“The Finest Thing Ever”: Attending West Point And Leading Soldiers During The Cold War And The Vietnam War

MG(R) Todd Graham was born in 1932 and grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan, with a sister and a brother. His father owned a sporting goods store, and his mother was a homemaker. Living near a lake, he enjoyed numerous outdoor activities, including fishing, hunting, canoeing, and ice skating. He also liked shooting his air rifle and playing baseball. At Kalamazoo Central High School, he was the second baseman on the baseball team and captain of the swim team, specializing in freestyle events, and he met his future wife, Marlene, who worked at a bakery near the school. After his father died in 1947, he lived with his grandparents. After graduating from high school, he attended Kalamazoo College, improving his skills in math and English while playing on the baseball team. He became interested in West Point after visiting a friend, and he arrived at the Academy in 1951. He vividly recalls walking into Central Area on R-Day and finding “everyone yelling.” He describes himself as having been “so absolutely happy” as a cadet, with “three squares a day” and rousing musical performances by the West Point Band’s Hellcats. During his plebe Christmas, he relished being “in charge” and hosting his brother, who later joined the Marines. He fondly recalls his time at Camp Buckner as “a great summer,” highlighted by his experiences shooting, driving tanks, and going on night missions. He also participated in CAMID (Cadet – Midshipmen), which brought together West Point cadets and Annapolis midshipmen for training in amphibious landing operations on LSTs in Little Creek, Virginia. Before his firstie year, he served in a leadership detail for summer training at Camp Buckner, where his Tactical Officer was George S. Patton, Jr. He finished in the middle of his class academically but excelled in physical education. The swimming coach wanted MG Graham on his team, but he instead tried out successfully for Coach Jack Riley and the hockey team. He was a starter his last two years, scoring the first goal in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Royal Military College. He remembers the New York Rangers’ visit to West Point, and their coach describing Smith Rink, the largest rink in North America, as “Lake Ontario with boards.” He was also on the baseball team under Coach Paul Amen, and recalls Rich Cardillo hitting an inside-the-park home run in an exhibition game against the New York Giants. Red Reeder was one of his assistant coaches. During his cadet years, “The Long Gray Line” was filmed at West Point, and he recalls seeing stars Tyrone Power and Maureen O’Hara, as well as Marty Maher, whose story the movie depicts. Less positively, he remembers learning about the 1951 cheating scandal involving dozens of cadets through news reports. Following graduation in 1955, he branched infantry and reported to Ft. Benning, where he completed the Officer Basic Course (OBC), Airborne training, and Ranger School. In December 1955, he assumed duties as a Platoon Leader in L Company, 3rd Battalion, 61st Infantry Regiment at Ft. Carson, Colorado. Although his Soldiers were “fresh out of basic,” he considered them well-trained, and he quickly learned “how important NCOs are.” In June 1956, his platoon was reflagged under the 5th Infantry Regiment and sent to Nuremberg, Germany. Todd and Marlene were married in August 1956 on her family’s farm in Nauvoo, Illinois. In Germany, his light infantry unit was always training and on semi-alert, ready to proceed to its assigned forward main battle position on short notice. Although cities such as Mainz were still in rubble from Allied bombing in World War II, he found the German people to be friendly. Marlene participated in a wives’ trip to Czechoslovakia, and their daughter Tracy was born in Wiesbaden. After serving as a platoon leader and company executive officer in the 1st Infantry Division at Ft. Riley, Kansas, in 1959 he was assigned duties as a Public Information Officer in Ft. Wayne, Michigan, where he was also an unofficial aide to Secretary of the Army Wilber Brucker. Following the Infantry Officer Advanced Course, he served as Assistant S-3, S-3, and then Commander of A Company, 1st Battle Group, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division in Korea. Stationed next to the Imjin River and the DMZ, his Soldiers conducted nightly patrols through minefields to prevent infiltration by enemy agents, and he recalls occasional firefights and the persistent problem of frostbite. His unit was in the 7th Division training area when the Cuban Missile Crisis ensued, and they immediately departed to man their battle positions. After returning from Korea, he earned a master’s degree at Syracuse University before reporting to West Point in June 1965 as an assistant professor in the Department of Earth, Space, and Graphic Sciences. In graduate school, he focused on the geography of the Soviet Union and had the opportunity to visit Russia. During his time teaching at the Academy, he also coached little league hockey, and he fondly remembers the Riley brothers playing on the team with his son. Following his teaching assignment, his family moved to Cornwall Estates (during this period, families could not remain in on-post housing when the service member deployed), and he arrived in Vietnam, joining the 1st Cavalry Division, where he served as a Battalion S3, Brigade XO, and Battalion Commander. Initially, his unit was focused on stopping infiltration through the DMZ, but later they moved down into the Mekong Delta, where they discovered huge stockpiles of ammunition. He remembers calling for naval gunfire from the battleship New Jersey, supported by Naval fire support officers, and operating with helicopters and naval riverine support in the Delta. He describes moving the entire division to Tay Ninh in four days under General Forsythe’s leadership and he was responsible for the 1st Brigade part of the operation. He was selected for battalion command and requested 1-8 Cavalry, since he was familiar with that unit. He recalls conducting combat assaults in coordination with 11th ACR (and Doc Bahnsen) near Nui Bai Den and in the Michelin Rubber Plantation. Following his tour in Vietnam and attending the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, he served as a Personnel Management Officer in the Colonels Division of MILPERCEN (Military Personnel Center). He served as a Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel at a time when the All-Volunteer Army was being implemented, resulting in a “lot of changes.” In August 1975, he was assigned as the Director of Personnel to the Army Mission and Military Assistance Advisory Group in Teheran, Iran, which was a nice assignment even though there were always “hints of unrest.” Returning to the United States in April 1977, he was assigned as the Commander of the School Brigade at Ft. Benning, Georgia. In July 1982, he became the Deputy Commander of the United States Army Western Command at Ft. Shafter, Hawaii, which was mainly responsible for logistic support to units in the Pacific. In February 1984, he was assigned as the Assistant Division Commander for the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Ft. Carson, Colorado, and he recalls participating in a REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany) operation. An assignment as the Chief of the Joint United States Military Assistance Group Korea followed in June 1985 as the Koreans were preparing to host the Olympics. He describes his role in the process of selling F-16s to the South Korean military. He served as the Deputy Commanding General for the Sixth United States Army in November 1988, responsible for National Guard and Army Reserve Readiness in the western United States. He retired as a Major General on June 30, 1990, following 35 years of service, and remained busy with Habitat for Humanity, hunting, fishing, and creating art. At the time of his retirement, there were five members of his class still on active duty, three of whom had been hockey players. His wife volunteered with the Red Cross and was involved in racket sports. She won a racquetball national championship in her age group, and beat Joe Theismann in a friendly match. His son, Bruce, graduated from West Point in 1980, and his grandson, Todd Graham II, graduated in 2012. At the end of the interview, he reflects on his service as “the finest thing ever,” and West Point, which he considers home and everything that is good. At the end of the interview, he shares some of his artwork with us.