 1921. He served as Chief of Cavalry with the rank of major general from July 24, 1924 to March 20, 1926. He was succeeded by Herbert B. Crosby, after which he was assigned to command the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the ter ...

from 1 April 1928 to 30 August 1930. Craig served as the commander of the Ninth Corps Area, headquartered in San Francisco, from 21 November 1930 to 24 January 1935.

Chief of Staff

Craig served as president of the Army War College in 1935, before being selected as

. He served as Chief of Staff from October 2, 1935 to August 31, 1939, succeeding General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was ...

and preceding George C. Marshall. That appointment carried with it a temporary promotion to full (four star) general. As Chief of Staff of the Army, Craig pointed out to Congress the army's lack of preparedness in manpower and material, stressed the necessity of lead time in military preparedness, focused attention on army planning, and, within governmental constraints, prepared the army for World War II. Craig, who opposed any mission for the Air Corps except that of supporting ground forces, also actively opposed the movement for a separate air force, and also refused to acknowledge the superiority of a four-engined bomber over all other types. This caused the cut back on planned purchases of B-17s to procure smaller but cheaper (and inferior) twin-engine light and medium bombers such as the Douglas B-18. He retired, with the rank of general, on August 31, 1939 after forty-one years of active duty service. Upon his retirement, he received a second Distinguished Service Medal for his service as Army Chief of Staff.

World War II and death

Craig's retirement was short-lived, however. On September 26, 1941, with war on the horizon, he was recalled to active duty to head the War Department's Personnel Board, a body responsible for selecting individuals who were to receive direct commissions in the army. He headed the board until shortly before his death. Craig died at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. on July 25, 1945, where he had been ill for the previous year. He was posthumously awarded a third Distinguished Service Medal and was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Personal life

In April 1901, Craig married Genevieve Woodruff, a daughter of General Charles Woodruff. They were the parents of a son, Malin Craig Jr. (1902–1981). Malin Craig Jr. was a career Army officer and

veteran who retired as a colonel. After his military retirement, he taught geometry in the public schools of

Montgomery County, Maryland Montgomery County is the most populous county in the state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 1,062,061, increasing by 9.3% from 2010. The county seat and largest municipality is Rockville, although the census-design ...

Awards

Dates of rank

Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1944. pg. 1122.

References

Bibliography

* * * * ''Official Register of the United States Army''. 1945. The Adjutant General. Washington, D.C. p. 1135.