Malin Craig

Malin Craig (5 August 1875 – 25 July 1945) was a general in the United States Army who served as the 14th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1935 to 1939. He served in World War I and was recalled to active duty during World War II. His siblings included Louis A. Craig and his paternal grandfather was James Craig. He entered the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York on 20 June 1894. He graduated on 26 April 1898, and was ranked 33rd of 59. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Infantry branch. Craig's initial assignment was to the 4th Infantry Regiment.

Early career On 23 June 1898, Craig transferred to the Cavalry 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. 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 and in the Philippine Insurrection until 1902. He was promoted to first lieutenant on 2 February 1901, transferring back to the 6th Cavalry.

Craig attended the Infantry and Cavalry School from 1903 to 1904 and the Staff College from 1904 to 1905. He was promoted to captain on 7 May 1904, assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment 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 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, Kansas Army Service Schools, where he served in 1916 and 1917. He transferred to the General Staff Corps in 1917.

World War I

Craig was promoted to major on 15 May 1917, shortly after the American entry into World War I. He was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel on 17 August and temporary colonel on 27 March 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, where he was promoted to temporary brigadier general on 11 July 1918. He then became chief of staff of the Third Army. He received the Army Distinguished Service Medal 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 15 August 1919, but was promoted to colonel on 1 July 1920, and to brigadier general only 15 days later.

Corps area commanders and division commanders meet with the army chief of staff, Major General Charles Pelot Summerall, at the War Department, May 1927. Stood in the back row, directly in the center, is Major General Malin Craig, commanding??.

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 was posthumously awarded a third Distinguished Service Medal and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

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 World War II veteran who retired as a colonel.