Nicholas Krawciw

Krawciw and his wife Christina had a daughter, two sons and six grandchildren, one of whom died before 2021. He died at Fort Belvoir, Virginia in 2021 and was interred at the West Point Cemetery.

Krawciw received the West Point Distinguished Graduate Award in 2006. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame in 2013.

This article incorporates public domain material from 2006 Distinguished Graduate Award. United States Government.

The culmination of his efforts was the refusal of the Ukrainian Army to disperse the Orange Revolution demonstration that ultimately overturned the fraudulent election of 2004, thus justifying the years of dedicated effort Krawciw and other American officers had spent to achieve a democratic Army in Ukraine. Some of the programs Krawciw organized or participated in were Operation Peace Shield and Operation Sea Breeze.

In 1995, in addition to his work with Ukraine, Krawciw began 10 years service as president of The Dupuy Institute; and is now chairman of the board. Under Nick's leadership, the institute, dedicated to scholarly analysis of military historical trends, expanded its activity.

At the behest of the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army and the Undersecretary of Defense, Krawciw and his wife Christina moved to Ukraine in 1992 where, for a year, he worked to reorganize, educate, and restructure the Ukrainian military on Western lines. Beginning in 1993, as a consultant to the Secretary of Defense on Ukrainian matters, and later as Secretary of Defense Senior Military Representative to Ukraine, Krawciw was largely responsible for converting the Ukrainian Armed Forces from a communist army that was feared throughout Europe to one that now has democratic standards.

Promoted to brigadier general, Krawciw returned to Germany in 1984 as assistant division commander of the 3rd Infantry Division and then executive officer to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. In 1987, Major General Krawciw assumed command of the 3rd Infantry Division. His final active duty assignment was director of NATO policy in the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 1989 to 1990. Krawciw retired from the army on July 1, 1990.

Krawciw's awards and decorations include the Silver Star with two oak leaf clusters, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Bronze Star Medal (four total, two for valor), eight Air Medals and the Purple Heart. Krawciw was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal in 1984 and the Army Distinguished Service Medal in 1990.

In 1979, Colonel Krawciw returned to Germany to command the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Armored Division. Back home after two years in command, Krawciw was nominated by the Army Chief of Staff to attend the Senior Seminar of the Department of State. In 1982, he was assigned to the army staff and then as military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Krawciw commanded the 1st Squadron, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment in 1974, and later served at Headquarters, United States Army, Europe. Following a year as a Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford, Colonel Krawciw was assigned to the Training and Doctrine Command as director of concepts and doctrine in combat development. Here, his work on maneuver doctrine revolutionized the way the army fought, was organized, and was trained. Krawciw's ideas influenced victories in Operation Just Cause, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and many important but smaller contingencies.

Major Krawciw was sent to Israel in 1972 as the chief operations officer for the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, he produced intelligence reports prior to the start of the Yom Kippur War that led to a personal commendation from the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Abrams.

Nicholas Stephen Hordij Krawciw (Ukrainian: Микола Кравців) (November 28, 1935 – September 29, 2021) was a United States Army Major General who served two tours of duty in the Vietnam War, and served as commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division from 1987 to 1989.

Krawciw was born on November 28, 1935, to Bohdan and Neonila Krawciw, in Lviv, Galicia, Poland (present-day Ukraine). His family moved to Germany during World War II and to the United States in 1949. As a youth, Krawciw grew up in a Philadelphia Ukrainian-American community and was able to speak the Ukrainian language. He was a member of Plast, a Ukrainian scouting organization, and attended the Bordentown Military Institute. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1955, where he played varsity soccer, became a cadet regimental commander, and was in the graduating class of 1959. Krawciw earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy and later received a Master of Science degree in international relations from George Washington University.